Kitchari: Basic, Savory and Sweet
This recipe makes enough for 5 meals. It feeds me for a day plus one more breakfast. I like to make this basic recipe, cool it and store it in the fridge. From that, I take what I need for a meal and add different spices and vegetables to it.
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups basmati rice (brown or white) or try millet
- 3/4 cups mung beans
- 8 cups water (more for millet)
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 pinch asafoetida (a spice also called hing- available at Indian and Chinese grocers)
Directions:
- Soak rice and beans separately overnight in plenty of water.
- The next day rinse the rice and beans and put into a heavy bottomed pot.
- Add water, turmeric and asafoetida.
- Cook over medium heat (or in a rice cooker) until the water is mostly absorbed (about 45 minutes)
Variations:
Breakfast bowl
In a pot, heat 1 Tbsp coconut oil with 2 cracked cardamom pods, ¼ cup unsweetened coconut and a pinch of cumin seeds.
Cook over medium heat until fragrant.
Add 1 ½ cups cooked kitchari mixture, a little water (more of you like it soup-y), a dash of cinnamon and some ground cloves. Season with salt.
Cover and heat gently for a few minutes, until water is absorbed.
Savory Kitchari
Ingredients:
- 1 ½ tsp. Mustard Seeds
- 1 tsp. Cumin Seeds
- 1 tsp. Ground Coriander
- 1 tsp. Ground Fennel
- 1 inch ginger, grated or minced
- Optional: onion, garlic, vegetables such as zucchini, sweet potato, carrot, squash, green vegetables of your choice.
Directions:
- Sauté seeds until the pop in a bit of coconut or olive oil. Add onions, ginger, garlic, or hard vegetables such as carrots or squash to the spices and cook for a few minutes, until they begin to soften.
- Then add 1 1/2 –2 cups of cooked kitchari mixture, a little water and any soft vegetables like greens, zucchini, or broccoli. Put a lid on it and cook gently until the water is absorbed and the vegetables are cooked. Season with salt.
About the Author
The Best Supplements & Herbs to Nurture Your Liver & Kidneys
You’ve finally decided to nurture your liver and kidneys. You might be looking for the best liver detox or how to successfully flush your kidneys and liver. You might be wondering, “What does the liver do?” or “What are the best herbs for kidney health?” This article will answer those questions and more.
Let’s Start With Your Liver
At around 3 lbs, your lovely liver is a large, meaty organ, almost the size of a football. This dark brown and reddish beast is protected by your rib cage and sits on the upper right side of your stomach. It lives just beneath your diaphragm and above your tummy. When you feel pain in your liver, it most likely comes from your upper right abdomen, mid-to-upper back, or within your right shoulder blade.
Your liver has a few adjacent relatives. Cousin Gallbladder sits directly under the liver, where you’ll also find parts of Aunt Pancreas and Uncle Intestines. This little system works hard to digest your food, absorb nutrients, and filter the blood that comes from your digestive tract.
While the liver regulates and detoxifies the chemicals going through your body, and metabolizes the drugs in your system, it secretes bile, which breaks down fats and carries waste to your intestines. All of this happens during digestion. When you eat, your liver goes to work.
