Himachal Pradesh Cooks 1,995 Kg ‘Khichdi’, Enters Guinness Book Of World Records
If there’s one food which is loved unanimously all over Northern India then it’s Khichdi. The mix of lentil, rice, and spices is a common food that is easy to make.
The dish is served even on special occasions like festivals when there’s a huge crowd to feed. While you might have heard of a lot of Khichdi stories but you might not have heard of anyone being given a Guinness World Record due to it. Yet that’s the case now. But it’s not a person who has won the Guinness World Record title, instead, it’s a state which has.
Himachal Pradesh has got a bolded name in the Guinness Book of World Records for cooking 1,995 Kg of ‘Khichdi’.
Guinness World Record adjudicator Rishi Nath announced on January 14 that the department of tourism and civil aviation had earned a place in the coveted book by cooking a record 1,995 kg of ‘khichdi’ in just a single utensil.
The decision to make the dish and in that huge of a quantity was made by the Himachal Pradesh Department of Tourism in association with Shimla-based Durga Devi Behari Lal Charitable Trust. The Khichdi was made from a combination of rice and lentils.
The President of Durga Devi Behari Lal Trust, Ramesh Sood, said that 25 chefs were engaged for five hours to prepare the Khichdi. He said that 190 kgs of pulses, 405 kgs of rice, 55 kgs of spices, 90 kgs of ghee and a whopping 1,100 liters of water were needed to make the dish.
When asked about the challenges of making such a huge amount of Khichdi, Tourism Director Yunus Khan said that they had to use a cooking utensil which was 7×4 feet in radius. He also said that this huge event was undertaken in an effort to bring more tourists to Tattapani.
But this Khichdi wasn’t made just for the explicit purpose of getting a Guinness World Record title. It was also made to serve the devotees who had gathered to celebrate Makar Sankranti. Makar Sankranti is a Hindu festival which is dedicated to a deity called Surya.
The entire occasion took place at Tattapani, which is 55 km from the state capital. Before enjoying the warm Khichdi feast, thousands of devotees braved the Himalayan winter chill to take dips in the Satluj river flowing through Tattapani in Mandi district.
In the Hindu tradition, it’s considered holy to take dips into holy rivers. While the weather was cold but the place where the devotees took a dip was actually a hot water spring.
If you are wondering if this is the first time such a thing has been attempted then you are wrong.
There is an earlier record of cooking the most amount of Khichdi. The previous record was held at 918.8 kgs. Safe to say that the new record has beaten the old one by more than a thousand kgs.
Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur appreciated the efforts of the tourism department in cooking Khichdi on such a massive scale. He was also present on an auspicious day and visited the popular Shani Dev and Narsingh temples to perform religious rituals. He hoped that the area will continue to grow as a major destination for water sports enthusiasts.
This is because the construction of the Koldam project is going on in the area and it is already attracting a lot of tourists.
This world record title will surely bring more tourists to this Indian state that is nothing less than a winter wonderland.