Kichari, an Indian spiced legume and rice porridge, really is something special. It can be something as simple as rice and red lentils cooked together, seasoned with salt and pepper and eaten as is. Many variations include a variety of veggies cooked right into the pot; onions, peas, cauliflower, you name it. It’s often spiced with mustard seeds, cumin, fenugreek, and our all time-favorite, turmeric. It’s like an Indian risotto, cooked on a stove top until nice and creamy and dished out in wide bowls. You can eat it alone or with a simple flat bread. Here I change it up a bit and form this simple dish into our “Kichari Patties”. Dressed with a bit of tamarind sauce or hot sauce, it can be served as a snack, lunch, or dinner. Since it contains both rice and lentils (and a myriad of vegetables) it is in fact a very complete meal (and a complete protein!) Enjoy these while the weather is still cool, and it feels good to eat something warming and grounding. Be sure to include some black pepper in them as well, as it’s proven that black pepper increases our good friend turmeric’s bioavailability 1000x, yes 1000x. Gotta love when our plant friends work together as a team.

Ingredients

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 tsp fresh ginger, chopped

1/2 cup onion, chopped

1 cup red lentils

1 cup brown rice (basmati, long grain, or short grain)

2.5 cups water

3 veggies of choice, 1 cup of each, finely chopped:

broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, potatoes, peas, carrots, kale, etc.

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp black pepper

1-2 Tbsp oil

Method