Kitchari
Kitcharee (kitchari) is a one-pot dish usually made with split mung beans, some kind of grain or seed (bismati rice or quinoa), and spices. It is a simple meal that is meant to be nourishing and easy for the body to digest.
This warm dish is highly nourishing, calms the mind, and balancing to all three doshas. Beans, rich in soluble and insoluble fiber, cleanse the digestive tract, reduce cholesterol, and bulk up stools for easy elimination. Mung beans are especially easy to digest and don't cause usual gas and bloating. The spice stimulates the tongue... which means it also stimulates the stomach.
Prep: Soak mung beans in water for a couple of hours to overnight. (always an option to make the mung even easier to digest)
Kitchari
Ingredients:
1 cup brown basmati rice
½ mug Dahl (split mung beans)
2 Tbsp spicy oil
½ tsp salt
1 Tbsp masala spice
1 tsp ground sesame seeds
1 Tbsp shredded coconut
3 cups boiling water
4 tsp ghee
Directions:
Rinse rice and dahl in warm water then drain. In a large pot sauté rice and dahl with 2 Tbsp spicy oil for 3-4 minutes. Add water, masala spice, salt, ground sesame seeds, and coconut. Cook on medium heat until rice is cooked. Garnish with cilantro and serve with 1.5 tsp ghee and minced ginger.
INGREDIENTS
Ghee
½ tsp coriander
½ tsp cumin
¼ tsp cardamom
¼ tsp fennel seed, ground
¾ tsp turmeric
1 tsp salt ¼ cup white basmati, rinsed well
½ cup mung beans, soaked overnight
3 ½ cups water or vegetable broth
Put it all together:
Cover the bottom of the pot with ghee or oil
Add spices and warm until fragrant
Drain the mung beans and add them with the rice to stock pot
Stir until coated with the spice mixture
Add the water (boiling hot is best) or hot vegetable broth and bring to a boil
Lower heat and simmer for 30-45 minutes until well cooked Garnish with cilantro, lime and fresh ginger!!
Ingredients:
Tarka: 1 tablespoon sesame oil heated, 1 tsp black mustard seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds...heat till popping...add 1 tsp turmeric, pinch of hing,
1 T crushed coriander seeds.
1 Tsp sesame seeds powdered
1 Tsp salt
2 T ghee
1 T masala curry spice mix
1 T dried desiccated coconut
1 T brown natural sugar (optional, and omit for Kapha)
3 1⁄2 cups boiling water
1 cup basmati rice
1/2 cup mung dal
Directions:
Rinse rice and dal in warm water and drain. In a pot, make tarka and add rice and dal and sauté for 3-4 mins. Add boiling water, masala, salt, sesame pwd, coriander powder, and coconut. Cook on medium heat until rice is almost cooked. Add ghee and sugar.
Stir and cook for another 2 – 3 mins on low heat. Garnish with Cilantro and serve warm.
Kitchari Masala
“Masala” means spice mix. Of course there are innumerable ways to make a spice mix. Here is one recipe to gently kindle agni and stir up digestive juices. Feel free to use this spice mix as is, or amend for your dosha.
4 cups coriander seeds 1⁄2 cup sesame seeds 2 T Turmeric
2 t hing (aseofotida) 5-6 bay leaves
1 cup desiccated coconut
1⁄4 generous cup cumin seeds
2 t cloves
2-3 sticks cinnamon
1⁄4 cup salt sea salt
Warm coriander, cumin, cloves and cinnamon in oven at 250 degrees for 5-7 minutes in a cast iron pan or roasting pan.
Add remaining ingredients and blend to make a powder in small batches careful not to overheat the sesame and turn it into paste.
INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon coconut oil
2 teaspoons mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 yellow onion, diced (yields about 1 1/3 cups)
3 carrots, peeled and diced
1 tablespoons minced ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
3/4 cup basmati or jasmine rice, rinsed
1 cup dried moong dal* or red lentils, rinsed
4 cups vegetable broth
2 cups water
Optional Toppings
chili oil
cilantro
lemon wedges
INSTRUCTIONS
Heat the coconut oil in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds and toast them until the mustard seeds start to pop, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add the onions, carrots, ginger, and garlic. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently to keep the vegetables and spices from burning.
Once the onions have softened, add the salt, turmeric, cloves, and black pepper and stir until the spices coat the vegetables. Add the rice, moong dal, vegetable broth, and water. Bring everything to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Cover the pot and simmer the kitchari for about 20 minutes. After 15 minutes of cooking, check to see if there are still enough liquids in the pot. If you notice that the liquids are completely absorbed by the rice and beans, add 1/2 to 1 cup of water and stir to incorporate.
Remove the lid and check to see if the rice is tender. If the kitchari is looking too runny, let it simmer, uncovered, for a few more minutes. If the kitchari is too thick, turn off the heat and add 1/2 to 1 cup of water and stir. Taste and see if you need to add a small pinch of salt.
