Kitchari
An Ayurvedic soup of split mung beans, basmati rice, and warming spices, designed to nourish and heal. The most-loved recipe on this site.
Keep the vibe high when you cook. Sing, repeat a mantra, or play nice music.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup split yellow mung beans
- 3/4 cup white basmati rice
- 1 Tbs fresh ginger root
- 1 tsp each: black mustard seeds, cumin seed, turmeric powder
- 1/2 tsp each: coriander powder, coriander seed, fennel and fenugreek seeds (fenugreek optional, if you only have coriander powder, just use that, no worries!)
- 3 cloves
- 2 bay leaves
- 1–2 small pieces of kelp or kombu, ripped up or cut with scissors (leave out if hard to find)
- 7–10 cups water
- 1/2 tsp salt (rock salt is best)
- 1 small handful fresh chopped cilantro leaves
- 1 Tbs ghee or coconut oil
Directions
- 01
Wash split yellow mung beans and rice together until the water runs clear.
- 02
Heat a large pot on medium heat, add 1 Tbs ghee, then add all the spices except the bay leaves. (For an extra step, dry-roast the spices for a minute or two before adding the ghee, it enhances the flavor but isn't necessary.) Cook the spices in ghee until you smell them, about 1–3 minutes.
- 03
Add mung beans and rice and stir.
- 04
Add veggies, an easy combo is 2 cups squash, carrot, or sweet potato with 1–1/2 cups kale or another green. Play with variations, but keep the balance of an augmenting (nourishing) veg with a tonifying (cleansing) veg.
- 05
Add water, kelp or kombu, and bay leaves, and bring to a boil.
- 06
Boil for 10 minutes.
- 07
Turn heat to low, cover, and continue to cook until the mung beans and rice become soft, about 30–40 minutes.
- 08
Add cilantro leaves just before serving.
- 09
Salt to taste, enjoy!