Ayurvedic Kitchari Recipe

This kitchari recipe is easy to make and super healthy. Incorporating it into your diet will help with your gut health, digestion, and inflammation, among other things.

Lately I’ve been prioritizing taking care of my gut health. Resetting and nourishing my digestive system has been a big goal of mine, and I’ve noticed instant results. It’s stunning how much better I feel when my gut health is being cared for.

One thing that’s really helped me? Kitchari. I’ve worked kitchari into my diet with regularity. I have it all the time, and sometimes even do a kitchari cleanse, where I eat it for both lunch and dinner following an oatmeal breakfast.

Kitchari For The American Kitchen Recipe

My go-to kitchari recipe not only makes me feel healthy and peaceful, but it’s delicious, too. There’s so much flavor from the spices, and the dal is hearty and healing.

Kitchari is an essential part of an Ayurvedic diet. It’s traditionally a blend of basmati rice and mung dal, which is a split version of whole mung beans. These two hearty and comforting foods are combined with healing vegetables and lots of spices to create a dish that has balancing properties for all three doshas. Kitchari is a staple of Ayurvedic living, as it nourishes the body, mind, and spirit.

Kitchari uses a strong and unique blend of spices that are meant to not only add flavor, but also balance the doshas. A good kitchari recipe will feature warming spices, detoxifying spices, and anti-inflammatory spices … and it will taste delicious!

Khichadi Recipe (kitchari)

One of the keys to making kitchari is to use some whole spices. These add a stronger, and more fresh flavor to the dish, which has a porridge-like consistency.

Here are the ingredients you need to make this easy and healing kitchari dish. Check out the recipe card at the bottom of the article for the exact amounts of each ingredient.

Kitchari is a recipe that you can easily play with. You can adjust it to make it your own. The goal of kitchari is to be healing, balancing, and gentle on your digestive system. Here are some tips and variations that you can try' to get the most out of your recipe.

Cleansing Ayurvedic Kitchari Recipe

Kitchari stores well and easily. Keep it in an airtight container, and it will last in the fridge for up to 4 days. You can quickly reheat it in the microwave in 30-second increments at 80% power until it’s heated all the way through.

Yes, you can freeze kitchari to ensure that you have an amazing gut health food in your freezer whenever you need it. Store it in an airtight bag in the freezer for up to 3 months, and thaw or defrost fully before reheating.

Kitchari is one of my favorite recipes for taking care of my gut health. Here are a few of my other favorites.

Ayurvedic Kitchari (khichdi) Recipe

This kitchari recipe is full of flavor, great for your gut health, and healing for your mind and body. It's a staple of Ayurvedic eating, and easy to make.

Store the kitchari in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Reheat in the microwave on 80% power in 30-second increments. 

Calories: 343 kcal | Carbohydrates: 59 g | Protein: 18 g | Fat: 5 g | Saturated Fat: 3 g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2 g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.5 g | Sodium: 346 mg | Potassium: 395 mg | Fiber: 9 g | Sugar: 4 g | Vitamin A: 113 IU | Vitamin C: 50 mg | Calcium: 73 mg | Iron: 4 mgFor a low FODMAP version of this healing kitchari recipe, that might be more appropriate for the IBS / SIBO set, you can find an updated recipe in my cookbook, SIBO Made Simple.

How To Make Kitchari

Some version of this healing kitchari recipe has been on rotation in my kitchen for years, ever since I began learning more about healing my autoimmune disease and writing books about it.

Whenever I’m coming back from a particularly glutinous vacation, or if my digestion is feeling stagnant, I turn to warming bowls like this one. It’s a great compliment to a full vice detox or any period of natural liver cleansing.

Kitchari, for those who aren’t familiar, is a flagpole recipe of healing Ayurvedic cuisine, and is said to be the best combination of nourishing foods that won’t tax your digestive system. If you’re not familiar with the philosophies and teachings of this ancient medicine, I highly recommend listening to my interview on the podcast which tackles the Ayurvedic approach to gut health and pesky weight fluctuations.

