Cosy Coconut, Red Lentil & Veggie Kitchari
I have been making Kitchari weekly this Winter, it’s cosy, delicious and week night friendly. Kitchari is a gently spiced combination dal or lentils and rice cooked together in one pot.
You can fully load kichari with a seasonal R A I N B O W of veggies to make it beautifully colourful and nutrient rich. I love to get everything out of the veggie drawer and just add a bit of whatever is in there. The coconut cream isn’t traditional but it adds an extra creamy comfort factor to the dish.
Kitchari forms the basis of Ayurveda as it contains beautiful, gentle spices such as ginger, cinnamon, cumin and turmeric which enkindle the digestive system and it is also a complete protein, so it is perfect as a stand alone dish. It is also a lovely first food for babies or when you need something that is gentle on the digestion. It’s also considered tri doshic - meaning it’s nourishing whatever your Ayurvedic constitution is.
Some people quite like to cook their kitchari to a porridgy consistency but I prefer the grains of rice to be a separate pilaf like situation.
KItchari so reminds me of my cousin who is a busy mama of 4. I lived with her when I moved to London and we often needed to feed a large group quickly. I loved heading into the kitchen with her to make a speedy batch of kitchari with lots of veggies to serve with yoghurt and some spicy pickle. You know that if the mamas of 4 are doing it, then you have an epic time saver!
Of course if you do have extra time you could serve it with other curries or add some extra protein and I do like to do that sometimes but what makes this dish so magical is that it's so simple and complete. It’s also excellent as leftovers.
Ingredients:
3/4 C or 140g Red Lentils (or mung dal)
1 &1/2 C or 300g Basmati Rice
3 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Coconut Oil or Ghee
1 Large Onion, Chopped
3-5cm piece of Ginger, finely chopped/minced or grated
2 & 1/2C-3C Chopped Veggies ~1cm dice - (fennel, pumpkin, leafy greens, yam, kumara, fennel, carrot, cauliflower, green beans). Chopped tomato or a few chopped cherry Tomatoes are rather lovely to add after the veggies have been sauteed.
1C Lovely leafy greens such as chopped spinach, kale or asparagus. (These are to be added in the final 5 min).
200ml Coconut Cream (I like Ceres Coconut Cream)
600ml Water
Spices & Herbs
1 ½ tsp Whole Cumin
1 small piece of Cinnamon Stick - 3cm (optional and so lovely)
1 tsp of Ground Cinnamon
1 tsp Ground Cumin
1 tsp Turmeric
1 ½ tsp Salt
4 Tbsp Fresh Coriander to serve
Instructions:
1: Wash and rinse the rice until the water runs clear (about 3-4 times) and then leave to the side in a bowl with cold water. Rinse lentils and add to the rice to soak for a few minutes while you chop the veggies.
2: Drain the Rice and Lentils well in a sieve.
3: Heat a heavy based saucepan with a firmly fitting lid (and wide if you have one). Add 3 Tbsp oil or ghee and add the cinnamon stick, cumin and black mustard seeds. Let them sizzle and pop and gently release their beautiful aroma - don’t let them burn.
3: Add chopped onion (and any hard veggies such as fennel, carrot, yam, pumpkin). Saute until nicely caramelised for 5-6 minutes. Add the ginger, ground cumin, cinnamon and turmeric and saute for a further 30 seconds to a minute.
4: Add the rice and dal, and the liquid (water & coconut cream).
5: Stir, bring to the boil, put the lid on and the reduce heat to a low simmer for 10 minutes.
6: Add leafy greens/beans/asparagus and finer veggies in the final 5 minutes of simmering so that they can be steamed to divine, nutritious perfection.
7: When cooked, allow the kitchari covered to sit for 10 minutes before serving with yoghurt and if you have coriander, and lemon or a lovely spicy pickle - that would be divine too.
Enjoy xxx
Notes & Time Saving Tips.
If you have time, soak the rice for at least 30 minutes. You can also soak the rice and dal together in the morning to cook in the evening.
Sometimes if I have to be out until late, I will also complete step: 3 (see above) and then all you need to do is heat your pan up again, add the drained rice and lentil mixture, etc. This will cut your prep time down immensely!
You can use whole lentils in this recipe, they too are delicious. They need to be soaked for at least 30 min and parboiled until they are just soft. Add them along with the rice.
Veggies: Add these to the mix in the order that they need to be perfectly cooked. Harder veggies need longer so saute these with the onions. If using tomato, add at this point. Sometimes I add a lot more than 3C veggies, it looks a bit like 5C so then I add another 50 or so ml of water.
Add leafy greens, beans and finer veggies in the last 5 minutes of simmering so that they can be steamed to divine nutritious perfection.
If you have curry Leaves, add them to the oil with your cumin seeds. They are delightful.
To adjust this recipe for an Ayurvedic cleanse:
Swap with coconut cream for water
Feel free to add more spices into your mix such as black mustard seeds - these are added with the whole cumin seeds.
Add 1/4 tsp each of ground Cardamom, Black Pepper and Coriander