Kichiri, the perfect comfort food!

When you’ve had a cold, the flu, or even a hangover from too much rich food or drink, kichiri will soothe your digestion while strengthening your reserves.

This is a dish traditionally made in India with lots of warming spices. My version focuses more on the soothing creamy aspects, especially good when the tummy is out of sorts, or you are feeling nauseous.

The idea is simple – boil some white rice, red lentils, and sea salt together, add a little coconut oil before serving. Voila!

For a super strengthening dish, especially if you have been ill for awhile, you can use a bone broth instead of water. I prefer a chicken bone broth for this recipe.

(If you are not familiar with bone broths: take the bones and cartilage of a chicken, cover with water, add a little sea salt and 1 T apple cider vinegar. Boil for 12 hours, or pressure cook for 1 hour. You can also add herbs and veggies if you like. The resulting concentrated broth is mineral rich, full of gelatin, and very healing.)

I use Herbmare for the salt to give it a more westernized homey taste, like mashed potatoes. And that really is the category of comfort food this is. When I eat it, I feel like I am sitting down to a huge bowl of mashers

Kichiri

1 cup of white rice – basmati if you have it

1/2 cup split red lentils

1 tsp Herbamare

4-5 cups filtered water or bone broth, 5 cups will make it even creamier

• wash the rice and lentils with cold water until it runs clear
• place everything in a heavy bottomed pot and bring to a boil, or, use a rice cooker on the white rice setting
• bring to a boil, then simmer for 20 minutes with the lid on
• turn off the heat and let set for 5 minutes
• stir and serve with a dab of coconut oil swirled in and a pinch of salt if needed
• you can also add fresh herbs like parsley or cilantro
• if dairy works for you, some organic, grass-fed cultured yogurt or kefir on top can also be good with this