The ultimate Indian comfort food. A warm bowl of kitchari is a complete, nourishing, easy to digest and incredibly satisfying meal. Cooked plain with spices but without added vegetables and fat it is often used to assist ayurveda detox programs. In this recipe I used plenty of vegetables and ghee to make it utterly butterly delicious. The combination of white basmati rice and yellow moong dal makes a complete protein, providing all ten essential amino acids. Both the basmati rice and yellow moong dal are easy to digest and long grain basmati rice has a lower glycemic index than any other short grain rice. In short: this is an easy, healthy, complete meal that will have you craving for more!
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup split moong dal (lentils)
- 1/2 cup basmati rice
- 1 tbsp ghee
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
- 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
- 10 curry leaves
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp minced ginger
- 2 small tomatoes, chopped
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
- 2 cups mixed chopped vegetables (such as green beans, carrots, pumpkin, bottle gourd, cauliflower)
- 3 1/2 cups water
- 1 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
- 2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
Preparation:
- In a large sauce pan, heat the ghee
- Add the spices and fry until the seeds start to crackle
- Add the onion and ginger and fry untill onions are translucent
- Add the tomatoes, turmeric powder and chopped veggies and fry for a few minutes more
- Add rice, lentils, water and salt and bring to a boil
- Cover and simmer for 30 – 40 minutes or until cooked
- Stir in chopped coriander
Serve with yoghurt and some pickle.
