Curried Coconut Sprouted Kitchari

So, I decided to try out making my own variation of Kitchari. It is an Indian dish originally and is a dish highly recommended for cleansing by the ancient, holistic, healing principles of Ayurveda. I have been considering making it for some time now, and had a friend suggesting it to me as well, to help ease my symptoms from chemo, eating and digestion can sometimes be a challenge. Although this particular chemo was a rather mild one, which I am pretty happy about. I still have had moments of tiredness and nausea, but not nearly as much as normal. Anyhow, just feeling up to cooking is a huge thing! I attribute this to juicing!

So, onto the recipe... I based my version on the recipe through the Ayurveda Institute but made some minor changes due to what I had on hand and my personal needs/likes. Obviously I do not use ghee since I am vegan, I substituted the ghee for coconut oil. I also added a few veggies that sounded good to me and that I had available. Anyway here it is!

Curried Coconut Kitchari:
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 onion sliced
1 inch chunk of ginger peeled & diced
4-5 cloves garlic minced
3 smoked dried chili peppers diced

8 cups water
1 can coconut milk
2 carrots diced
3 bay leaves
1 tbsp curry
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tbsp sea salt
2 cups sprouted mung beans
1 zucchini diced
1.5 cups (pre-cooked amt) steamed brown rice
2-3 handfuls baby spinach
2-3 sprigs fresh basil chopped

Directions:
Soak your mung beans the night before. Drain & rinse well. If you want them slightly sprouted then start two days before by soaking them overnight, draining and rinsing them, and leave them in the jar with no water to allow them to sprout. Rinse and drain them twice a day. They sprout rather quickly, so you will want to cook them the 2nd day before the sprouts get too long. I love them sprouted a bit.

Brown the onion, garlic and ginger in the coconut oil for a few mintutes then add in the chili's. Add a splash of water as needed to keep it from scorching. Once slightly browned and soft, add in the water, coconut milk, carrots, spices & mung beans and let simmer slowly until the carrots and mung beans are starting to get soft, around 20 minutes. Add in the zucchini and simmer for another 10 minutes. Stir in rice and continue simmering for about 5-10 minutes. Mix in the baby spinach and fresh basil and serve. This makes about 8-12 servings. This recipe is a bit on the spicy side, so adjust for your taste! You can eliminate or reduce the chili's and/or cayenne to make this a mild dish. This came out pretty yummy and I plan on making it a lot more and trying new variations!