Khichdi

At the farmer's market this weekend I bought a punnet of mung beans on some whim. I don't know why, as I'd never had them before, but thought that I'd seen some interesting recipes that call for mung beans and would give a try. I did some googling and stumbled onto this, poorly arranged, page with lots of interesting recipes, and I opted for Khichari (aka Khichdi). I thought it was very tasty and interesting, though pretty bland. Looking over the article in wikipedia, suddenly it makes sense: it's the first food babies get and it's given to recovering patients! If only I'd known, I'd have changed it even more than I did. Oh well, for next time.
Prepare:
-Ready a cup of mung beans... I think you're supposed to peel them ahead of time, though I didn't. To do that, just soak them in some water for a while, I think-Chop up some cauliflower, carrot, tomato, onion, green onion leaf, and some hot pepper (this is what I was lacking!)-Ready spices: 1 tbsp fresh ginger, 1-2cloves crushed garlic, 1tsp turmeric, 1 tbsp cumin, 1tsp coriander powder/seeds and salt and pepper (I used crushed black and Korean red pepper powder)
-Measure out 1 cup long grain rice
Cook:
-Heat beans in a pot with 5 cups of water until soft, around 5 minutes-Add vegetables (except onions) and rice, bring to boil and lower heat to med-low
-Check when rice is soft (around 15 - 20 min, for me)-Once rice is fairly soft, in a large wok on medium heat, lightly roast onion in 2 tbsp butter/ghee for 2 minutes, and then add coriander, ginger, and garlic-Once onion is soft/translucent, add the pot of rice and vegetables into the wok-Mix in, adding cumin, turmeric, salt, pepper, and green onionTips:
-Well this was definitely bland, I needed to add way too much salt and pepper afterwards but that's okay, because I know I have to fix it for next time. The recipe didn't even call for garlic or onion but I had to add it in. In the future, I will use at least 2 chili peppers in the pot, as well as one in the wok, and up the cumin. I also may consider using a half stock/half water mix for the rice
-The recipe called for adding the vegetables 10 minutes before the rice, but this just made them so reduced that they were nonexistent, so I changed it to be with the rice. If you like vegetables more or less raw, then adjust accordingly. Other vegetables that would probably work well: broccoli, zucchini, and some kind of bean added at the end (chickpeas, for instance)
-Eat with na'an, papadums, or other flat bread