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.
Servings 4
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
- Rinse the yellow split peas or lentils and rice in a fine mesh colander under cold water until the water runs clear.
- 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.
- 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).
- 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.
Video
Notes
To make low FODMAP-friendly: Double the rice and skip the split peas or lentils, and limit the broccoli to 2 cups. 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.