Cooling Kitchari for Summer and for Cooling Your Pitta

In Ayurveda, hot summers are associated with the qualities of Pitta – hot, light, penetrating, oily and mobile, therefore in Ayurveda we consider the summer season as a Pitta season.

During the hot summer months, it’s best to choose the foods, herbs and spices that have a cooling effect on the body to prevent accumulation of heat in the body.

If you are Pitta or if you’re experiencing Pitta imbalances such as hot flushes, inflammation in the body, diarrhea, acid indigestion, heartburn or skin irritations, I highly recommend trying out this Cooling Kitchari!

Also if you are experiencing Pitta mind such as feeling of anger, being judgemental to others or to yourself or feeling overly competitive, this Cooling Kitchari will help you calm your mind.

(If you don’t know your Dosha, the Ayurvedic mind-body type, click here to take my Dosha quiz!)

In this Cooling Kitchari, we are using vegetables, herbs and spices that have cooling effects on the body, anti-inflammatory and nourishing.

Ingredients:

Serves 4

For rice and mung beans:

1/2 cup of basmati rice (white or brown, or you can also use quinoa)
1/4 cup of split yellow mung beans or whole mung beans (which have green skins)
1 tablespoon of coconut oil
1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
1 teaspoon of coriander seeds
1 teaspoon of ground turmeric
1 teaspoon of fennel seeds
¼ teaspoon of mineral salt
1 teaspoon of chopped or grated fresh ginger
3-4 cups of water

For vegetables:

1 tablespoon coconut oil
¼ teaspoon of mineral salt
¼ mustard seeds
¼ Cardamom powder
Optional: Pinch of asafoetida
2-3 cups of vegetables – use 60% of courgettes (zucchini) and 40% of leafy greens, chard or kale
Optional: Few leaves of coriander for garnish
Optional: Juice of half lime (per serving)

Method:

For rice and mung beans:

Rinse rice and mung beans. Soak rice for up to an hour and soak mung beans as per the instructions on the package. Whole mung beans should be soaked overnight.

In a large pot, warm the coconut oil over a medium heat and add cumin seeds and coriander seeds until you can smell a nice aroma.

Then add the rest of the spices and stir well and cook for about 1 minute. Drain the rice and mung beans and add them to the spices and mix well together for a few minutes until the rice and beans start to stick to the side of the pot.

Add water and stir well. Then cover the pot and bring to boil. Stir and simmer at medium heat for about 45 minutes. Stir occasionally.

For vegetables:

In a large pot, warm the coconut oil over a medium heat and add spices until the mustard seeds start to pop.

Add water and vegetables and stir well. Then cover the pot and bring to a boil. Stir and simmer at medium heat until the vegetables are soft. Stir occasionally.

Combine vegetables with rice and mung beans and gently mix together.

The finished dish should be creamy and stew-like. If you prefer a soupier consistency, add more water.

Serve with juice of half lime and sprinkle on some fresh coriander or basil.

This recipe is for 4 servings. Remaining bowls can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours but no more than 24 hours. It is always best to have any food fresh so I don’t usually keep leftovers refrigerated for more than 24 hours and never in the freezer!

P.S. If you cook this Kitchari recipe, I would love for you to share the photo with me via DM on Instagram!

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