Kitch -a - WHAT? Kitchari! This healthy and easy to prepare 'porridge' is one of my favorite dishes from India and one of the most popular in Ayurveda for its healing properties. Unlike the West's fanatical juice cleanses, this easy to digest dish is eaten for breakfast, lunch and dinner to help heal and restore balance to the gut. It's a staple in my home and when I cook it for friends they gobble it up. I like more mung dal than rice in my recipe but you can play with the ratios of basmati rice to dal. Follow these guidelines but always abide by my favorite motto when cooking: PLAY WITH YOUR FOOD!
1 cup split mung dhal (split hulled mung beans)
1/2 cup white basmati rice, rinsed thoroughly until water runs clear
5 cups low sodium veggie broth, filtered water or a mix of both
1-2 carrots chopped
spinach, kale, or swiss chard
1-2 cups sliced mushrooms (optional)
1 tbsp ayurvedic spice blend (if you don't make your own you can purchase something like this.)
1 tbsp ghee
1/2 - 1 cup lite coconut milk
2 tbsp coconut amino acids
salt to taste
fresh cilantro for garnish
plain yogurt for garnish
Melt ghee in a medium saucepan and add spice blend on medium high heat until spice becomes fragrant. Add mushrooms and carrots and coast with spice and ghee mixture. Add
4 cups of broth or liquid and rice and mung dhal. Bring to boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir and mix all ingredients together. Add another cup of liquid. Stir again and continue to do so for the next 20 minutes or so so that it doesn't all stick to the pan. If it seems to be getting too dense, or the beans don't seem cooked enough, add more liquid. I like my kitchari pretty 'mushy' and less brothy so I make sure most of the liquid is evaporated. Add coconut milk and coconut aminos and stir in until blended. Add salt to taste and greens (spinach is easy and will wilt quickly - if you're doing kale or chard, it may need some more cooking time so you might want to add it earlier) cook until desired consistency. Turn off heat and let cool. Serve warm in bowl and add chopped cilantro as garnish. I also enjoy a dollop of plain (dairy free) yogurt!
You can also play with the veggies you add - zucchini, asparagus or sweet potato are options as well. This is simply my favorite combination of veggies.
You can store extra in the fridge for a day, maximum two days. Eating Ayurvedically means eating fresh food as much as possible!
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