• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Very Good Cook

Very Good Cook

  • About
  • Recipes
  • Shop

Kitcheri

Nutritious porridge-like Indian dish made with rice, legumes, and fresh vegetables.

Jump to RecipePrint RecipeRate Recipe
indian porridge kitcheri topped with yogurt, lemon, radish and fresh herbs

This porridge-like Indian dish is made with rice, legumes, and tons of fresh vegetables.

kitcheri ingredients including rice, lentils, ginger, lemon, radishes, zucchini
Basmati rice and green lentils are the main ingredients.

It is nutritious, loaded with protein and healthy carbohydrates, and a great thing to make when you have digestion issues or just want to reset your body.

“I make it at least once a week—it’s a total comfort food and so energizing,” says my friend Nicole Rice who gave me the recipe. She’s a doula in Los Angeles and cooks kitcheri for all new moms she takes care of.

indian porridge kitcheri topped with yogurt, lemon, radish and fresh herbs
Top with your favorite things. Mine are yogurt, radishes, lemon juice and fresh herbs.

Now you.

Do you say kitcheri or kitchari? Have you been to India?

Tell me in the comments.

Print
indian porridge kitcheri topped with yogurt, lemon, radish and fresh herbs

Kitcheri

  • Author: Michal Martinek
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 55 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
  • Yield: Serves 4 1x
Print
Pin

Description

Nutritious porridge-like Indian dish made with rice, legumes, and fresh vegetables.


Scale

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons ghee
  • ½ teaspoon turmeric
  • ½ teaspoon cumin
  • ½ cup peeled, finely diced carrots (about 1 medium carrot)
  • ½ cup trimmed, finely chopped celery (about 2 celery stalks)
  • ½ cup finely chopped cilantro or parsley
  • 1 tablespoon peeled, grated ginger (about 1 small knob ginger)
  • ¼ cup basmati rice, rinsed
  • ¼ cup lentils (any kind) or split mung beans, rinsed
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 3 cups water or vegetable stock
  • 2 cups of your favorite vegetables (such as zucchini, broccoli, or cauliflower), finely chopped
  • ½ cup soft-leaf vegetables (such as spinach, chard, dandelion), finely chopped
  • Topping ideas
  • Sliced avocado
  • Sliced radish
  • Lemon wedge
  • Fermented vegetables
  • Greek yogurt

Instructions

  1. Melt 2 tablespoons of the ghee in a heavy-bottom saucepan over medium heat. Add the turmeric and cumin, and sauté, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes.
  2. Add the carrots, celery, cilantro, and ginger to the pan and sauté, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes. Mix in the rice, lentils, and salt. Sauté, stirring frequently, for 2–3 minutes.
  3. Pour in the water or stock, add the 2 cups of vegetables, and bring to a simmer over high heat.
  4. Lower the heat to low and cook with the lid off, stirring occasionally, until the rice, lentils, and vegetables are soft and most of the liquid is absorbed, about 35–40 minutes. It should have a consistency of runny risotto or thick soup.
  5. Turn the heat off. Stir in 1 tablespoon of ghee, along with the soft-leaf vegetables. Cover with a lid, and let sit for another 10 minutes.
  6. Serve topped with sliced avocado, radish, fermented vegetables, lemon wedge, or Greek yogurt.

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @verygoodcook on Instagram

Filed Under: Beginner, Dairy-Free, Featured, Mains, Under 60 min, Vegan

« Previous Post
Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
Next Post »
Raw Vegan Tomato-Pepper-Avocado Soup

Hi, I'm Michal

I help home cooks to make tasty vegetarian food using simple ingredients and easy-to-follow steps. More…

I have three more delicious recipes for you:

Slice of almond butter bread
Paleo Almond Butter Bread
seaweed-vegetable salad with ginger-lemon dressing
Seaweed-Vegetable Salad With Ginger-Lemon Dressing
cream of semolina with cinnamon, cacao and fresh blueberries
Cream of Semolina With Two Toppings

Want my FREE recipe ebook?

Sign up for my weekly emails and I’ll send you my 11 MOST POPULAR, MOUTHWATERING CZECH RECIPES TO STUFF YOUR FACE WITH!

Your personal info is protected and you can unsubscribe anytime. Read my privacy policy.

Reader Interactions

Got something to say? Cancel reply

Feel free to include general feedback, any ingredients you modified, and rating the recipe after you’ve made it. Insults, off-topic rants, and disrespectful remarks won’t be tolerated. Thanks for being kind!

PS: Your email won’t be published. Required fields are marked *

★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

Primary Sidebar

Hi, I’m Michal.

Photo of Michal Martinek of Very Good Cook - a Czech food blogI help home cooks to make tasty vegetarian food using simple ingredients and easy-to-follow steps. More…

Want my FREE recipe ebook?

Cover of ebook

Sign up for my weekly emails and I’ll send you my 11 MOST POPULAR, MOUTHWATERING CZECH RECIPES TO STUFF YOUR FACE WITH!

Privacy Policy

Handmade Czech stuff

  • Hand-Carved Large Serving & Cutting Board (Walnut Wood) Hand-Carved Large Serving & Cutting Board (Walnut Wood) $85.00
  • Ceramic teapot with waves design, orange, brown, red colors with a green plant in the background Hand-Thrown Ceramic Wave Tea Pot $75.00

Still hungry?

Cranberry upside-down cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream

Upside-Down Cranberry Cake

Sliced pumpkin pie with spelt crust, topped with whipped cream

Pumpkin Pie With Spelt Flour Crust

plate of lemon linzer cookies shaped like an owl

Lemon Linzer Cookies

linzer cookies with raspberry jam

Linzer Cookies With Raspberry Jam

two glasses with roasted fruit tea. red glass mug with berry tea and yelllow/green with tropical variation

Roasted Fruit Tea (Berry & Tropical)

This apple walnut pie cake is a great everyday coffee cake or your Thanksgiving dessert option. Baked in 40 minutes from simple ingredients: flour, butter, brown sugar, egg, flour, spices, apples and walnuts.

Apple Walnut Pie Cake

  • About
  • Recipes
  • Shop
  • Contact

Copyright © 2019 · Very Good Cook · Terms · Privacy