As we move into fall and winter, our bodies start to demand warm, well-cooked food. In Ayurveda, fall and winter is vata time of the year so this diet change makes good sense. Easily digested, warm and well-spiced foods help counteract the dryness and coolness of vata season.
One healthy and delicious Ayurvedic meal that’s great for vata dosha is kitchari. Kitchari is a combination of rice and beans cooked with vegetables, spices and ghee or clarified butter. It’s a nourishing, complete meal that’s great for the digestive system.
Kitchari usually takes up to 40 minutes or more to fully cook. What I hear time and again from my clients though, is that they don’t have the time to cook meals like kitchari. So I created this 20 minute kitchari recipe so everyone, no matter how busy, has time for a nurturing, vata-pacifying meal this fall.
This kitchari recipe is delicious with homemade flatbread or a gluten-free wrap, both of which are easy to make. You’ll need a pressure cooker to cook the rice and beans.
Please note, this version of kitchari is hearty. It’s not designed to support a serious cleanse like panchakarma. But it is a great go-to, one pot meal that tastes delicious. It will make the whole family happy and more grounded. For a kitchari recipe suitable for an at-home cleanse, try this version from The Ayurvedic Center of Vermont.
Photo: UrbanAyurveda.org
is quicker cooking time the reason for using a pressure cooker. If you don’t use pressure cooker is the cooking time longer.
Thanks.
Yes, the cooking time is longer without using the pressure cooker.
To get the recipe to work in 20 minutes, it needs to be cooked in a pressure cooker. It will still work in a regular pot. But with brown rice and whole mung beans it would take at least an hour.
Your other option is to use split mung and white basmati, traditional kitchari. That only takes about 45 minutes or so.