Kitchari is good for all doshic types and can be tailored to the seasons with seasonal-appropriate spices and veggies. Basmati rice and mung dal are sweet, cooling and easy on the digestion. It is a complete food, said to nourish the tissues, boost strength and increase our vitality. Kitchari is also the preferred food we use when doing any type of deep cleansing.
To cook the Kitchari, you can use a pressure cooker/instant pot, or stovetop to cook!
The reason why using an electronic pressure cooker is so rad is not only because it cooks everything faster, it’s also because the pressure further removes lectins and other anti-nutrients that plants produce to protect themselves. Learn more about that in this book: The Plant Paradox.
Plus, you can get your pressure cooker going and then forget about it, when it’s done cooking it automatically switches to the Keep Warm function until you’re ready to eat.
Honestly, I use the pressure cooker every day. It’s changed the way we eat and prepare food for the better. We’ll be doing a post about pressure cooker bone broth soon.
Prep Time: 5-10 minutes
Cook Time: 15-25 minutes
These measurements are for a one or two person serving:
(you’ll have to experiment with how much you want per serving/ for how many)
- 4 oz. split yellow mung dal (preferably soaked for a few hours to remove lectins)
- 4 oz. cup basmati rice
- 1 bushel of fresh cilantro (as garnish or to make pesto)
- 2 tablespoons ghee and/or coconut oil
- 1/2 teaspoon Ajwain seeds crushed
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
- 1/3 teaspoon cayenne powder
- 1/3 teaspoon salt
- 12 oz. of water (not including broth)
Directions:
- Add Ghee and/or coconut oil to your instant pot/electronic pressure cooker
- Add your spices, salt, garlic or onion (if you're putting any, it's not necessary), stir until it's an even consistency
- Add mung dal, sauté for a couple of minutes
- Add rice, sauté a minute more
- If you're going to add broth, you do this now and let it mix a half-minute with the mung dal/rice
- Add lots of water (I like adding so much that my Kitchari is really wet, porridge like)
- Place cover and set to Pressure Cooker for 15-25 mins depending on how much you're making (you'll have to experiment with your device to get the right consistency). You can use the custom, Multigrain or Rice setting.
For the stovetop: In a large saucepan over medium heat, heat the ghee, add the spices, stir until fragrant for about one minute. Add the mung and rice, mix well. Pour in the water or broth and bring to a medium boil. Let boil for 5 minutes and then turn down the heat to very low. Cook, lightly covered, until the dal and rice are soft, about 25-30 minutes.
In the meantime:
- Sauté your seasonal greens or veggies in a saucepan on the stove; and/or
- Make a coriander-based pesto or pull your pesto out.
When the Pressure Cooker is done, release air.
Open and serve your Kitchari in a bowl, add your pesto and then the sautéed veggies or greens on top et voila!
Use discount code KATIES15 for 15% off Banyan Botanicals where you can find the mung dal, rice and many spices that are all organic.