ayurveda

Kitchari

Kitchari, a porridge-like ayurvedic dish, is comforting and detoxifying. Works well for either breakfast, lunch or dinner. It keeps well in the fridge so you can consume it every day for a few days. This recipe makes 2-3 portions.

Ingredients:

  • 50g red lentils (originally, the recipe calls for mung beans but lentils are much faster to cook)

  • 100g basmati rice

  • Clarified butter / ghee or coconut oil

  • 2 cm of fresh ginger, finely chopped

  • 1 tea spoon of cumin seeds or 1/2 tea spoon of ground cumin

  • 1 tea spoon of black mustard seeds, skip if you haven´t got any

  • 1/4 tea spoon of coriander powder

  • 1/4 tea spoon of turmeric powder

  • 750 ml - 1 litre of water or stock

  • Vegetables of choice (carrot, green peas, spinach and shiitake mushrooms work well)

  • Optional: yoghurt (can be goat, sheep or plant based), sesame seeds, fresh coriander

Method:

  1. Wash the lentils and rice. If you want to save time, you can keep them in water overnight. They will cook very fast the next day.

  2. Heat a table spoon of ghee or oil in pot and add all spices for a minute to release the aromas.

  3. Add liquid and the rest of ingredients, and cook for 20 minutes (10 minutes if pre-soaked)

    The lentils and rice should be mushy and have porridge-like consistency.

    Serve with extra ghee or oil stirred in and optionally top with a heaped table spoon of yoghurt for extra protein, sesame seeds and fresh coriander.