Vegan Kitchari from Anupy Singla's "The Indian Slow Cooker" Book

Whole Green Lentil and Brown Rice Porridge
"Sabut Moong Kitchari" from "The Indian Slow Cooker Book" by Anupy Singla

I woke up at the crack of dawn because I had a meeting with a client, but my bleary eyed self read his email that he had "double-booked" himself.  What now?  I didn't want to try to go back to bed with the dogs and the cat and wake up my husband, who does not thrive on sleep loss (somehow I have the illusion that I do).  Hmmmm.......Okay, just whip up some Kitchari and some Rajmah from The Indian Slow Cooker Book.  The Rajmah takes 12 hours! But if I started it now then it would be done by the time I walked in the door tonight!

You want Moong Beans.  Or "Mung" beans.  But not what may be labelled "Green Lentils"in the Whole Foods Bulk Department.  If they have them in bulk they would be called "Mung" (the type you sprout), and at the International Store they are "Moong".

Mung Beans.  Often a "healing" indgredient.  Easy on the tummy.

Kitchari is when you mix the lentils, rice, and all the other goodies up in one pot.  I had always seen it in the Yoga and Kundalini type cookbooks as being a healing, cleansing type of food.  Maybe because the Mung (Moong) beans are easy on the tummy.  Anupy Singla includes 2 Kitchari recipes in her book.  The Whole Green Lentil and Brown Rice Porridge is the one I made today.  It is the spicy one.  This dish is done in 4 hours!!  And it's incredible.  I kind of thought it might lack a little spice, since I had associated Kitchari with healing upset tummies, but this Kitchari is full of spice and flavor.  The other Kitchari, Split Green Lentil and Rice Porridge, on the page prior, is the "Healing Tummy" one.  We loved this recipe and it cooks up so quickly!  My dad has been heating the water prior to adding it to the slow cooker and make it a little bit less of a "slow" cooker.  He mentioned that there was a little section in the beginning of the book about doing that to decrease the cooking time.  

Organic Brown Basmati Rice.  

Hanging out in my newest slow cooker.  We bought a smaller one so we could go crazy and cook
more than one thing at a time.

All the ingredients Dr. Oz has on his show, nearly everyday, that fix ya up.

Before Cooking.

Slow Cooker Party in the Kitchen.

Finished Kitchari.  After stirring there was no liquid on top.
 I can't believe that in just a few minutes I made this much food.

We ate this for lunch while my husband read me dismal economic news from the ipad.  The HuffPost reiterating what  Karen Weaver had said about the municipalities faltering on their bonds.  Police, firemen, teachers getting cut.  People not getting their pensions.  So unreal, yet I guess totally expected, in our country.  The darkest economic days have not yet arrived.  But Anupy's Kitchari will save the day!

Verdict:  The Kitchari rocked.  I really was expecting something more bland (I am A Spicy Lady) because it didn't have a ton of spices in it. But it was bursting with flavor and I can see where you would be inclined to make it everyday!  This dish is great because it has the rice and mung beans all in one pot.  Sounds like Anupy's kids might be growing up on the stuff.  The Mung Beans are very mild in flavor and supposed to be very digestible.  I used to be able to get them in bulk at Whole Foods but the last few times I haven't seen them there.  I ended up getting them at the Indian Store, where they don't carry organic anything.  But I will probably try to order them organic next time.

Hands down the best new book for Vegans.
If you think you don't "do" slow-cookers, think again.
Anupy has made it so you simply dump dried, unsoaked beans in for these recipes.
You can make these dishes super healthy, for pennies, with only minutes of actual prep time. Also great for all of those "Raw Mom, Cooked Dad" households.  Funny that I even know of such a thing, a decade ago I would have been "What's a cooked Dad?"

Anyway, the Kitchari and knowing we can make super healthy and delicious food for pennies, does help a bit!

Vegan Tart Whole Pigeon Peas

Tart Whole Pigeon Peas next to photo on p.58
in The Indian Slow Cooker

"Khata Sabut Toor Dal" is in the crock-pot tonight and I can't believe how amazing it smells!!  This is the first recipe that I have used from Anupy's book, that uses fresh curry leaves.  The Indian grocers should have these in stock.  Ours had them in the "cooler" by the produce for 99 cents a small plastic bag.  They seem to have a decent shelf life and they are beautiful!

Fresh Curry Leaves
Look for them at your Indian Grocer.

Fresh Curry Leaves

It only takes 4 hours on high. You cook the pigeon peas/whole toor dal first, and then you saute the other ingredients and add it to cooker.  It was also my virgin experience with "popping" black mustard seeds on the stove.  It was somewhat frightening since I don't really cook ANYTHING on the stove anymore (except hot water in the tea kettle).  So you put the black mustard seeds in first, followed by the curry leaves, seasonings, etc....The curry leaves smell very exotic.  This is a "dry" dish.  Not soupy or full of broth.  Today's lunch consisted of leftovers: Saucy Punjabi Potatoes, Amla Chickpeas, and Goan Black Eyed Beans.

"Swad" brand Whole Pigeon Peas
(Toor Whole)

Pretty?

Black Mustard Seeds.

The Mega Size of "Earth Balance".  Not usually a staple but
husband is addicted to Ezekiel bread and Earth Balance so we stocked up!

I used a cast iron skillet with "Earth Balance" vegan butter to
"pop" my mustard seeds!

Frying up the curry leaves with mustard seeds, onions, etc....

All of the ingredients in the Slow Cooker.



Mixed all together before cooking.

So the Pigeon Peas turned out well.  They are on the "drier" side of dished.  The peas almost seem like they could have used a bit more water or cooked a bit longer.  This could be due to my preference for very well cooked beans or just that every slow cooker is slightly different and dried chickpeas also vary, so maybe I  should have added a touch more water.  I remember reading that the age of the dried legumes would affect the cooking time.  If the beans have been sitting there forever they will probably need more time.  Some places sell you very fresh dried beans and these apparently cook more quickly and have a better flavor.  I thought this dish was very attractive with it's chilies!

Pigeon Peas

Indian Fest with "Saucy Punjabi Potatoes" with a dollop of Coconut Yogurt (vegan),
Amla Chickpeas,  Goan Black Eyed Peas, and Organic Brown Basmati Rice.
We ate this while the Toor Dal was cooking.
Our own "Indian Buffet" vegan style.