Variaton on Kate's One Pot Curry Kitchari
Why I Love This Recipe
One of our great CSA box host, Kate, shared this recipe she's been making at least one time a week with any veggie from our boxes she has handy. I believe it is an Ayurvedic recipe. In any case, I tried her recipe over the week-end, but not having curry powder or curry paste at the time, I made my own curry powder. It's a great recipe for using up leftovers and it's a recipe that makes for great leftovers as it is even better the next day! Thanks for sharing this easy and handy recipe, Kate, that will surely become a classic/comfort food in our household.
Ingredients You'll Need
2 Tbsp oil
1 large onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1 inch ginger piece, minced
1 cup dried green lentils (or moong dal beans)
2 cups of rice (I used calrose rice but Kate uses parboiled or anything but brown rice)
1 batch of Gen's curry powder mix (see recipe below OR use 1 tbsp curry powder or curry paste as Kate does)
Dash of salt
4 cups of cold water
4 cups of vegetables/protein that you have at hand such as:
- greens (e.g. 3 Swiss chard leaves, cut in 1/2 inch ribbons)
- peppers (e.g. 1 pepper, chopped)
- carrots (e.g. 1 carrot)
- cauliflower or cabbage (e.g. 1/2 cabbage, thinly sliced)
- zucchini, winter squash or sweet potato, cubed
- Broccoli or green/yellow beans (e.g. 1/2 broccoli head)
- chickpeas, tofu or tempeh
1 cup fresh coriander leaves (optional)
GEN'S CURRY POWDER MIX
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. cumin seeds
1/2 tsp. mustard seeds
1/2 tsp. fenugreek seeds (optional)
1/2 tsp. fennel seeds (optional)
1/2 tsp. turmeric
1 pinch asafoetida (optional)
3 green cardamom pods (optional)
2 bay leaves
Directions
1. Heat oil in a medium sized pot. When hot, add the onion and sauté 2 minutes. Add Gen' curry powder mix (or curry powder or curry paste), ginger and garlic. Stir and sautée for 1 minute.
2. Add 1 cup dry, green lentils. Stir to coat, sautée for 1 minute. Make sure they do not burn. Add rice and add a little more oil to coat and stir well.
Simmer less then a minute. Add a dash of salt.
3. Add the 4 cups of cold water, stir once and put on the lid. Raise heat to high. Check and when it is boiling, turn heat to simmer and leave for 10-15 minutes.
4. Add the chopped vegetables/protein to the rice. If all the water is absorbed into the rice already, pour in a little more and give it a stir so that there is steam to cook the veggies. Put the lid on and let it simmer for 5 more minutes.
5. When all the water is absorbed and the veggies are cooked, turn off heat, take off the stove and add the coriander leaves (optional). Mix well.
6. Serve hot or just warm. Kate suggests, adding a second dish of a vegetable curry and yogurt on the side as well as cucumbers too. Or just put this in bowls and it is dinner.
