Some version of this healing kitchari recipe has been on rotation in my kitchen for years.
Whenever I’m coming back from a particularly glutinous vacation, or if my digestion is feeling stagnant, I turn to warming bowls like this one. It’s a great compliment to a full vice detox or any period of cleansing.
Kitchari, for those who aren’t familiar, is a flagpole recipe of healing Ayurvedic cuisine, and said to be the best combination of nourishing foods that won’t tax your digestive system. If you’re not familiar with the philosophies and teachings of this ancient medicine, I highly recommend listening to my interview on the podcast which tackles the Ayurvedic approach to gut health and pesky weight fluctuations.
Kitchari is traditionally made from either yellow lentils or split peas, basmati rice, a mixture of digestive spices, and ghee.
With Paleo-ism on the rise, I know this might seem strange to some of you. Aren’t legumes and grains hard to digest?
The theory behind this dish’s efficacy has a lot to do with the concept of food combining. A mono-nutrient fast gives our digestive systems a much-needed break from dealing with a mess of different foods every meal. The dal and rice is cooked until just short of mush, so it’s easier to absorb. The spice mix fires up our belly, and the ghee (or coconut oil) helps lube up your tubing and allows fat-soluable nutrients to assimilate.
This version, which is adapted from Leah Vanderveldt’s fabulous book The New Nourishing, is also packed with greens for added fiber, vitamins and minerals.
Even though one of the main ingredients is a legume, this dish is actually fairly easy to adapt to a low FODMAP diet. In fact, I have a recipe for low FODMAP brown rice kitchari in my new book, SIBO Made Simple. Working from this kitchari recipe, simply double the rice and skip the split peas or lentils, omit the broccoli and add 1/2 cup chopped green beans instead. The mixture doesn’t have onion or garlic, so for once, you’re covered in that department. And you can serve without the yogurt topping.
One of my favorite cleansing herbs is cilantro, which is an all-star chelating agent. If you’re doing a vice detox or even a period of SIBO treatment, I highly recommend adding a few handfuls of leaves to your finished dishes or pureeing it into soups. 
If you have any health woes that you’re planning on tackling, my meal plans might be the perfect way to tackle them together. Kitchari is a fantastic pantry option, as are some of the recipes in my pantry planner.
With health and hedonism,
Phoebe
Ayurvedic Cleansing Green Kitchari Bowl
This Green Kitchari Bowl recipe is adapted from Leah Vanderveldt's fabulous cookbook The New Nourishing. The fennel seeds are the sleeper spice in here and so good for digestion. Kitchari is a staple of healing Ayurvedic cooking since the rice and lentils are cooked until easily digestible and the base is layered with supportive spices and ginger. I love that Leah adds lots of green veggies to aid in the cleanse.
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried yellow split peas or lentils
- 1/2 cup long grain brown rice
- 3 tablespoons ghee or coconut oil
- 1 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1 teaspoon ground fenugreek
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 5 cups vegetable stock or water
- 1 small crown broccoli finely chopped into an almost rice-like texture (about 2 cups total)
- 1 medium zucchini coarsely grated (about 1 cup)
- 1 cup packed baby spinach roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup cilantro leaves
- Plain full-fat Greek yogurt for serving
Instructions
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Rinse the yellow split peas or lentils and rice in a fine mesh colander under cold water until the water runs clear.
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In a large lidded saucepan over medium-high heat, heat the coconut oil or ghee. Add the ginger and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the cumin, coriander, fennel seeds, fenugreek, and turmeric. Cook for another 30 seconds, until fragrant.
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Add the split peas or lentils and rice and stir to coat in the spices. Add the salt and pour in the water or vegetable stock. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer for 35-45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the peas/lentils are tender but not mushy and most of the liquid has been absorbed. (You may need to add more water if the mixture becomes to dry or begins to stick to the bottom of the pan).
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Stir in the broccoli. Cover and cook for another 4-5 minutes. Stir in the zucchini and spinach, then remove from the heat and leave to stand for 5 minutes. Serve warm scattered with the cilantro and plain yogurt, if desired.
