After all the lovely Indian summer weather over the last few weeks, it felt as though autumn arrived with a bang a few days ago and the wind and rain really brought home the fact that we are already in October. Today was back to sun again and I ate my lunch out on the cliffs in warm sunshine. The changeable weather has prompted me to begin to adjust my diet by including more warm food and spices to help my body prepare for the cooler weather conditions that are ahead.

It’s a great excuse to start having kitcheri for lunch again as it’s one of my favourites. Kitcheri is a one-pot dish that is really easy to prepare and there are lots of variations of the recipe. Ayurveda advocates kitcheri to cleanse the system and it’s seen as a balancing dish which is easy to digest. I tend to use whatever vegetables are in season and I sometimes make enough for lunch and then finish it off as a side portion with dinner. Ayurveda says that food should be eaten when it’s fresh so if you want to keep it longer, it’s best to freeze it.

Here’s my October version:
2 cups of basmati rice (I used brown but white is easier to digest)
1 cup of mung dal

Wash the rice and dal well (the dal can be soaked for a few hours but this isn’t essential)
Melt coconut oil or ghee in a large saucepan and then add:
2 cms of fresh ginger chopped finely
1 heaped tsp turmeric
1heaped tsp cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds

Stir well to prevent the spices burning and cook for a few minutes until they begin to release their aroma. (You can adjust the amount of spices according to taste.)

Then add the washed rice and dal and stir again for a few minutes to coat with oil and spices.

Add 6 cups of boiling water and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and cover.

Then you can add any vegetables according to how long they need to cook. For this version I added 2 chopped carrots just after the rice, then a sweet potato, a chopped leek and just before the rice was ready, 2 large handfuls of kale.

When the rice and dal are cooked and all the water has been absorbed, add sea salt to taste.

It’s delicious served with some fresh coriander.