Making Kitchari

When my friend Ute gave me the recipe for kitchari, I found it a bit overwhelming.  But she also gave me some of the ingredients that I didn’t have and I might not have bought if she wasn’t so generous.  She even gave me some of her own Garam masala to add at the end.

I like to cook if I can cut the ingredients up and throw them all in a pot and let them simmer.

But the kitchari recipe had me cooking some ingredients for 15 minutes, then adding more and stirring them until they boiled, then frying cumin seeds in ghee “until they turned a slight shade darker”.

This was not as quick as I was used to but one Sunday afternoon I gave myself the time to experiment.  Mostly because I want some flavorful Indian food and for all my complaints, it was easier to make it than drive and hour to go to get it in a restaurant.  I also wanted to get back to Ute and let her now how it turned out.   And I figured if it did work out, I could make it anytime I wanted it.

That was over a year ago and I no longer find kitchari daunting to make.

I’ve even made quicker versions of it, sautéing the vegetables and spices then just throwing it all in a pot and letting it cook.  I’ve also added some of the ingredients to my lentil soup to make it more flavorful.

The original recipe called for rice, but now I use quinoa instead because it better for balancing Jon’s blood sugar.

I made a double batch of kitchari yesterday and now, I’m happy to say,  I once again have a few quarts in the freezer to keep us in kitchari for a while.