Indian-Inspired Kitchari Bowl Recipe

I have to be honest with you here and say that I was nervous about preparing this recipe. Actually, after reading through the ingredient list and instructions a few times, I wasn’t nervous so much about the dish’s preparation. It was the photography at the end. Sometimes that just doesn’t come out right and I have to scrap the entire post. That’s what I thought was going to happen here. I thought I wasn’t going to get any decent photos and that I was going to have to skip this one all together. Luckily, things came through at the end. I brightened things up a bit and everything looks great. Which is good because I really like this dish. So much so that I actually just bought more ingredients so I can prepare it again this coming week.

The Recipe

This is one of those recipes that’s very lenient. It’s forgiving in that it allows you to add vegetables that aren’t necessarily on the ingredient list, but that work with everything else. For instance, the original recipe called for zucchini, squash, okra and carrots. Since I’m not terribly fond of okra, I didn’t add that in and since I didn’t have any yellow squash on hand, I simply went with zucchini and carrots. The thing is, the dish was great. I could have added in some mushrooms too, but I didn’t have any on hand. Those vegetables cook along with the rice and lentils in a spicy broth. As everything cooks, the ingredients I just mentioned absorb the liquid for a very good flavor throughout. Overall, this is a very simple dish to prepare and it’s tasty to boot.

Ingredients

Serves: 4-6

1 Cup Dried Lentils
1 Cup Basmati or Jasmine Rice
2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Turmeric
1 Teaspoon Mustard Seeds
1 Teaspoon Fennel Seeds
1/4 Teaspoon Ground Clove
2 Teaspoons Garlic, Minced
Pinch Red Pepper Flakes
1 Teaspoon Ground Ginger
2 Cups Carrots, Chopped
2 Cups Zucchini, Chopped
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/4 Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
4 Cups Vegetable Broth
1/4 Parsley, Chopped

Step-by-Step Instructions

I’d like to thank PureWow for this recipe. I’ve used many recipes from this resource and they’ve all been good, so thank you.

Soak the Lentils

Place the lentils in a medium sized bowl or pot and fill the container with water until all the lentils are covered. Then, let them soak for 30 minutes. After that time, drain the water from the container.

Combine the Spices

Warm a large pot over medium-low heat. When the pot is to temperature, add in the coconut oil, turmeric, mustard seeds, fennel seeds, ground clove, garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes. Stir everything together and then let the spices cook for a minute or so. Then, add in the lentils and the rice, stir and let cook for another two minutes. Be sure the rice is coated well with the spice mixture.

Cook the Rice & Vegetables

Increase the heat on your stove top to high and add in the vegetable broth and two cups of water. Also add in the zucchini, carrots, salt and pepper and when the liquid comes to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and let everything cook for 30 minutes. Add more water towards the end if necessary. The rice mixture should be thick, but not so thick that it’s clumpy. At the end of this time, add in the parsley and stir.

Plate & Serve

Divide the contents of the pot between bowls. Add some additional parsley to the top of each bowl as a garnish and serve. Enjoy!

The Final Kitchari Bowl

I hope you agree that this was an easy one to put together. Soak some lentil and then simmer everything together in a pot. It doesn’t get any better than that. If you decide to give this recipe a try, please let me know your thoughts in the comment section down below. Thanks for reading!