Kitchari Recipe

I make this stew at least once a week. It’s my go-to meal. My heat-loving pitta husband adds a dollop of ginger pickle for more taste.

Serves 4

Advantages

• Perfect protein (9 amino acids)

• Numerous essential vitamins and minerals such as iron, calcium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, folate, copper, zinc and various B vitamins

• Great source of dietary fiber and contains a large amount of anti-aging, cancer-fighting antioxidants

• The mushy state of the dal and basmati rice allows for easy digestion

• Can be eaten for breakfast, lunch or dinner

• Has a great Indian flavor without the onion and garlic, so great for the allium intolerant

Planning to make Kitchari later today? This recipe serves four.

Pre-Soak

• ½ cup brown basmati rice, and

• ½ cup organic yellow split mung dal

 …in a bowl with enough water to cover the mixture and then some. If you would like to rinse the mung and rice, do so and then add more water. Soak for 1 hour at least or overnight.

Gather your 3-4 vegetables (see right) and prepare them.

Ready to cook?

Get yourself a nice big pot with a tight fitting lid.

Place

• 1-2 teaspoons chopped fresh ginger

• 2 teaspoons of ghee or coconut oil

• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds

• ½ teaspoon cumin seeds

 …at the bottom of the pot. Turn the burner on high. Sauté the ghee and spices quickly and don’t let the seeds burn. Pour in the basmati rice and mung beans along with the water. Stir, and add these spices:

• 1 tablespoon coriander powder

• 1 teaspoon of turmeric

• 1 teaspoon of salt

The following times are approximate – here’s what works for me: When the mixture comes to a boil, set cover, lower to simmer and set timer for 10 minutes. Next, add the sweet potatoes, bring to a boil again, cover, lower heat to simmer and cook, covered, for 8 minutes.  

Then add the carrots and green beans and cook for another 5 minutes. Keep the temperature at simmer unless it cools down too much. If it does, turn up the stew until it boils and lower the temperature again. The goal is to have the mung and rice well cooked but the veggies a little al dente.

Next comes the zucchini. Cook for another 5 minutes. Test the veggies. If you are not serving right away, take the stew off the heat early and keep covered.

Suggested Veggies

• 1-2 Yams or sweet potatoes

• 2 carrots

• 1½ cups of fresh green beans

• 1 small or medium zucchini

• 1-2 more cups of water, as needed

• Optional: 1 leaf of kombu (seaweed) – you can also substitute a wakame leaf

The consistency should be that of a stew as opposed to a broth.  With too much boiling, the stew will be mushy.

Garnish with fresh cilantro, coconut flakes, and/or chutney. Add salt to taste. 

The stew is good for another 24 hours. If your kitchen room temperature is cool enough, keep the stew out of the refrigerator.

Belgian waffles

These waffles are not only easy to digest, they are gluten free and sugar free.

Makes 6 waffles

First, plug in your waffle iron. In order for the waffles to cook successfully, I recommend plugging it in at least 20 minutes ahead of time.

Mix:

• 1 cup of brown rice flour (or 1/2 cup of brown rice flour and 1/2 cup of buckwheat flour)

• 1/2 cup potato or arrowroot starch

• 1/4 cup of tapioca flour

• 3/4 teaspoon of salt

• 2 teaspoons of baking powder

• 1/4 cup sunflower oil

• 1 1/2 cups of buttermilk or yogurt

• 2 eggs, separated, and egg whites beaten to a froth

Directions:

Stir ingredients and cook in oiled waffle iron.
In our waffle iron, these cook in 3 1/2 minutes. Top with fruit, butter, real maple syrup. For those who are sugar sensitive, I recommend sunflower butter and sliced banana.

Pumpkin Squash Soup

This is an excellent easy-to-make soup for those cold winter nights. It's also good for a gathering. The spices and herbs give it plenty of taste, so no garlic or onion needed. My favorite squash to cook with is kabocha because the skin cooks well.

• 1 can pumpkin purée (organic, no additives)

• 1 butternut, acorn or kabocha squash

• 1 can coconut milk

• 1 apple

• 1 scallion (omit if allium intolerant)

• 2 tablespoons of olive oil

• Vegetable broth (use 1 tsp of bouillon in 2 cups of boiling water)

Spices:

• Curry powder

• Oregano

• Thyme

• Basil

• Salt and pepper

Directions:

Cut the squash in half, clean out the seeds, place facedown in a 9 x 13 baking dish with 1 to 2 inches of water. Bake at 375F for 30 minutes. You can also steam the squash in a big pot.

