Serves 6 (or makes 6 portions, ideal for your 3-day immersion diet)
Great for all seasons Suits all dosha types
This simple stew, based on the traditional Ayurvedic dish kitchari, is designed to tax the body as little as possible and help it expel ama. It suits every dosha and also provides lots of nourishment as it contains a lovely balance of both protein and carbohydrate. The mung dal needs to be soaked overnight to ensure this meal taxes the digestive system as little as possible when eaten. Soak in clean, filtered water – and if you’re going to cook the meal the next night or afternoon, drain and rinse the beans in the morning, then put them back into clean water until you’re ready to cook them.
You can play around with several dosha-specific additions to this, which will also add interest if you’re eating it several times over the course of your immersion. Adding seasonal dosha-specific vegetables into the pot at the last stage is ideal. Be creative – you can easily use sweet potato, courgette/zucchini, greens, capsicum peppers . . . It’s also lovely served with dosha-specific accompaniments – a squeeze of lime, desiccated/dry unsweetened coconut, a dollop of coconut cream, fresh chilli, coriander leaves/cilantro. Be imaginative and experiment, and you’ll enjoy your stew all the more.
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
185g/1 cup basmati rice
90g/½ cup dried mung dal (also called split yellow peas/lentils), soaked overnight
100g/½ cup dried green mung beans, soaked overnight
½ tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground turmeric
Sea salt or Himalayan rock salt, to taste
Ground black pepper, to taste
3 tsp ghee, but Pitta and Kapha can use coconut oil
1-cm/½-in piece fresh ginger, chopped and grated
Warm 1 tablespoon of coconut oil in a large saucepan. Once it is melted, add the fennel and mustard seeds and half the cumin seeds. Let the spices heat in the oil until they become fragrant. Rinse your rice and mung dal well in a sieve and add to your pan, stirring well. Add ground coriander and ¾ teaspoon of turmeric, and season with salt and black pepper. Cover the rice and mung dal with water and simmer for about 25 minutes until soft and tender (“al dente” has no place here – this is about easy-as-possible digestion). Add a little more water if necessary to obtain the consistency of a thick soup.
When this is tender, prepare your final step: the mix of spices and oil known as tarka. In a small pan, melt 1 tablespoon of ghee or coconut oil. Add ½ teaspoon cumin seeds, and when they begin to pop, mix in the grated ginger followed by ¼ teaspoon of turmeric. Pour the mixture over your rice and dal, stir to combine and simmer for a further 5 minutes.