Recipe Notes
To make low FODMAP-friendly: Double the rice and skip the split peas or lentils, omit the broccoli and either double the zucchini or add chopped green beans instead. The mixture doesn’t have onion or garlic, so for once, you’re covered in that department. And you can serve without the yogurt topping.
If you make this, tag @phoebelapine and #feedmephoebe - I'd love to see it!Need help finding lifestyle changes that last? Let’s work together to find your path forward. My 4 Weeks to Wellness Course might just change your life. With 4-weeks worth of recipes that are gluten, dairy, corn, soy and refined sugar free, not to mention tasty AF, it’s a perfect way to explore your food sensitivities and heal inner and outer chaos.
I have a tempestuous tum-tum, so I live on fennel tea. I’m never sure how to use it in cooking, so I don’t – but this recipe makes me see how. Will try for certain!
it’s wonderful in this recipe!
I made this tonight, the flavours were delicious, unfortunately the liquid did not absorb by the 40 minutes…i continued to cook, uncovered longer and then removed some liquid to continue…can i please check is the simmering for 35-40 should be uncovered? I’m sure it would have been a beautiful dish if I had perfected it, i wish the dish had been chunkier, mine was quite mooshy.
Sorry to heat that Rachelle! The instruction’s from the book are covered for 35-45 minutes, and when I tested it myself that was right on. The lentils and rice should be tender and perhaps slightly more well done than usual, but not overly mushy. What type of rice did you use? If it was a quicker cooking option that could be it.
Thanks Phoebe, I used brown rice but it was a shorter grain. I’ll definitely try and make again, my Fiance came to tell me dinner was nice and usually i have to pester him for a compliment haha
well, that’s a WIN!
If I soak the lentils overnight, how should I adjust the recipe?
They might cook quicker, so I’d start with less liquid (maybe 4 cups) and add more as you cook if needed.
What can one use instead of fenugreek if i cannot find it?
i would simply omit. the other spices are wonderful.
Lovely recipe, thanks! I love the addition of healthy veggies. In place of regular lentils in kitchari I always use urad dal (can be ordered online). The Monash University tested lentils and found that chana and urad/urid dal are low FODMAP.
that’s very good to know – thanks!!
“A mono-nutrient fast gives our digestive systems a much-needed break from dealing with a mess of different foods every meal. The dal and rice is cooked until just short of mush, so it’s easier to absorb. The spice mix fires up our belly, and the ghee (or coconut oil) helps lube up your tubing and allows fat-soluable nutrients to assimilate.”
Recipe looks tasty, and not to be argumentative, but is there is any literature about any of this? What exactly does “fire up our belly” mean and why is that beneficial? Have you seen evidence that eating ghee/coconut oil improves fat-soluable nutrient absorption? I have not.
I ask these questions as a medical doctor who frequently sees such hyperbole on a variety of health sites, but with little scientific data to rely on. Thanks.
The fire is in relation to Ayurveda and what foods have a fire tendency. Ayurveda is quite an old style of medicine from India, which quite a bit of literature to support how it benefits the body. There may not be information in specifics as to why it helps; but in the same tone in modern medicine we have thought we had answers that we didn’t necessarily have either. For some, they research it and if it works for them they use it and if not they don’t.
As far as coconut oil helping absorb fat soluble nutrients, that’s known squarely within western medicine. Black tea for instance is water soluble so we heat water and steep the tea so as to ingest the tea better. Same thing with fat soluble nutrients; it is much easier to absorb them with the presence of fats to bind to.
It’s really nice to find a recipe that doesn’t call for onion or garlic. My only caution would be for people to be aware that almost all vegetarian broths contain allium of some kind or another. Additionally, for those who are GF, please be careful with premade kitchari spices. Most contain asofoetida (hing) – used in place of onion or garlic, however, very often it is cut with wheat. Look for a product that is certified gf and uses gram (chickpea) flour instead.
interesting to know about the premade spices!
This was delish! I didn’t have fenugreek so I used mustard seeds and added a pinch of hing. Since it’s the dead of winter where I am, instead of zucchini, I used grated kohlrabi, which worked great!
I don’t have any brown rice in the house, would long-grain white rice, wild rice, or quinoa work instead?