Kitchari

I wanted a detoxifying meal after a holiday weekend and this hit the spot. Apparently Kitchari is a cleansing aruyvedic food. Split mung beans are easier to digest and the combination of the dal and rice provides a complete protein. Kitchair loosens toxic buildup and removes it from the body. The photo in the cookbook also looked delicious piled with eggs, avocado, red onion, and cilantro. Original recipe from Dr Hyman’s book FOOD but I simplified it a bit to make it week-day friendly.

Things I changed from original recipe -

• didn’t toast seeds for spice mixture

• didn’t let rice cool

• switched out some veggies with what I had

• switched the order of cooking instructions to make more efficient for myself

This recipe makes enough for 4 bowls.

Ingredients

Beet-pickled onion - can do a day ahead

1 medium red onion, thinly sliced 1/2-inch slices

1 Tbsp minced peeled red beet or few chunks of pickled beets

1/2 cup raw apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 tsp black peppercorn

Resistant-starch rice - could make ahead

1/2 cup white basmati (I used Jasmine) rice

2 cups water

1 Tbsp coconut oil

Spice Mixture - can make ahead

1.5 tsp cumin seeds

1.5 tsp fennel seed

1/2 tsp fenugreek seed or powder

1/4 tsp yellow mustard seed or powder

2 tsp ground ginger

1.5 tsp ground coriander

1.5 tsp ground garlic

1.5 tsp ground turmeric

1 tsp onion powder

Mung Beans and Vegetables

3 cups vegetable broth

1/2 cup split mung beans

1 (2 inch) strip kelp OR sheet of kombu (I didn’t have kelp)

2 Tbsp coconut oil

2 carrots, minced

1 celery stalk or handful of cabbage (what I had)

2 cups cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced

To Serve

2 eggs

1 avocado, pitted, thinly sliced

Cilantro for garnish

What To Do

1. Make mung beans: Combine broth, mung beans, and kombu in large pot. Bring to a simmer and in meantime, make spice mixture to add to it (simply combine all spices together). Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally as mixture thickens for about 30 minutes.

2. For the rice: combine rice and water in a rice cooker or medium pot and bring to a boil. Stir in coconut oil. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 20 minutes.

3. Pickled onions: Place onion, beet, vinegar, salt and peppercorns in small jar, cover and let stand for 20 minutes.

4. When mung beans have been cooking for 20 minutes or so, start vegetables: Heat large pot over medium heat and add coconut oil. Add carrot, cabbage/celery, and mushrooms. Stir to combine and saute for 5 minutes. Add mung bean mixture to vegetables, cover and cook for 20 minutes. Stir in rice at end.

5. When mung beans and vegetables are almost done cooking, fry up 2 eggs or however many bowls you’re serving.

6. Serve: split kitchari among bowls, top each with an egg, pickled onions, avocado and cilantro.