Seasoned Rice Porridge (Huggi, Kani Phaan)

Seasoned Rice Porridge (Huggi, Kani Phaan)

A flavourful, spicy, simple rice dish prepared from broken rice grains by konkanis is called huggi. Huggi makes a yummy, healthy, filling breakfast or evening snack when eaten hot with lots of coconut oil. This simple rice dish is subtle, with a flavourful seasoning, aroma and taste of fresh coconut, cumin and ginger in it. Lots of coconut oil on top of hot huggi adds loads of taste to it.

We love our rice and this dish is traditionally prepared using broken rice grains. Our ancestors devised a way to use broken rice grains (as they aren't good for preparing rice) by preparing a dish out of it called huggi. The broken rice grains are called kani in konkani, phaan means seasoning in konkani, hence, also the name kani phaan.

These days its difficult to find broken rice grains. You can separate them from whole rice grains if there are any. Or you can prepare huggi using whole rice grains as well.

My MIL made this dish by making kani (grinding whole rice grains in mixie) but I use whole rice grains & it tastes equally delicious.


Ingredients:

1/2 cup broken rice grains (kani) or whole rice grains
2 tabelspoons of freshly grated coconut
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 inch finely chopped/sliced ginger
2-3 green chillies
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
4 tablespoons of oil
1 dried red chilli
1 leaflet of curry leaves
1/2 teaspoon urad dal (optional)
Salt to taste

1 tablespoon of ghee (optional)


Serves: 1

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 15-20 minutes


Preparation Method:

Here's the traditional medthod:

Heat oil in a non stick pan, add mustard seeds and cumin and let them splutter.

Add urad dal, slit green chillies and fry them until urad dal starts to brown.

Then add chopped ginger, red chilli broken into small pieces, curry leaves and fry for a minute.

Add washed rice grains, salt, grated coconut and water - three times the amount of rice.

Mix well and cook closed on a low flame until done.

Once the rice's cooked and all the water has evaporated, remove off heat.

Serve hot with lots of coconut oil on top.

P.S: Be generous with the amount of oil you use in the seasoning too. Coconut oil and fresh grated coconut add the desired taste to this dish.


P.P.S: I prepare this using a pressure cooker. Every step remains the same. I just add ghee and fry the rice grains a litte for added taste. Add water just a little more water than what is required to dip all the rice grains. Tastes yum!! If the rice at the bottom browns a little tastes all the more yum!!!

I usually skip grated coconut too. I can promise you tastes yummmm.


Tags: Rice, huggi phan, kanni phaan, tea time snack, evening snack, breakfast, Konkani recipe, Konkani dish, Konkani cuisine, Udupi cuisine, Mangalore food, Konkani food, bachelor recipe