The first one is a savoury version and the second one is a sweet one. The first recipe is made much the same way as the traditional rice khichdi using lentils, spices and quick cook veggies. The second recipe is a sweet one made with milk, jaggery, cardamom powder and an optional ingredient dal. Both these can be had anytime of the day for breakfast, lunch or dinner. In India, dalia is mostly eaten during the winters & monsoon as wheat helps to keep the body warm. However it makes a great food to enjoy all around the year. Daliya makes a great food even for toddlers. Both my boys have grown up enjoying it. I have also shared a recipe for babies and toddlers at the end of this post. I have included the instructions to make in a regular pot, pressure cooker & Instant pot. More Khichdi recipesDal khichdi recipeOats khichdiSabudana khichdi

Preparation

  1. Rinse dalia and moong dal several times until water runs clear. Soak them for at least 30 mins. If you are using the large size broken wheat, i suggest soaking for at least an hour. You can also dry roast dal and daila first separately, then cool them and wash.
  2. Heat ghee or oil in a cooker on a medium to low heat. Saute cumin until they begin to splutter. Add hing and ginger. You can also add bay leaf if you like the flavor.
  3. Add tomatoes, chilli, turmeric and salt. Cook until tomatoes turn soft. If using onions, saute onions first until slightly golden, then add tomatoes. You can also skip tomatoes and just use onions.
  4. Add red chilli powder, saute just for a min. You can skip chilli powder if using green chilli. You can also add garam masala if you like.
  5. Add veggies. I had only capsicum. You can use beans, carrots and peas. Saute for 2 to 3 mins.

How to make dalia khichdi recipe

  1. Drain off the water completely from broken wheat and dal. Add it to the pan.
  2. Fry for about 2 to 3 mins.
  3. Pour water and check the salt.
  4. Cover and pressure cook on a medium to low flame for 2 whistles. Off the stove and leave it on the stove for a while.
  5. When the pressure goes off. Open the lid and stir. Serve hot with pickle or papad.

Recipe 2 – Sweet dalia recipe

I also have the Instant pot instructions below. Ingredients

1 to 2 tablespoons ghee½ cup daliya2 tablespoons moong dal (optional)½ cup grated jaggery or 3 to 4 tbsps sugar½ teaspoon cardamom powder2 cups water (1 ½ cups for Instant pot)1 ½ cups milk (can use almond milk)8 cashewnuts split or chopped15 sweet raisins

Preparation

How to make sweet dalia (stovetop)

  1. Pour 2 tbsps ghee to a pot and heat it. Add 8 split cashews and fry until golden. Stir in 15 raisins too. When they turn plumpy, remove all of these to a plate. Set aside.
  2. To the same pot, add drained daliya and moong dal.
  3. Saute and fry until dalia turns golden and aromatic. Keep stirring to avoid burning or browning the dalia.
  4. When you begin to get a nice smell, pour 2 cups water and bring it to a boil. To quicken this process, you can also pour hot water to the dalia.
  5. Give a good mix. Cover and cook on a low to medium heat until all the water is absorbed and dalia is soft cooked.
  6. It will absorb all the water.
  7. Pour 1 ½ cups of milk and give a good stir. Mix well and cook until the dalia turns slightly thicker yet is of pouring consistency.
  8. When it reaches a desired consistency, add cardamom powder. If using sugar, add it as well and give a good mix until it dissolves. Turn off the stove. To know the consistency, you may check the video above in the recipe card. If using jaggery, remove the pot from the stove and cool down a bit, then stir in the jaggery. I used jaggery here. Add cashews and raisins. Serve sweet dalia warm.

Sweet daliya in Instant pot

Notes: I have tested this recipe in a 6 QT instant pot with the above mentioned quantities of water and milk. You can also skip the dal from the recipe. Using only milk may give a burn notice.

Tips (savory version – dalia khichdi)

Lentils: I prefer to use some moong dal to make dalia. Apart from adding some protein, it also gives a better texture & flavour to the dish. You may substitute moong dal with red lentils (masoor dal), toor dal or even pancharatan dal. Veggies: You can use veggies like tomatoes, peas, carrots, beans, potatoes and bell peppers. You can also use any one of the veggies too. If you do not have any veggies, you can also just make it with dalia, moong dal and spices. Just squeeze in some lemon juice while serving. Spices: Apart from cumin, chili powder and ginger I haven’t used any spices but still it tastes delicious. However you can also add more whole spices like bay leaf, cinnamon stick, cloves and cardamoms. Alternately you may also add some garam masala. But I really don’t feel the need. Consistency: For a runny, porridge like consistency you may add more water. Related Recipes

Recipe card

This post was first published in November 2015, Republished in June 2020

Dalia recipe for babies

I had few requests for a good dalia recipe for babies, so sharing it. My kids refused to eat dalia until they completed 2 years, the reason – the texture was not liked as it is not very smooth like the mashed rice. When they turned 2, i started to pressure cook dalia and moong dal together with veggies. Then season with ghee, ginger, hing, turmeric and pepper cumin. Over the years, the recipe under went so many changes and now i make it the way i described above in step by step pictures. Here are the proportions i used to make for them. Do try and share if your little one likes it. The below quantity makes dalia khichdi good enough for the mum and toddler. For babies under 18 months, i do not suggest feeding this for dinner. Avoid feeding this late in the night after 7.30 pm even to normal babies. Moong dal is not suitable to some babies during winters, so you can try with toor dal. Avoid using potatoes, tomatoes if your baby has colic. Ingredients for dalia

¼ cup broken wheat¼ cup moong dal or toor dal (can reduce to 2 tbsp)2 cups of water¼ to ½ cup veggies

for seasoning

ghee 1 tbspcumin or jeera powder as needed1 tsp ginger pastepinch of turmericpepper powder/ajwain (avoid in summer)

Steps to make dalia recipe

You can dry roast dal and dalia separately in large quantity. Cool them and store in steel or glass jars. This step is optional but lends a good aroma.Soak them together for at least 1 hour. If your baby has colic i suggest soaking for 2 hours. Soaking helps to cook the dalia soft and baby will like the texture. It also helps to digest better.Drain off the dal and dalia. Add 2 cups fresh water and pressure cook on medium to low flame for 2 whistles.When you open the lid, you will find it gooey. The texture we often feed the babies. If you like to mash it further, you can. But for 2 whistles mine gets cooked very soft. Add salt and stir. You can skip the seasoning and add turmeric, ghee, cumin directly to the cooked dalia. Feed when it comes down to warm temperature. During winters you can also add a pinch of ajwain powder, dry ginger powder (saunt/sonti). Avoid if baby has constipation.I used to feed my toddlers without seasoning. You can make seasoning to the mum’s portion of dalia khichdi.

For complete baby food chart and recipes, you can check this post onbaby food chart for 6 months old and this one forbabies from 8 months.

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