Kitcheree at its simplest is mung beans and rice cooked with spices. You can make many variations to suit your taste as well as to control how cleansing it will be. Mung beans and rice make a complete protein. You can adjust the ratio of mung beans to rice to suit your needs. You can also change the amount of water to change the texture. You can adjust which vegetables you choose to cook and which ones you add raw before you eat.

Ayurveda practitioners really recommend kitcheree, up to 3 times a day for a month at a time.  It might be a complete protein, but it's not complete nutrition.  So be smart and think about what might be best for you.

 

Fancy Kitcheree

 

Here's one possiblity of the many varieties.  Substitue beans with small beans like green, black or red lentils or black beans.  Substitute brown rice with white, red, or black rice.

 

Use a 4 cup crockpot. You can also just cook it on the stove.

3 Tbsp mung beans (soaked)

3 Tbsp brown basmati rice

2 cups water (only 1 cup without the vegetables)

Fresh vegetables like zucchini, tomato, avocado, green onion, beets, burdock root, or soaked seaweed

Onion, garlic and ginger - more in the winter to promote immune system support

Yogurt - add on the side

Ghee (1 tsp) - Otherwise known as Clarified Butter  - just mix it in

Spices (adjust as required):
 
1/4 tsp coriander
 
1/4 tsp turmeric
 
1/4 tsp cumin
 
1/4 tsp fennel
 
1/4 tsp ginger
 
1/8 tsp brown mustard seeds
 
1/8 to 1/4 tsp salt

 

Soak mung beans overnight (best if shells are just beginning to crack). You may need to soak longer in the winter.

 

In the morning, drain mung beans and add to pot. Add Rice. Add water, carrot, beet, celery, kombu and spices.

Cook about 3 hours if using the crockpot. Use a timer if you need to prepare it at night before going to work. Kitcheree travels well in a thermos.

 

Just before eating garnish with fresh vegetables, yogurt and ghee. I usually use about 1 tsp of yogurt and 1-2 tsp of ghee.

 

Kitcheree is OK for same day leftovers and maybe the next day if you have to, but not after that. Food needs to be fresh!

 

Adjust your recipe so it will work for your taste!

 

 

Beans and rice are a staple in many cultures.  The smaller beans have higher nutritional content.  Combining beans and rice makes a complete protein, but it doesn't provide complete nutrition.  Be smart about your food selection and do some research.