Khichdi – Himanshu Saini – FMS21

An Indian dish for health and sickness. Cooked for people who cannot afford to eat. It can be found in both the poorest and richest homes – meet khichdi!

Himanshu Saini learned the nuances of cooking at a very young age from his mother, following which he joined Banarsidas Chandiwala Institute of Hotel Management & Catering Technology to hone his culinary skills. To make his mark with constant innovation and change the perception of Indian cuisine, Chef Himanshu embarked on a journey to create innovative dishes, thereby elevating how we experience Indian food today.

Khichdi – the most popular dish in India

Himanshu Saini was talking about a dish called khichdi. Khichdi is a simple, classic Indian dish made with rice and yellow mung lentils. Moreover, as he said, this one-pot dish was prepared in every part of his country. Consequently, every household and every region made this dish with its own set of ingredients and recipes.

History in Indian cuisine

“Actually, Indian cuisine wasn’t documented,” said Himanshu. Moreover, there are only a few dishes that have been mentioned in history. One of them is, of course, khichdi – one of the most recognizable and oldest dishes from India. Muhammad Ibn Battuta mentioned Khichdi in 1350.

If there is any dish that deserves to be the national dish of India, I think this is the one. “

Himanshu Saini brought 20 ingredients from different parts of India. There were pickles, spices, and nuts, for example. In addition, every single one was part of his recipe.

Spice odyssey

India is a vast country. Therefore, for Himanshu, the term ”Indian food” doesn’t make sense.

When you travel through India, the cuisine, language, and ingredients change every 100 kilometers.”

It was difficult to present all the flavors of India on one menu. However, he wanted to create the essence of India in several dishes. He was talking with his team about spices, history, and the blend of spices. That’s how his new menu, called “Spice Odyssey”, was born.