Serve the kitchari in bowls, along with chili oil, cilantro, and lemon wedges, if you like.
ORANGE PEEL DIGESTIVE KICHAREE
Orange peel is an excellent sour digestive remedy. Sautéed or steamed, it can be added to foods to enhance Agni and facilitate digestion. Yogi Bhajan taught about the basics of this recipe. He described it as balancing metals and vitamins in the body.
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup rice
2 cups water
1 onion, medium, coarsely chopped
1 peel from medium orange (include white strings inside),
finely chopped
1 cup previously boiled chickpeas
1 Tbs. red chili, crushed, or to taste
1 cup assorted green vegetables, coarsely chopped
2 Tbs. Sesame oil
DIRECTIONS:
In large soup pot, combine rice and water. Bring to boil. Add onion, cook until soft. Add orange peel, chickpeas, red chilies, green vegetables and oil. Simmer until vegetables soft. All ingredients may be adjusted to taste.
MODIFICATIONS:
You may add ginseng broth to this dish as well.
How to Make Kitchari
Kitchari is a time honored way of giving your bowel something easy to digest There are many different ways that people make their kitchari and the below recipe is after years of my own trial and error and I think represents the most medicinal approach to kitchari How long you do a kitchari monodiet is up to you but at least one week...longer based on agni If you’re having challenges with diarrhea, constipation, or a combination then agni is clearly challenged and even 2-3months may be necessary until agni is reestablished Over a prolonged period of time kitchari may be constipating so use prunes to help maintain gut peristalsis
Kitchari is commonly suggested when going through detoxification periods or preparing for panchakarma Cravings will clear as you continue to use it
Materials(each is spefically important)...all are in the ic-solutions.tv store
Small split mung dal(available Amazon online)
Ghee
Spices(fennel seed in powder or seed, hing, turmeric, coriander, cumin, fresh ginger)
Basmati rice
Vegetables according to season and energy makeup
Four Basic Steps
1 Place 1 cup split mung dal to 6 cups boiling water and cook until soft and almost formless
If you want it more or less watery, add more or less water...as cooking progresses will need to add more water
Can add small amount of white chicken or buffalo if you feel you need it while cooking the dal...meat doesn’t have to be cooked separate from the dal as it cooks in the boiling water
At the end of cooking after the below spice mixture is added you can add green leafies such as kale to the dal if you like
Don’t use a pressure cooker
You can soak the dal overnight with or without ajwain seeds but it’s not necessary
If you cook on too high a heat this will foam badly...even boil over....so slow prolonged moderate heat....when the dal is breaking down to almost where the dal is not recognizable turn down the heat even more to prevent spattering Add the spices and you’re done!
2 In a separate skillet(preferably castiron)
2-3T ghee
2t fennel seeds or fennel powder(if you have an electric seed grinder)
3t mustard seeds(optional according to instructions)...if diarrhea do not add When the fennel seeds are brown and/or the mustard seeds are popping add When seeds are brown add
2t turmeric powder
2t cumin seeds or cumin powder
2t coriander powder
1 pinch of hing(asafetida....hard to find Amazon is best place)
Add 2T chopped ginger (approximately 1-2 inches of ginger root) to the above mixture to soak up the residual ghee and cook in the other spices
Slow cook ....this cooking step should only take five minutes on low to moderate heat If there is the aromatic aroma of cooking spices in the kitchen then you have overcooked the spices because the cooking has liberated VOC(volatile organic compounds) which are the important molecules that aid in digestion If the seeds are black they have been overcooked
Add this mixture when the dal is soft and beginning to fall apart as above
3 Boil vegetables based on your energy makeup
This is done separately and added to the below rice and dal mixture when ready to eat along with below condiments The choice of vegetables can be determined by looking at foodsheal.com Nightshades(tomato potato eggplant) should be avoided during the fall(Sept through December)
4 Basmati rice or Quinoa
1cup basmati rice or quinoa in 2cups water ....boil off water and off the heat before the grain begins sticking to the pan This leaves enough water for the dehydration that occurs with refrigeration
Serve mung dal/spice mixture and veggies over basmati rice Salt and lime to taste
Can add cut cilantro leaf, unsweetened coconut, sunflower seeds, cashews, skinless almonds, extra ghee, or mustard for taste You can also give apple cider vinegar based salad dressings as a way to change up the taste
When reheating in a saucepan use 1T ghee to help lubricate the pan...mix the above ingredients together...add water as desired as refrigeration tends to dehydrate the mixtures
When the dal spice mixture is really hot you can put this over rice from the refrigerator and it comes out perfect room temperature
All above step cooked ingredients stored separately in the refrigerator for maximum 48hours(best is 24hours)...bring together for heating for meals placing in bowl or thermos for work.... then discard and start again