When soft, clean out the squash purée. You could put in a food processor, but I'm too lazy to do that. I just mash and stir.

In a big pot, sauté the chopped scallions and half of the olive oil. Add chopped up apple (without the skin), then the squash, then 2 cups of vegetable broth. Stir until well blended, then add the coconut milk and the pumpkin purée.

Add the spices, heat to boiling, simmer for 10 minutes. Add additional spices as needed.

Water might need to be added depending on your desired consistency.

Moroccan Stew ~ “Tajine”

Moroccan stew is perfect for Vatas: cooling spices, root vegetables, which are great for absorbing flavor, and of course, it's warm. The addition of the dried fruit is what makes it truly Moroccan. Served on a bed of steaming couscous, it is filling, yet very easy to digest. You can tailor the stew to your needs. If you would like to add meat, you can. For vegetarians, a can chickpeas will add some heft.

Veggies:

• Parsnips

• Carrots

• Squash 

• Small potatoes or chopped sweet potatoes

• Zucchini

• Portobello mushrooms

You can add a variety of vegetables to a Moroccan stew.

Other ingredients:

• Dried prunes, apricots, or raisins

• 1 teaspoon of vegetarian bouillon

• Olive oil as needed

Spices:

Hopefully, you can get your hands on some "Ras el hanout" which is a Moroccan spice mixture. It is the easiest way as there are up to 27 spices included, depending on the source.

If you don't have this mixture, you could make it yourself with the following Vata Friendly spices:

• Cardamom

• Cumin

• Cloves

• Cinnamon

• Nutmeg

• Mace

• Allspice

• Turmeric

• Some fresh ginger

• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Chop your vegetables into fairly large chunks.

2. Sauté a teaspoon of fresh ginger, and one scallion (optional) in olive oil.

3. Add all of the vegetables and sautée briefly.

4. Add 1 tablespoon of Ras el Hanout, or a combination of the spices mentioned above, and stir.

5. Add 5 cups of water and bring to a boil.

6. Add the teaspoon of bouillon.

7. Cook the mixture, uncovered, for 20 minutes.

8. Add can of garbanzo beans, and cook another five minutes. Test the vegetables to make sure they are done.

9. Let sit for 10 minutes.

10. Serve on top of couscous — scroll down for couscous..

Couscous

Making couscous could not be easier. Simply boil twice the amount of water that you have of the couscous. When the water comes to a rapid boil, stir in the couscous, cover and remove from heat. Let sit for five minutes and it's ready! You will need approximately 1/3 cup of dried (ideally whole wheat) couscous per person.

Serve the couscous and stew in a soup plate and garnish with either fresh parsley or coriander. Add pine nuts for an additional garnish.

Quick Breads

Vata Friendly Quick Bread Principles

Vata Friendly believes that quick breads should be light, high in protein, and have low/no sugar. These are not vegan recipes, as my Vata and sugar sensitive constitution prioritizes low/no sugar over non-dairy, but they can easily be converted to gluten free.To convert a recipe to gluten free, simply replace the wheat flour with any kind of flour you like. If all of the flours you use are gluten free, consider adding ½-1 tsp of xanthan gum to the mixture so that it holds together. With these recipes, xanthan gum isn’t necessary.

For further inspiration, I recommend Bob's Red Mill Baking Book because the recipes use many different kinds of flour.

Date TollHouse Cookies

Are you a Vata that has been told to stay away from chocolate and carob? Stash the pity party and make these cookies as a revenge. I got the idea from my grandmother (born in 1899 and died in 1996). She, perhaps influenced by her time as an expatriate living in Egypt, replaced the chocolate chips with chopped dates. These are cookies to die for!

Recipe

(Use whatever combination of flours suits you. If doing gluten free, you’ll need the xanthan gum to hold it together.)

• 1/2 cup spelt flour

• 1/4 cup barley flour

• 1/4 cup millet flour

• 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 8 tablespoons of unsalted butter, softened

• 1/8 cup Stevia

• 1 egg

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 cup chopped dates (buy them already chopped and flowered, it’s easier)

• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts.

The cookie dough will be sticky. Bake at 350° on a greased cookie sheet for 10-11 minutes.