The power of Kitchari

The power of Kitchari

Today I experimented with some Ayurvedic cooking and made some Kitchari, which is a lentil and rice stew. It’s Ayurvedic comfort food which nourishes and restores the body and is probably the equivalent of chicken soup here!

I’ve been learning a lot about Ayurveda recently, which is the sister science to Yoga. Now, I’m not really that into cooking and as a busy working mum, I don’t have a lot of time to create complicated recipes from scratch and go searching for hard to find ingredients (which puts me off trying these things!) but I have to say making Kitchari is quite simple!

I’m experimenting with it ahead of a 3 day Ayurvedic cleanse I’m going to do, to see if 1. I could make it and 2. I could actually eat it, as that is what you eat for lunch and dinner on a 3 day cleanse.  In Ayurveda a cleanse can be carried out when you are feeling a bit run down and also at the change of seasons.  It resets your digestive fire or ‘agni’ and supports your body's ability to heal and detox.

Kitchari is super nourishing and it’s the prefect food for the Postnatal period. An Ayurvedic cleanse is ideal for women at all stages of life as it will help with digestion and detoxification, both of which are great to help your hormones function optimally.

I used peas and carrots in mine as that’s all I had in, but it worked perfectly! You could experiment with different vegetables. I’m not going to say it’s the most amazing meal you’ll ever taste, but it’s pleasant enough and I could definitely cope with eating it for 3 days! It’s very filling also, so you won’t go hungry which has always put me off doing cleanses. I’ll let you know how that goes in another blog!

You could also use a pre-mixed spice blend such as this one - https://steenbergs.co.uk/kitch... - however, if you are trying to conceive, are pregnant or breastfeeding then don’t use it as it contain asafoetida.  Just stick with the simple spices below.

Ingredients (serves 4)

1 tbsp of ghee or coconut oil or butter

1 inch fresh ginger or root grated or ½ tsp ground ginger

Up to 1 tbsp curry powder or garam masala (to taste)

½ tsp of turmeric

Vegetables of your choice (I used peas and carrots!)

200 grams of lentils

100 grams of basmati rice

1 litre of vegetable stock or water


Method

  1. Soak the rice and lentils in cold water while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
  2. Warm the ghee/butter/coconut oil in a large pot with lid, until melted.
  3. Gently fry the ginger root for 1 minute
  4. Rinse and drain the rice and lentils well and add to the pot with the spices.
  5. Add in the rest of the vegetables of your choice and stir to coat in the spicy oil.
  6. Add in the vegetable stock/water and season to taste with salt and pepper.
  7. Bring to the boil and then simmer gently with the lid on for 30 minutes or until the rice and lentils are cooked through. Stir occasionally to make sure it doesn't stick to the bottom.
  8. Serve in bowls with chopped coriander and a sprinkling of toasted seeds to decorate if you like!

You can batch cook and store it in the fridge for a few days or it can be frozen also.

Let me know if you try this recipe and what you think about it!