Kitchari
They call it "hospital food" in India but I do believe it to be one of my favourite meals of all time 🤣
It cannot get simpler than this when you want to make a proper meal that is easy to digest and nourishing at the same time.
The simplest version goes without any vegetables - it's just rice, mung dal, turmeric and ghee. Nothing else.
You can add any vegetables and other spices of your choice, and thus tailor your kitchari to suit your needs:
If you need to balance your Vata, add more heating spices (cumin, ajwain, cardamom, ginger...) and some sweet vegetables such as root veg or squash. Also add a bit more oil - either ghee or some high quality cold-pressed oil (olive, sesame, rapeseed, sunflower..)
If you need to cool down your Pitta, add cooling stuff (fennel, coriander, juicy sweet or green vegetables such as zucchini, fennel, broccoli...)
If you need to get rid of some excessive Kapha, add some detoxifying vegetables (salad, green stuff, light veg) and heating spices (just like Vata) - and careful with the ghee or oil, take less.
You can mix the vegetables and the extra spices together with your kitchari, or put it on the side.
If you want to keep your kitchari balancing, avoid onion, garlic (maybe try leek instead), inflammatory vegetables (tomatoes, aubergine, potatoes, bell peppers), super spicy stuff (chilli, masalas etc) and excessive use of oil.
Ingredients
Cca two portions, depending on your appetite :)
1 cup mung dal (yellow split dal, not the whole mung beans)
1/2 cup basmati rice
4 cups of water (at least!) or vegetable stock
1-2 teaspoons of ghee
1 teaspoon of turmeric
Salt to taste
Plus any additional vegetables or spices according to your intention.
How to make one
It's super simple. You just cook it all. There are two basic ways how to approach this:
Pre-cook everything separately (mung dal, rice, vegetables) and then mix it all together when it is soft, add turmeric and other spices and cook it all together for a couple more minutes
Cook everything together the whole time (one pot with mung dal, rice, spices and veggies)
I personally prefer this method:
cook basmati rice and mung dal in one large pot together - with a LOT of water
when rice and dal are soft, roast the spices (and vegetables if you are using any) on a bit of ghee or oil on a separate pan
mix the spices with the dal/rice mixture, add salt to taste and let it sit for a while
enjoy
Remember that the final consistency should look more like soup than porridge. Keep checking if there is enough water and whenever you find your kitchari getting thick, add more water or stock.
Have fun with your kitchari!
Ivu
When to indulge
You can use this smoothie in various detox methods. One of my favourites is having a Shak Rasam fast - taking one whole day to drink only this smoothie whenever I feel hungry, instead of any meals or solid food. This fast is great for someone suffering from a Pitta-Kapha disorder, or as prevention for Pitta/Kapha aggravated people or constitutions. Vata aggravated people should not fast at all, or very differently. Hit me up, if you are unsure of your situation and proper fasting for you!
Once in a while, everyone can enjoy this smoothie though! Drink it especially when you feel like eating but you wouldn’t digest a proper meal at the time - for example:
first thing in the morning
between meals as a snack
in the evening when you are not hungry enough for dinner
whenever you are not hungry but have cravings for a snack
Enjoy!
Ivu