Ayurvedic Kitchari

I just finished my Ayurvedic Nutrition Course and it has been changing my life in an amazing way.I never actually realised how much it has been changing me and my lifestyle untill the last class of the course the teacher asked us what we have been learning from this course. It made me think about my previous lifestyle and my previous thinking regarding to food.

Not did I only lost a lot of weight due the Ayurvedic way of eating, living, thinking, but I went from 5% organic to 95% organic. I mean that is just incredible improvement. There are so many other great things I can think of such as the influence it has on me, my boyfriend, my family and friends. And let's not forget about all the basic knowledge in Ayurveda that I have learned. It's a lovely and really natural way of living.

My favourite all time dish is Kitchari. Kitchari is a dish, a very well known dish in Ayurveda and is very benificial for many reasons. Kitchari has a basis of split mungbeans, white basmatirice, vegetables and some digestive spices. Kitchari is kind of a savory porridge as you cook all the ingredients together in one pot. In this way the ingredients already get used to eachother before they get into your body. Which means that your body can easily digest and assimilate the lovely food. Which also means, as it is this easy to digest, you can give your body a bit rest. Sometimes all your digestive organs need to have some rest as they work your whole life digesting everything you put into your body.

Kitchari is also a great way to fast and detox. If you want to fast/detox for 1 day or a couple more days you can eat just Kitchari as breakfast, lunch and dinner. You won't be having the feeling that you will be hungry and again, you give your body some peace and it will cleanse your body and make sure that it will remove the toxins in your body. You can do this just once a week, or once a month. Or every spring and fall for a couple of days. Just see what feels right for you. 

Kitchari is not only a cleansing food, it is an immunity booster too. If you feel sick or weak or when you are recovering from being sick, kitchari is the way to go. As it is easy to digest and to assimilate, you will feel results immediately. 

I've been trying different kitchari's but this is one of my favourites as it is easy to make and delicious to taste. I got the recipe from a lovely woman specialised in Ayurveda: http://wholesomelovinggoodness.com/

What do you need for this recipe:


* serves 2
* 25 minutes

- 1 coffeecup of split mungbeans (I know in Holland it is difficult to find them organic, so you can also try it with red lentils) Soaked them 1 hour before cooking
- 0,5 coffeecup white basmatirice
- 4 tot 6 hands full of washed fresh spinach chopped up (depending on how much you want)
- 1 tblsp Ghee (clarified butter) or extra virgin coconut oil
- 0,5 teaspoon cuminseeds
- 1/4 teaspoon corianderseeds
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 2 cm of fresh ginger, finely chopped
- 5 coffeecups of water
- a pinch of (Himalayan) salt
- fresh lemon (juice) to sprinkle afterwards


Heat the ghee or coconutoil and toast the cumin seeds and corianderseeds for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Make sure not to let it burn. Add the ginger and cook for 1 minute. Add the turmeric and stir well. Then add the mungbeans/lentils and the rice and stir until everything is covered in the spices. Add the water and bring to a boil, stir regulary. When the beans/lentils and rice become creamy add the spinach and stir well. Cooked for some 10 minutes more. Add some extra water if too dry. Add a pinch of salt and stir again. Serve with fresh lemon juice on top and enjoy your healthy, ayurvedic and delicious dinner!

You can use other vegetables instead of spinach. Green leafy vegetables you cook the same way as the spinach but if you choose to use potatoes, cauliflower, pumpkin, broccoli, zucchini or any other kind make sure you bring them to a boil directly with the rice and mungbeans/lentils.