Kitchari
Warm, super easy to digest and you can make a mountain in a very short period of time! I’m resposting this one from Goop as it is so incredibly easy. I’ve been making it a lot post holidays to give my digestion a bit of a break from heavy meats. You can mix it with any cooked veggies you have on hand and top with extra melted ghee. You can also adapt this recipe from a savory dinner recipe to a more sweet breakfast porriage by adding cinnamon, dried fruit and a bit of nut milk.
Ingredients:
1 cup yellow mung dal (note: this isn’t the easiest to find. I am lucky to have an international market near my home where they sell tons of rice and different types of dal. You can use lentils if that is easier to acquire.)
½ cup white basmati rice
2 tablespoons ghee (or coconut oil)
4 cardamom pods, cracked
2 cloves
2 bay leaves
5 cups water or more
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons black mustard seeds
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
2 teaspoons turmeric
Method:
1. Rinse the mung dal and rice 3 times, or until the water runs clear.
2. Measure out all of the spices into a cup—this makes it less likely that you’ll burn your spices while searching for the others.
3. Heat the ghee or oil in a large pot. Add all of the spices and sauté together on medium heat for a minute until fragrant. Be careful not to overdo this stage—it’s better to err on the side of caution on your first attempt than risk frazzling the spices and making them bitter or burnt.
4. Stir in the mung dal and rice. Add 5 cups of water and any chopped vegetables. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer, lid on.
5. Cook for at least 40 minutes (longer if using whole green mung beans), or until the dal and rice are completely soft (easily squashed between finger and thumb). The kitchari will have a porridge-like consistency and the ghee will have risen to the top. Add more water if necessary.
6. Adjust the seasoning and garnish with fresh chopped herbs, if you like.
Recipe excerpted from East by West. Copyright © 2017 by Jasmine Hemsley. Published by Bluebird Books, an imprint of Pan Macmillan.
Originally featured in Food Coach Jasmine Hemsley’s Warming Recipes for Mind-Body Balance
Veggie Pasta with Goat Cheese
What I love about this is that you can use up all the random veggies that may have been forgotten in the back of the fridge for this one! I’ve listed my personal favorites below but feel free to experiment with whatever you feel drawn to seasonally. Consider one of the new high protein pastas made from chickpea or lentils to give yourself the added bonus of feeling full for longer stretches.
Ingredients:
4 cups brocolli
1 medium red bell pepper
2 small zuchinni
goat cheese to your liking
pasta of your choice
Method:
- cook pasta per directions on box or bag
- rough chop all veggies into bite size pieces and saute until tender in oil or butter of your choice
- toss pasta and veggies together and top with one of the sauce options below
Sauce options:
- Keep it simple and drizzle olive oil, squeeze some lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.
- Raos marinara is my go-to as it has no added sugar and all the flavors are amazing.
Chicken & Kale Soup with Ginger
Ingredients:
4 chicken thighs
1 large stock of ginger
1 head of dino kale
2 boxes of chicken stock (32 oz)
1 medium onion
2 stocks of celery
4 large carrots
4 small white potatoes
3 sprigs fresh thyme, sage or rosemary
2 tbsp. grass fed butter
6 tbsp. olive oil
Method:
- Take butter, olive oil and onions and sautee until onions are translucent
- brown chicken thighs on all sides
- rough chop kale, carrots, potatoes and celery into somewhat bite size pieces
- peel and rough chop ginger
- add veggies, ginger and fresh herbs to pot and cover with stock
- simmer on low heat for 4 hours
- poke potatoes with fork to confirm when finished