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# Rice and khadi
- URL: https://www.chudgar.com/rice-and-khadi/
- Published: 2025-07-21T20:41:32.000Z
- Updated: 2025-07-21T20:43:01.000Z
- Description: My father Ashvin had this comforting soup-type thing for lunch at least once a week when I was growing up. It came up in a course I’m taking about partswork and ancestry, and one of my fellow students asked for the recipe. Here is how I make it, based on my recollection.
- Author: Ash Chudgar
- Tags: Appreciation, Identity

## Make rice

- Combine 1/2 cup **white rice** (basmati is nice but not necessary), 1 cup **water**, and a pinch of **salt** in a little saucepan.
- Bring to a boil, then cover and turn down to low for 18 minutes.
- Let the rice rest covered till you are ready for it.

## Set up for the khadi

While the rice is going,

- Get 1/2 cup **plain yogurt**, any kind (my dad used plain Dannon, I use Greek-style cashew yogurt).
- Get 1–2 cups of **water** — more if you like your khadi more soupy, less if you like it thicker.
- Put **whole spices** in a little dish: 1/4 teaspoon each **mustard seeds** and **cumin seeds**. If you have them, you can add a **cinnamon stick** and a few **cloves**, 1/4 teaspoon **fenugreek** seeds, and a handful of **curry leaves**. You can put a
- Put **ground spices** in a different little dish: about 1/2 teaspoon each of **turmeric** and **garlic powder**, plus **salt** to taste. If you have them and like them, you can add other spices too: a pinch of **cayenne** and **asafetida**, **cinnamon**, and **cloves**. (Only use the ground cinnamon and cloves if you don’t use whole.)
- You might like to have some **sugar** on hand, too.

## Make the khadi

Once you’re set up,

- Heat up a medium-sized saucepan over medium-high heat, or an Instant Pot on the sauté setting. Have a whisk and the water nearby.
- Once it’s hot, melt a couple teaspoons of some neutral-ish **fat** (**ghee** is classic, my dad used **vegetable oil**, and I use **coconut oil**).
- Once the fat is hot, toss in the **whole spices**, and stir them around briskly until the mustard seeds start popping.
- Once that happens, toss in the **ground spices** and stir them around for a few seconds, until the turmeric smells nice.
- Carefully add the **water** (it will splash!), bring to a near-boil, and then lower the heat to low. Simmer it for a bit.
- Once the broth is simmering, start whisking it, and add the **yogurt** a spoonful at a time, whisking as you go. As you do this, the khadi will become fluorescent yellow, like a highlighter! Keep whisking after all the yogurt is added, to keep it from splitting. Then turn off the heat until the rice is done.
- Taste the khadi to see if it is right, and adjust the spices accordingly. At this point I usually add extra **garlic powder** and some **sugar**.

## Combine and eat

Once the khadi is made and the rice is done, add the **rice** to the **khadi** and stir it around. Now you have a comforting bowl of rice and khadi! I like to put a spoonful of **mango pickle** on top of mine, but you don’t have to.