Everyone who was even a little familiar with the Vedic culture and the traditional system of Indian Ayurvedic medicine must have tried kichari. This is the main dish recommended in Ayurveda during cleansing. Kichari is a combination of cereals and legumes, in which their nutritional value is doubled. In Ayurvedic clinics, the main dish is kichari. The recipe for its preparation is presented in our article. In it, we will talk about the beneficial properties of kichari and present the reviews of people who have been cleansed by this method.
What ingredients are needed for kichari
The following ingredients are needed to make kichari:
- Green mung bean (mung dal) is a variety of legumes that resembles green peas in appearance. Mash activates the main detoxification systems of the body - the small intestine, liver, kidneys, and skin. Such peas contain about 30% protein of plant origin, which is easily absorbed by our body.
- Basmati rice is a cereal that is an excellent sorbent for toxins.
- Turmeric.
- Ginger.
- Coriander.
- Mustard Seeds
- Fennel seeds.
- Zira or cumin.
Vedic culture specialists recommend using another spice, the aroma of which is 10 times stronger than that of garlic, asafoetida, when cooking. This is the only Indian spice to help digest legumes without gas formation. Without this powder, real kichari cannot be made. The recipe for this dish also involves the use of ghee ghee. You can buy all the ingredients for kichari in specialty stores of Indian products and spices.
Kichari: Ayurveda Recipe
It is very easy to learn how to cook a dish that cleanses in Ayurveda. The main thing is to choose the right bouquet of spices that reveal the taste of kichari.
The recipe for the dish consists in the following sequence of actions:
- Ghee (2 tbsp) is heated in a non-stick pan or deep pan.
- Spices are added to the preheated oil: seeds of mustard, coriander, zira, fennel (all ingredients ½ teaspoon each). As soon as the first crack appears (energy release), ginger powder, turmeric (½ teaspoon each) and a pinch of asafoetida should be added to the warmed seeds.
- After adding spices to the pan, mash and basmati rice are poured (1 cup each). Cereals are filled with water and boiled over low heat until cooked.
- Salt and pepper to taste, cilantro greens and other seasonings are added to the finished dish.
Kichari recipe from Yoga Bhajan
The spiritual leader of Yoga Bhajan once prepared kichari according to the following recipe:
- Pour 1250 ml of purified water into a pot with ready water, put mung dal (a cup of 250 ml) in it, let it boil and cook for 30 minutes until half cooked.
- Add basmati rice in the same volume to the pan after the mash begins to boil.
- Kichari, the recipe for which Yogi Bhajan offers, is prepared with vegetables (3 cups). You can use carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, asparagus, zucchini and other vegetables.
- In a pan with ghee or vegetable oil (2 tbsp. Tablespoons) onions, garlic (3 cloves) and finely grated ginger (¼ root) are fried. As soon as the onion becomes transparent, turmeric (1 teaspoon), red, black pepper, cardamom seeds (¼ teaspoon), ground coriander, Indian spice mix garam masala, caraway seeds (½ teaspoon each) are added. When the spices in the pan are sufficiently fried, they can be transferred to the pan.
At the very end of cooking, salt or soy sauce is added to the kichari thick soup to taste.
Kichari from Gurubachan Singh: a recipe for cooking
Yogi Gurubachan Singh offers his recipe for making kichari. He practically does not use spices (except ginger) and does not add salt to his dish, and uses white peeled or yellow mung as the main ingredient.
The Kichari recipe from Gurubachan Singh is as follows:
- Mash (1 cup) is soaked in clean water 2 hours before cooking.
- 8 cups of water are poured into the pan and brought to a boil.
- Mash is lowered into boiling water and cooked for half an hour.
- After 30 minutes, rice (1 cup) is poured into the pan.
- In a pan with ghee (1 tablespoon), chopped onion (2 pcs.), Grated ginger (a piece 2 cm in size) and garlic (2 cloves) are fried.
- When rice and mash are cooked until cooked, they are transferred to a deep pan to the fried onion and mixed.
Kichari according to this recipe is prepared without salt, but if its taste seems too fresh, it is allowed to add a couple of tablespoons of soy sauce.
Multicooker Kichari Recipe
Cooking kichari in a slow cooker is carried out in the following sequence:
- The multicooker mode “Frying” is selected. In the bowl of the device, ghee (5 tbsp. Tablespoons) is laid out and warms well.
- Zira seeds (1 teaspoon) are poured a little into the red-hot. After a couple of minutes, grated ginger (1 teaspoon), turmeric and salt (2 teaspoons each), asafoetida (½ teaspoon) are added.
- Sliced zucchini, a little cauliflower and hot pepper pod, peeled from seeds, are laid out in aromatic spices.
- Lastly, washed mash (100 g) and rice (120 g) are poured into the bowl. All ingredients are filled with water (1 l), the lid of the multicooker closes and the "Rice" or "Pilaf" mode is set.
- After 40 minutes in a bowl of the multicooker aromatic and healthy porridge will be prepared.
Kichari, the recipe of which is presented above, after cooking is poured with lemon juice (2 tbsp. Tablespoons), sprinkled with herbs and black pepper. The dish is served warm.
How to lose weight with kichari?
People who have repeatedly tried to lose weight with the help of various diets know how hard it is to experience a constant feeling of hunger, dropping extra pounds. Ayurvedic treatment involves the natural disposal of excess weight by cleansing the body of toxins, toxins and other harmful products. The essence of such a diet is to eat only kichari for 7 days at least 3 times a day.
The recipe for weight loss is based on the preparation and use of the following dishes:
- For kichari, a glass of rice and masha are soaked in cold water.
- In a saucepan with a thick bottom in ghee (3 tbsp. Tablespoons), sliced ginger (root 3-4 cm long), seeds of zira and cardamom (1 teaspoon each) are fried.
- When the seeds in the pan begin to crackle, mash, rice, turmeric (1 teaspoon) and a pinch of salt are added.
- Lastly, water is poured into the pan (6 tbsp.).
The diet lasts 7 days, and after another 10 days it can be repeated again. In two months of such nutrition, it is possible to lose 10 kg.
The benefits of kichari for the body
The beneficial properties of kichari for the body are as follows:
- The combination of mung dala (mash) and rice is considered ideal for normal bowel function.
- Kichari is optimally balanced in protein composition, which provides easy digestion and maximum absorption of protein by the body (by 85%).
- Strength appears, vitality rises.
- The course of all metabolic processes in the body improves.
- The body is cleansed and its cells rejuvenated.
- Excess weight goes away, well-being improves.
- The condition of the skin and hair improves.
The main thing is that the course of purification, or mono-diets, is as painless as possible for the body. There is no restriction in vitamins and nutrients, since their entire body will still receive, but from other products: legumes, cereals, vegetables, spices.
Cleansing in kichari: reviews
People who have taken a mono-diet course, based on the seven-day use of kichari, respond to it as follows:
- diet allows you not to suffer from a constant feeling of hunger;
- within 7 days the body receives a healthy diet;
- the diet period is optimal for decent results.
The basis of the diet is the use of kichari for 7 days (its recipe is presented above). During this time, I manage to put my thoughts in order and deal with my diet, lose a few extra pounds and normalize the intestines. Monodiet on Kichar is an easy cleansing of the body, in which you do not need to endure a feeling of hunger and you can continue to work in the usual mode.