My husband makes the best kitchari, period! And not to brag or anything, but he’s an authentic Indian human being so… you can only imagine how good this stuff is.
People will literally come over to our house for lunch and request that he make it. Which he thinks is hilarious because kitchari isn’t like some delicacy. It’s the Indian equivalent of chicken noodle soup – or so he says.
If you’re still wondering what the heck kitchari is, I’ll tell you.
Kitchari is an Indian dish made from rice, mung dal (split mung beans), spices and ghee. This recipe uses coconut oil, but you can easily replace the coconut oil with ghee.
Here’s why it’s amazing:
- It removes toxins from the body
- Improves Agni (which is the Ayurvedic term for digestion or “digestive fire”)
- It is easy to digest
- It is a complete protein
- It is nourishing enough to eat all day long
- It is tridoshic (meaning that whether you at vata, pitta or kapha you can eat this)!
Click here to read more about Ayurveda and the Dosha’s!
Traditionally, Kitchari is made with ghee, which is one of the reasons it is so healing and therapeutic.
Now, don’t call the vegan police on me, but I actually do consume ghee.
*WEOO WEOO WEOO*
Guys, seriously, I told you not to call?!
Here I am, chuckling to myself as I write. Does anyone else laugh at their own jokes? Just me? Cool… cool…
Anyways,
For the longest time I was very against eating ghee because, well, I’m vegan! I don’t want to cause harm to cows, and to me, any factory farming or exploitation of cows is not something I want to support.
But..
Yup, there is a but. I am a big supporter of empowering people to make their own choices, and do what is in favour of their health. Ghee has a ton of health benefits, and if sourced properly (like, say, free range, from a local farm in India), I’m all for it with certain dishes.
I started consuming this local ghee (well, Indian local, we brought it back with us), when I had Satya. Ghee has great healing properties for post-partum mothers, and I wanted to take advantage of those.
I leave it to you to decide what to do, but this recipe tastes delish with either coconut oil OR ghee. (I would use organic refined coconut oil so as not to have an overly coconutty flavour).
Ok, enough about ghee, and on to the recipe!
I insisted that Vikram teach me how to make this recipe before he left for Mysore. The thought of going a whole month without his famous kitch’ just didn’t seem possible. And now so many of you are requesting this delicious recipe, and he has so kindly agreed that I may share it with the world.
This might be our big break people!! We’ll remember you when we open up our world famous Kitch’ Cafe.
Ok so, there’s a couple things you need to know about this recipe BEFORE I give you the deets.
Using SPLIT MOONG DAL is important.
The first time I ever made kitch, I used the whole green mung beans. And now that I think about it, I tried making it when Vikram and I first started dating and he told me about Kitchari. I guess we weren’t serious enough for him to give me the full recipe. I just knew there were mung beans, rice and spices. I think I guessed the spices and assumed there would be turmeric, curry powder, and cayenne pepper.
It was gross.
Anyways, the mung beans that you need will be yellow in colour, small, and look like little mini split peas. You can find these at specialty indian stores. OR, if you happen to live in an area that is populated with several people of Indian descent *cough* Brampton/Missisauga/Markham *cough* you should be able to find them at your local grocery store.
“Tempering” your spices enhances the flavour and makes them more digestible.
Ok so one of the steps in the recipe is to temper the spices by sautéing them in oil for a few minutes before adding everything in. This is important for a couple reasons.
- This will allow the flavours to burst forth from the spices and come out into the oils making your kitch super delish.
- By allowing the spices to be in oil for a few minutes will allow the fat soluble constituents in them to be more easily digested.
Soak your rice and beans for about 20-30 minutes ahead of time.
If you’re in a bit of a pinch you could probably skip this step, but your cooking time will be reduced, and the texture of your kitch will be way better if you just soak it in some water for about a 1/2 hour before cooking.
The other awesome thing about kitch is that you can add any vegetable to the mix, and it tastes freakin’ awesome.
We like to add:
- Spinach (which I would recommend adding close to the end before serving).
- Sweet potatoes (add in at the beginning so they can soften up)
- Carrots (also add in at the beginning)
- Kale (Add in closer to the end)
- Onions (you can actually saute these in the beginning with your spices)
- Tomatoes (add these at the beginning and they’ll give your kitch a bit of a sweet flavour)
- Beets (Add these in the beginning as well so they can soften up)
Pretty much anything you want, you can add!
Alright, I’m so excited for you to try out this recipe. It’s:
- Warming
- Nourishing
- Soul nurturing
- Delicious
- Simple
- Healing
Let us know what you think about this recipe if you make it in the comments below! Do you have your own recipe? What’s your spice mix?!
| Servings |
people
|
- 1 cup brown rice
- 1 cup Moong Dal (split yellow mung beans)
- 1 tbsp coconut oil or ghee
- 1/4 tsp mustard seeds
- 1/4 tsp Whole Cumin
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 1/4 tsp ginger powder
- 1/4-1/2 tsp salt to taste
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper optional
Ingredients
|
|
- Place your mung beans and rice in a bowl with water, and let sit for about 30 minutes
- In a large pot over medium heat, place coconut oil and seeds (mustard ad cumin). Allow the seeds enough time to "pop." This may take several minutes depending on how hot your stove is, but you'll hear the sound of crackling. Let them crackle for about 45 seconds. After about 45 seconds add the rest of the spices and saute for another 30 or so seconds so they can mix well with the oil.
- Now, discard the water from your rice and mung bean mixture, and place them in the pot with the spices. Mix this around BEFORE adding in the water so everything can get nice and mixed in.
- Add in 7 cups of water, and bring to a boil leaving the lid OFF the pot initially. Once the water comes to a boil, reduce the heat to low/medum (we go down to 3 on our stove) and let simmer, stirring occasionally (about every 10~ minutes)
- The kitch is done when the rice and lentils start clumping together and it seems like they are "sticking" to the bottom. The consistency will be thick, but soupy. If you want your kitch thicker, just leave it on the stove a little longer (but watch as it can get thick quite quickly).
- Let cool for about 10 minutes before serving. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed.
- Kitch is best eaten on the same day its made, but if you're saving it for a few days it will thicken up significantly in the fridge. To reheat, add about 1/2 cup of water as you heat it to bring back the soupy consistency. Or leave it thick if that's your jam.
- Add more cayenne pepper as needed (if you like it spicy, add more)!
- Feel free to add in additional veggies to add some micronutrients to this meal. Season and local is best! We love spinach, sweet potatoes, carrots and onions!
Leave a Reply