LFC Mumbai | August 2026
Anamika: For me, khichdi was never just khichdi alone. I had to eat it with my nani’s mango pickle—the sweet-and-sour one, made in mustard oil.
Milind: Papad!
Persis: Ghee, because irrespective of anything else you may have with rice, it still needs a dollop of ghee.
Sushma: For me it’s ghee with roasted cumin seeds. I also like having rice with tomato sabji.
Yasho: Yes, homemade ghee and metkoot—a roasted gram-and-spice powder, which is a Maharashtrian pantry staple.
Sushma: Cumin seed powder.
Sabika: For me, it’s my mom’s chicken qorma, a Lucknowi preparation.
Riddhi: Golkeri achaar with rice and papad.
Seema: Curd rice with a little jeeralu (a Gujarati version of chaat masala). Jeeralu is found in most Gujarati homes, especially in southern Gujarat.
Rahul: Rice with dal, a chicken or fish gravy, and salad.
Richa: I make this version of curd rice at home: I add turmeric and red chilli powder in the tadka, with lots of curry leaves and green chillies. It’s a comforting dish, and quick to make.
Vidhi: For me dal-rice is incomplete without coriander chutney and a simple, homemade raw mango pickle. Also, when we make curd rice with tadka, my mom’s special add-on is halved green grapes.
Kalawizster: Sliced black grapes, and jewel-like pomegranate in curd rice is amazing, paired with a little soonth powder.
Anamika: I love having dried red chilli with curd rice. It’s called mor milagai.
Read about Bhaat Nu Osaman, a desi rice-based drink consumed in the hills of Dahod and Panchmahal in Gujarat, part of the book Silent Cuisines by Sheetal Bhatt. The book documents Gujarat’s folk rice varieties kept alive by Adivasi communities.