Kitchari: The Rice and Mung Dal Dish of the Ayurvedic Kitchen

Kitchari (also spelt khichdi, khichri or kichadi) is a soft, porridge-like dish of rice and split mung dal cooked together with water and a few spices. It is a plain home food across India, eaten on ordinary days, for children’s first solid meals and on days when people want something light and warm.

In Ayurveda, tradition describes kitchari as easy to digest and gentle. This page explains why teachers say so, offers a simple way to cook it as everyday food, and is clear about what it is not: it is not a cleanse, a detox or a treatment, and nothing here claims it heals anything.

What kitchari is

The two main ingredients are rice and mung dal, the split, skinned form of the small green mung bean. Cooked together with plenty of water, they break down into a thick, comforting porridge. Regional versions differ widely. Some cooks make it dry and fluffy, some soupy, some with vegetables, and some with only salt and a little fat. In Gujarat it is often served with kadhi or yoghurt-based side dishes, and in other places with pickle, papad or a spoonful of ghee.

It is one of the oldest forms of khichdi and is mentioned in many regional food traditions, which means there is no single correct recipe. Treat any recipe, including the one below, as a starting point.

How tradition describes it

Ayurvedic teachers classify mung dal among the lighter pulses. Compared with other beans and lentils, it is traditionally described as lighter and less likely to cause heaviness or wind, and rice is described as sweet, soft and easy to eat. Cooked together until very soft, the pair is said to be easy on the digestive fire, or agni. The texts and later teachers differ on the finer points, such as which kind of rice is best, and the classical books describe many rice and pulse preparations, not one dish named kitchari.

You will often read that kitchari “balances all three doshas”. That is a popular modern phrase and a loose summary of a traditional idea, not a scientific finding. Teachers generally say that its qualities (soft, moist, warm and light) suit vata and pitta well, and that kapha types may prefer it lightly spiced and not too oily. The page on the qualities of foods explains that vocabulary.

A simple everyday way to cook it

This is an ordinary food method, offered the way you might share a recipe with a friend. It makes enough for about two people.

Ingredients

• Half a cup of basmati or other rice, rinsed well
• Half a cup of split, skinned mung dal, rinsed until the water runs fairly clear
• About four cups of water, plus more if needed
• A teaspoon of ghee or oil
• A pinch of cumin seeds
• A small piece of fresh ginger, finely chopped, if you like it
• A little turmeric, a pinch of salt, and chopped coriander leaves to finish

Method

1. Warm the ghee or oil in a pot over a medium heat and add the cumin seeds. When they sizzle, add the ginger if using.
2. Stir in the rinsed rice and dal for a minute, then add the turmeric and the water.
3. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat, partly cover and cook for about 25 to 35 minutes, stirring now and then and adding hot water if it thickens too much. It should be very soft.
4. Add salt towards the end, and top with coriander leaves.

Some cooks add chopped carrot, bottle gourd or spinach, which makes a fuller meal. Leftovers should be cooled quickly and refrigerated, as described below.

You can read about the everyday spices on the page spices in the Ayurvedic kitchen. The amounts here are ordinary cooking amounts for flavour, and are not intended to have any effect on health.

Food safety with rice and dal

Cooked rice can carry bacteria whose spores survive cooking and grow if the food sits warm. To lower the risk, serve kitchari soon after cooking, cool leftovers within about an hour or two, keep them in the fridge, and reheat until steaming hot all the way through. Do not reheat the same portion more than once. Always rinse the grains, and cook pulses thoroughly.

If you buy ready-made kitchari mixes, check the ingredient list for allergens and for added salt.

Kitchari is not a cleanse

Social media and some wellness retreats present a kitchari “cleanse”, in which a person eats only kitchari for several days. Some Ayurvedic teachers do describe diets of this kind in connection with panchakarma, a supervised programme described on the page about panchakarma. This site does not give instructions for any such programme, and nothing here promises that kitchari removes toxins or cures illness. The body has its own routes for processing waste, and there is no evidence that a kitchari-only diet detoxifies it.

Eating only one dish for days is a restrictive diet. It can leave you short of protein variety, fibre, vitamins and calories, and it may cause dizziness, weakness or headaches in some people. Please speak to a doctor before trying any mono-diet or fasting regime. It is not suitable, without medical guidance, for people with the following situations.

• Diabetes, or anyone taking diabetes medicines, because meals and carbohydrate timing matter.
• Pregnancy or breastfeeding.
• Children and teenagers, who need varied food for growth.
• A current or past eating disorder, where restrictive eating can be harmful.
• Kidney disease, a long-term illness, older age with weight loss or any condition managed with a special diet.

For most people, a bowl of kitchari as one meal among varied meals is just food.

Where it fits in a day

Kitchari is often eaten at the main midday meal or a light supper, when digestion is traditionally said to be at its best at noon and gentler by evening. See meal timing for how the tradition views that rhythm. If you are not sure what suits you, a dietitian or doctor is the right person to ask.

Everything here is general education, not medical advice. Our medical disclaimer explains the limits. See a doctor about any health concern, and a registered Ayurvedic practitioner (BAMS in India) if you want Ayurvedic treatment.

Frequently asked questions