Cauliflower and Pea Khichari

For me, khichari is the ultimate comfort food. It's got that lovely, soft warm texture that you crave when you want something easy and soothing to eat, and it's really easy to digest. One of my favourite variations of khichari contains cauliflower and peas, and just a few simple spices.

Khichari is a really important food in Ayurvedic medicine, because it is well balanced and easy to digest. In fact, it is recommended as a mono-diet whilst undertaking some kinds of Ayurvedic treatment. This means that it is the only thing that is eaten. If you are undertaking any kind of massage, herbal medicine, meditation or spiritual program for a week or so, why not give it a try? It's a nourishing, delicious way to give your body a break from difficult to digest foods.

I started off by frying some fresh and dried spices in ghee.


Then I added the rice and moong dal, and stirred it to coat it with the oil and ghee.


I added enough water to cover the mixture by a few centimetres. You can make khichari either quite dry, like a rice and dal pilau, or you can make a mushier porridge-like mixture. This time I was going for something in between - quite soft, but not too mushy. Whilst the rice and dal cooked, I prepared the cashew nuts for the garnish. Usually I dry toast them, but today I wanted a bit of a treat, so I fried them in a little ghee.


When the rice and dal were cooked, and about ten minutes or so from being ready, I added the cauliflower and salt. I don't like my cauliflower too soft.


Right at the end I stirred in the peas.


Add touch of chopped fresh coriander and stir in the cashews and you're done. I like to serve quartered lemons on the side to squeeze over the khichari. Delicious!


If you like the look of this recipe, please buy my book, Mango Soup, which contains the full version of this recipe and many more: http://www.authorhouse.co.uk/Bookstore/ItemDetail.aspx?bookid=49169