Use This Kitchari Cleanse Recipe for a Digestive Reset

Below you’ll find our Kitchari Cleanse Recipe, as well as recipes for spice blends and herbal infusions. It’s everything you need for a nourishing and detoxifying Ayurvedic cleanse! Get our detailed cleanse instructions here.

Kitchari Cleanse Recipe

Makes 4-6 Servings

Ingredients:

• 1 cup split yellow mung beans or red lentils
• ½ cup white basmati rice
• 1 tablespoon Carminative Spice Blend (recipe below)
• 1 tablespoon ghee (try our Turmeric Spiced flavored ghee!)
• ½ teaspoon whole cumin seed
• ½ teaspoon whole coriander seed
• ½ teaspoon whole fennel seed
• ½ to 1 teaspoon salt
• Fresh parsley, cilantro, lemon or lime juice (optional)

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Steps:

1. The night before, place mung beans or lentils in a bowl and cover with water. If you like, you can also soak your rice in the same bowl (this will result in a mushier, easier-to-digest kitchari). Soak at room temperature overnight.
2. In the morning, thoroughly rinse beans and rice in a fine mesh sieve, until water runs clear.
3. Heat 5 cups of water in a pot until boiling. Add beans, rice and Carminative Spice Blend. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Simmer, partially covered, for 20 minutes.
4. After 20 minutes, check to see if beans and rice are still submerged in water. If not, add ½ cup to 1 cup water to cover them again.
5. Cook ten minutes more. Meanwhile, in a small skillet, melt the ghee. Add cumin, coriander and fennel and fry for 1-2 minutes, until fragrant. Pour this over the kitchari, add salt, and stir.
6. Serve topped with fresh parsley or cilantro and lemon or lime juice.

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Variation: Kapha-Pacifying Kitchari

If you have a cold, damp constitution characterized by sluggish digestion, you may enjoy this warming, pungent variation on our Kitchari Cleanse Recipe.

1. Follow steps 1-2 above to prepare beans and rice.
2. In a large pot, melt 1 tablespoon ghee. Add ½ onion, chopped; 1 garlic clove, minced; and a 1-inch piece fresh ginger, minced. Fry until fragrant, then add 1 tablespoon Carminative Spice Blend and 1 teaspoon mustard seeds. When you can smell the dried spices and mustard seeds begin to pop, add beans and rice to the pot. Stir to coat with spices. Then add 5 cups water, bring to a boil, and reduce heat to low. Partially cover and simmer 20 minutes.
3. Follow steps 4-6 above.

Carminative Spice Blend for Kitchari Cleanse Recipe

Makes enough for 3-4 days of cleansing

Use this savory spice blend in our Kitchari Cleanse Recipe, and in all your cooking. It’s great on roasted, sautéed or grilled vegetables and proteins.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon whole cumin seed
• 1 tablespoon whole coriander seed
• 1 tablespoon turmeric powder
• 1 tablespoon ginger powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon hing (asafoetida), optional
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper

Steps:

1. In a dry frying pan over medium heat, toast whole cumin and coriander seeds until just fragrant. Remove from heat and cool completely.
2. When toasted seeds are cool, grind them in a mortar and pestle or clean coffee grinder until powdered.
3. Combine powdered toasted seeds with remaining ingredients and stir until well blended. Transfer to a shaker jar with lid. Use in our Kitchari Cleanse Recipe, and on cooked vegetables and eggs during your cleanse.

Supportive Herbal Infusions

Makes 1 Quart

The herbs below are loaded with minerals and other compounds that are best extracted in an overnight steep. Consumed alongside our Kitchari Cleanse Recipe during your Ayurvedic cleanse, these herbs nourish the body and its eliminatory systems, supporting you during your cleanse.

Ingredients:

1 oz dried nettle, red clover or oat straw

Steps:

1. Place dried herbs in a glass quart-sized jar.
2. Bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Pour boiling water over herbs to fill the jar.
3. Cover and steep overnight.
4. In the morning, strain and drink at room temperature or warmed up.