Healthy Ayurvedic Kitchari Delivery

Kitchari is traditionally made from either yellow lentils or split peas, basmati rice, a mixture of digestive spices, and ghee. With Paleo-ism on the rise, I know this might seem strange to some of you. Aren’t legumes and grains hard to digest?

The theory behind this dish’s efficacy has a lot to do with the concept of food combining. A mono-nutrient fast gives our digestive systems a much-needed break from dealing with a mess of different foods every meal. The dal and rice is cooked until just short of mush, so it’s easier to absorb. The spice mix fires up our belly, and the ghee (or coconut oil) helps lube up your tubing and allows fat-soluable nutrients to assimilate.

This kitchari recipe, which is adapted from Leah Vanderveldt’s fabulous book The New Nourishing, is also packed with greens for added fiber, vitamins and minerals. This may go against the grain (literally and figuratively) of the traditional recipe, but since the veggies are also cooked down until quite soft, it isn’t too taxing on your system and makes the kitchari recipe more of a complete meal.

Ayurvedic Kitchari Recipe With Coconut Milk

Even though one of the main ingredients is a legume, this dish is actually fairly easy to adapt to a low FODMAP diet. In fact, I have a recipe for low FODMAP brown rice kitchari in my new book, SIBO Made Simple.

Working from this kitchari recipe, simply double the rice and skip the split peas or lentils, and limit the broccoli to 2 cups. The mixture doesn’t have onion or garlic, so for once, you’re covered in that department. And you can serve without the yogurt topping.

In fact, traditional kitchari is a subtle nod to what many of us who have experimented with a low FODMAP diet know: that onion and garlic can be irritating for many people. It’s no surprise that they are omitted as part of the therapeutic aspects of this dish.

A Healing Ayurvedic Kitchari Recipe

I got into depth here about natural ways to detox and how food fits into the picture. You can find a list of my favorite detox ingredients there, many of which are included in this kitchari recipe.

One of my favorite cleansing herbs is cilantro, which is an all-star chelating agent. If you’re doing a liver detox or even a period of SIBO treatment, I highly recommend adding a few handfuls of leaves to your finished dishes or pureeing it into soups. So for both flavor and health benefits, I think it’s the perfect things to garnish your bowl of green kitchari.

5 Star Reader Review “Amazing version of kitchari! I’ve made it 3 times, each a little different. That’s the beauty of this recipe you can be very creative / flexible with amazing results. Add the vegetables you like and/or best for your dosha.” —Matt

Spring Kitchari Recipe

This recipe is naturally vegan, dairy free, gluten free, nut free, and soy free. But some people also will add a dollop of plain unsweetened yogurt for a probiotic boost. I try to steer clear of dairy whenever I’m doing a liver detox or healing my digestion, but a coconut yogurt would work well.

Finally, this recipe is quite plain on purpose, just using fresh ginger and digestive spices like turmeric, coriander, cumin, fennel seeds and fenugreek. As I mentioned above, there’s purposely no alliums and no hot or spicy ingredients beyond the slight heat of the ginger. BUT if you’re just enjoying this recipe as a healthy dinner and not a cleanse, I will say that a dash of hot sauce or chili crisp makes it all the more delicious. Don’t shoot the messenger!

All in all, this kitchari recipe could not be easier. Since you’re cooking the rice and lentils in so much liquid, it’s hard to screw it up. If you find that your grains are too dry and they aren’t fully soft yet, just add more water. It benefits from some degree of experimentation and feel, but is also hard to screw up.

Here's What You Need To Know About Ayurvedic Kitchari|here's What You Need To Know About Ayurvedic Kitchari

If you have any health woes that you’re planning on tackling, my meal plans might be the perfect way to approach them together. Kitchari is a fantastic pantry option, as are some of the recipes in my pantry planner. You can find more recipes for detoxing your liver here.

This Green Kitchari Bowl recipe is adapted from Leah Vanderveldt's fabulous cookbook The New Nourishing. The fennel seeds are the sleeper spice in here and so good for digestion. Kitchari is a staple of healing Ayurvedic cooking since the rice and lentils are cooked until easily digestible and