Written By: Upneet Pansare | Updated : November 3, 2017 10:15 AM IST
The world was divided in two yesterday when news started doing the rounds that Indian government would declare khichdi as the 'national food of India.' What happened was this- Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal announced at a conference that khichdi would be designated as 'Brand India Food' during a 3-day World Food India event organised by the food processing ministry in association with the Confederation of Indian Industries starting November 3. Media outlets interpreted it incorrectly and reported that khichdi would be given the status of national food of India. Soon 'Khichdi' started trending on Twitter and Facebook. People quickly expressed their approval/displeasure over this humble Indian culinary staple. Today, however, the minister clarified on her Twitter that khichdi will only be put for a record entry. On the second day of the event, on November 4, chef Sanjeev Kapoor, the brand ambassador of World Food India, will cook over 800 kg of khichdi which will be distributed among 60,000 underprivileged children.
While the idea of having one 'national food' for a country that has such diverse gastronomy sounds a bit weird, we went ahead and asked fitness experts and nutritionists what they would pick as India's national food (or should we say Brand India Food). It's not surprising that the highly nutritious khichdi gets a thumbs up from these experts. Here's what they had to say:
"I can't think of any food that's more nutritious than khichdi. We always feed khichdi to someone who is unwell because khichdi is packed with so much nutrition, it's not rich, oily or spicy and it can be customized the way you want. It actually has the power to heal your body. It is a comfort food for a reason. Rice with lentils and a little bit of ghee is the perfect medicine for the body."
Deanne Pandey, celeb fitness trainer
"Khichdi is a well-balanced food provided it is not made with highly refined oil, genetically modified vegetables, pulses or grains. Khichdi enriched with ingredients like moong dal, rice with the husk on like red rice, jeera, kalonji is very wholesome. Besides khichdi, my vote would go to our traditional Indian meal of dal, chawal with a serving of vegetables."
Luke Coutinho, MD Alternative Medicine and Holistic Nutritionist
"The best thing about khichdi is that as food, it can cater to all age groups, all strata of the society and to all tastes. The ideal khichdi combination should be 3 parts of cereal like rice, bajra or millet with 1 part lentils like dal, moong, matki or chana. When the khichdi is cooked in this proportion, it becomes class 1 protein. The health index of this khichdi is comparable to class 1 protein like paneer, eggs etc. It is easiest to digest and can be fortified with ghee for its medicinal properties and vegetables for its fibre. This makes it a great weight loss food too!"
Khyati Rupani, founder of www.balancenutrition.in
"National food must contain local, staple ingredients. Accessibility, affordability and taste are important points to consider too. With high sugar levels, insulin resistance, diabetes, and obesity in the country, the consumption of white rice should be minimized. Dalia khichdi can be a good option since it has high fibre, complex carbohydrates that will stabilize blood sugar levels and control obesity."
Karishma Chawla, nutritionist, Eat Rite 24x7
"The reason I recommend khichdi is because it is a complete Indian food. It transcends class and regional barriers. But the khichdi should be made properly with pure desi ghee and organic spices. I would also happily recommend Rajma chawal! It has good protein and excellent taste."
Pragya Bhatt, yoga expert
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