Give your tastebuds and digestion a treat with this delicious Ayurvedic dish. Kiitcheree (also spelt kitchari) is known as a healing food as it is so easy to digest and the perfect blend of proteins, fats and carbohydrates. This recipe is from our IYTA Social Media expert, Karen Mallinson

Ingredients:

1 cup mung beans (soaked overnight)

1 cup basmati rice

½ cup Sunflower oil (can use “ghee” but it won’t be vegan)

1 ½ inch piece of fresh ginger (pealed & chopped fine)

1 tsp black mustard seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp black pepper powder

2 bay leaves

1 stick of cinnamon (if small use 2)

4 cloves

4 whole cardamon pods (split)

½ tsp Asafoetida (hing) (Asafoetida can be found in good Indian grocery stores, if you don’t have it, it can be left out).

½ tsp cayenne

Salt (to taste)

6 cups Vegetarian stock or water (heated)

2 cups of carrots (small dices)

2 cups of broccoli or cauliflower (small florets)

You can add any other vegetables, like potato/sweet potato or pumpkin.

Small handful of fresh coriander, chopped

Method:

• Soak the mung beans overnight, it will help to aid the digestion process.
• Make a vegetarian stock with vegetable scraps and peelings. (If you don’t have time you can use a store-based vegetable stock or use hot water).
• Wash the mung beans and the basmati rice until the water is clear.
• Heat a pot on medium heat and add the oil (or ghee). Then add ginger, stir for a moment and then add the black mustards and cumin seeds. When they start to pop-up add turmeric, black pepper, cinnamon barks, cloves, cardamon and hing.
• Stir for a couple of minutes and add the rice and the mung beans, stirring very well until all is mixed together.
• Add the hot vegetarian stock (or the water), cover and bring to boil, let it boil for 5 minutes, then turn down the heat very low to a simmer. Lightly cover the pan.
• Make sure you give the mixture a stir every 5 minutes, so it doesn’t get stuck to the bottom of the pot.
• After 15 minutes of simmering, add the carrots, continue to keep stirring every 5 minutes.
• After 15 minutes more add the broccoli or cauliflower. Keep a close eye on it for another minutes.
• You can add a little more stock of water if it is needed or if you want a runnier consistency.
• Add salt to taste and turn it off the heat. Sprinkle with the chopped coriander and serve.

SERVING OPTIONS:

• You can serve on its own, or with a dollop of yoghurt, (we use coconut yoghurt) and a squeeze of lemon.
• IF you are using Ghee, it’s also nice to serve with a little melted ghee on top.
• We also serve ours with Sauerkraut or a nice tomato Kasundi.
• You can serve with a leaf salad.