By Dheer Sanghi 

Khichdi is one of India’s most widespread and popular dishes, made in a variety of ways over several regions, mostly situated in the North. Made with rice and lentils, khichdi is very easy to make and has high nutritional value. It is also commonly given to babies as their first solid food due to their soft texture. 

This everyday staple food crops up throughout Indian mythology. One such story is about God Shani’s love for khichdi made with black lentils. It is said that his mother, Goddess Chhaya, performed extreme penance when he was in her womb, going without food and water for days, and practising severe austerity under the blazing sun. This made the baby in the womb dark, but not before he inherited great powers due to his mother’s penance. For this reason, it is believed that Shani loves dark-coloured foods, especially khichdi!

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