This recipe is thanks to Renee Jennings, co-author of Nurture the Seed. Kitchari is an ancient, Ayurvedic, Indian dish. It’s a delicious, yet simple, one-pot meal that’s nourishing and warming. A perfect dish during autumn, as the weather gets cooler. It’s also a great dish to use up the surplus of zucchinis available at this time of year. The addition of homemade bone broth or veggie stock, make this simple dish extra nutritious, boosting your immunity and great for warding off those seasonal colds.
Delicious served with salted, fresh tomatoes that are usually abundant in this season.
Ingredients
0.5 cup rice
1 cup yellow split lentils
1-2 tablespoons butter or extra virgin olive oil
3 cm knob fresh ginger (grated)
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 cinnamon stick
1 carrot (grated)
3.5 cups vegetable stock or bone broth
0.5 cup coconut milk
1 large zucchini (grated)
Coconut sambal:
1 cup coconut flakes
0.33 cup toasted almonds (roughly chopped)
0.5 cup packed coriander leaves and stems (finely chopped)
1 Juice of 1 lime
1 red chilli, finely chopped (optional)
Method
1 Soak rice and lentils overnight then rinse, drain and set aside.
2 Add the butter/olive oil to a large heavy-based pan and place on a medium heat and cook onion.
3 Add the ginger and garlic. Cook for 1–2 minutes, then add the mustard seeds and cumin. Cook for another minute or two until the seeds are fragrant and start to pop.
4 Add the carrot, turmeric and cinnamon stick and stir.
5 Add the rice and lentils to the pan and mix into the spices.
6 Add the stock and coconut milk. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 15-30 minutes (shorter time for white rice and longer for brown), stirring occasionally until the rice and lentils are tender but not mushy and most of the liquid has been absorbed.
7 Add the zucchini and cook for a further 5 minutes or until soft. Season with salt.
Meanwhile, prepare the sambal:
1 Blitz the coconut in a blender and then place in a small bowl.
2 Mix in all other sambal ingredients and season with salt.
Serve kitchari in a bowl and top with the coconut sambal.