The Best Of Khichdi & Instant Khichdi

The series portrays the life of an eccentric Gujarati joint family living in Mumbai. The family is led by the elderly Tulsidas Parekh and consists of his offspring, who he acquired at a local carnival. The first season, particularly the initial episodes, focus on the idiosyncratic members of the family who are only united by their desire to separate from each other. Since the patriarch does not permit them to sell off their house and separate into nuclear families, they live on hoping that he changes his mind or passes away. Eventually, they move into a much larger house left behind by a deceased aunt.

-They become overnight millionaires when they discover oil in their older property. The second season portrays humorous depictions of a bourgeois family that is trying to settle itself into higher society with their new-found wealth. They live on in their own eccentric way, trying to ace the lives of the super-rich.

The first season portrayed the trials and tribulations of a joint family and often touched an emotional cord. Later on, particularly in the second season the show started focusing more on the situational comedy, as the characters started fitting themselves into their eccentricities. Several new characters were added during the course of the show.

Characters

• Tulsidas, the family patriarch. He is always in a bad mood but is known to have a good heart. His wife, Damyanti, died within a few years of their marriage. Tulsidas lives with his family in his very old ancestral house called 'Mohan Niwas'. He does not agree to sell it at any cost, in spite of repeated persuasion from his children. He appears to be fed up of his family members but, deep down, loves them. All family members call him 'Babuji'.
• Praful, eldest son of Tulsidas. He is notoriously stupid. He is often seen interpreting things at face value, leading to hilarious situations. He never does anything right, which makes people (especially Tulsidas) mad at him. He also translates English words for his wife, although always incorrectly.
• Hansa, Praful's wife. She is as stupid as Praful, or perhaps more than him. She never works in the house, while repeating, "Mein kaam karoongi" ("I will work"). She is always richly dressed and cannot live without wearing 'Gajre' (strings of flowers) in her hair. She doesn't speak English and hence needs to have it translated by Praful, which has great comic results.
• Jayshree, widowed daughter-in-law of Tulsidas. She is the wife of Praful's dead brother, Bharat. She loves to cook & gossip and is often seen on the phone talking to her Ba (mother). She controls the management of the household. She aims to sell 'Mohan Niwas' and live in an independent apartment. She always irritates Tulsidas while serving tea to him. Interestingly, Hansa and Jayshree are childhood friends.
• Himanshu, Hansa's brother. He has a Catering business. He comes to live with the Parekhs. His favorite line is "Kissi ko pata bhi nahi chalega" He gets married to Parminder.
• Bhavesh Kumar, Mira's husband. He lives with the Parekhs instead of in his own house. He is always hungry and keeps eating all the time, without doing any work.
• Chakki, daughter of Praful and Hansa. Unlike her parents, she is intelligent. She has a catchphrase, "Bade Log Bade Log" which she repeats along with her cousin Jacky.
• Jacky, son of Jayshree. Like Chakki, he is also intelligent and has the catchphrase "Bade Log Bade Log", which he says along with Chakki.
• Raju, third son of Tulsidas. He starts flirting with any young beautiful girl he meets. He is married to Melissa.
• Melissa, Raju's wife. She is beautiful and well-educated . She comes from a Christian family. Tulsidas regularly says, "Maine to pehle hi kaha tha yeh ladki Raju ke liye theek nahi hai". Jayshree is jealous of Melissa and calls her 'kadki'.
• Heera, daughter of Tulsidas. She is very lazy and always has the urge to go to toilet. She is half-an-hour elder than her fraternal-twin sister Mira.
• Mira, youngest daughter of Tulsidas. She always behaves like a teacher and holds a teaching stick in her hands. She is married to Bhawesh Kumar.