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Kichiri quroot
Rice and mung beans
کچری قروت (kichiri quroot): sticky Afghan rice and mung beans with a garlicky dried-yogurt sauce and hot mint oil
Ask Afghans what their grandmother cooked on cold winter evenings and kichiri quroot comes up again and again: a soft mound of short-grain rice and mung beans cooked until creamy and sticky, with a well pressed into the top and filled with qurut, the salty sauce made from dried yogurt balls. Hot oil with dried mint is poured over just before it reaches the table, and the rice is eaten with a spoon from a shared plate. Families in Kabul often serve it with a pan of meatballs in tomato sauce on the side; this is the meatless version, which is just as common on a quiet night. If you rinse all the starch away it will never turn sticky, so wash the rice only once. Chef's tip: if you can't find qurut, thick strained yogurt with a pinch of salt and garlic gives you something close.
- Total time
- 75 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the kichiri
- 3 ½ oz whole mung beansrinsed and soaked 1 hour
- 5 cups water
- 3 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 onionfinely chopped
- 10 ½ oz short-grain ricerinsed once
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 1 /2 tsp ground black pepper
For the qurut sauce
- 3 ½ oz qurut (dried yogurt), crumbledor 250 g thick strained yogurt plus 1/2 tsp salt
- ¾ cup warm wateruse only 2 tbsp with strained yogurt
- 3 cloves garliccrushed
For the mint oil
- 4 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 tsp dried mint
- 1 /2 tsp red chilli flakes (optional)
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Method
0/9 doneStep 1: If using hard qurut, put 3 ½ oz qurut (dried yogurt), crumbled in a bowl with ¾ cup warm water and leave it to soften while the kichiri cooks.
2 minStep 2: Drain 3 ½ oz whole mung beans and simmer in 5 cups water in a heavy pan over a medium heat for about 20 minutes, until the beans are tender and just starting to split.
20 minStep 3: Meanwhile, heat 3 tbsp sunflower oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and fry 1 onion for 7–8 minutes until golden.
7 minStep 4: Add the onion, 10 ½ oz short-grain rice, 1 ½ tsp salt and 1 /2 tsp ground black pepper to the beans, bring back to the boil, then cook over a medium-low heat for 18–20 minutes, stirring often and scraping the bottom, until the rice has swollen, the grains are breaking and the mixture is thick and sticky. Add a splash of hot water if it catches.
20 minStep 5: Wrap the lid in a clean tea towel, cover the pan tightly and leave over the lowest heat for 15 minutes so the rice finishes softening in its own steam.
15 minStep 6: Rub or whisk the softened qurut until smooth and pourable like thick cream, then stir in 3 cloves garlic.
Step 7: Pile the kichiri onto a warm platter, smooth it into a mound and press a wide hollow into the top with the back of a ladle; fill it with the qurut sauce.
Step 8: Heat 4 tbsp sunflower oil in a small pan over a medium heat until shimmering, take it off the heat and stir in 1 tsp dried mint and 1 /2 tsp red chilli flakes; it will sizzle.
1 minStep 9: Pour the hot mint oil over the qurut and rice and serve at once.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 520 kcal
- Protein
- 18 g
- Carbs
- 80 g
- Fat
- 15 g
- Fibre
- 6 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does kichiri quroot take?
- About 75 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 60 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of short-grain rice?
- Any long-grain rice, same amount.
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