Its Khichri Time!

Yes its Khichri time!  The only soothing meal for people on the Pancha Karma treatment.  Also known as Pongal, this dish is basically made for breakfast, lunch or dinner and is quite simple to make.  


Before we proceed with the Khichri, I would like to take you back to the last week of December 2011 when Cyclone Thane struck the South Eastern coast of India and the surrounding places causing severe damage to property and lives.  The beautiful Auroville or City of Dawn faced a catastrophic loss during that time.  Our friend and the well known Ashtanga Yoga teacher Monica Marinoni lives and taught at her shala in Auroville.  It was painful to read her recent mail which I would like to quote:

Hi all,

during the cyclone Thane that hit Auroville and its surrounding region on December 30th, the Ashtanga Yoga Auroville shala was destroyed and had to be closed. 

All classes have been cancelled and not happening in Auroville for the time being.

I will be teaching at Ashtanga Yoga Boston http://www.ashtangayogaboston.com/index.php from February 1st to March 30th. 

Future teaching schedules will follow as things organically evolve.

I am very pleased to go back to teach in Boston and looking forward to meet old and new students again.

Big love to you all!

Blessings

This is a little detail of the damage and struggle she faced (very bravely) after the cyclone, in her words:

 I had a lot of cutting of wood to do on my land, lots of trees were down (everywhere in Auroville). So that was a major task involving chainsaws and lots of workers. We couldn't even go out of the houses the first day before starting to clear up roads and paths in the jungle of branches.Then the shala was taken down since it had been hit by the swinging in the cyclone of two huge rain trees that I had at the back of my house and was completely broken, and also that has been finished. We also had to take down those two....We had no power and phone for almost a month, and in all this mess I was planning to leave to teach somewhere else, as for the time being I have no plans to re-build in Auroville. Not easy, but done now.

Monica is a good friend and a wonderful mom and human being.  Perhaps this cyclone happened to take Monica to different parts of the world to teach what she is best at - Ashtanga Yoga!  Good luck to you Monica and I wish you get many many teaching assignments all over the globe!

Ok - here's all about Khichri!

Khichri with vegetables - made by Warren J. Baker

Pongal or Khichri

Pongal, or khichri with moong daal, is one of the most soothing foods to eat, especially when you want something light or wish to remain light or you have an irritated tummy.  It is also highly recommended whilst undergoing panchakarmaª.  “Khichri” means “mixture” and pongal is a mixture of daal and rice, cooked together in a simple manner.  In South India, pongal is made during the harvest season and the dish is named after the Pongal or Makara Shankranti festival.

While khichri (or khichdi as it is known in Maharashtra and other northern Indian states) is cooked more like a dry rice dish with masoor daal (split red daal), pongal is cooked with rice, moong daal, a lot more water, to create a thick soup.

Ingredients (Serves 4)

Uncooked rice	1 cup
Moong daal	1 cup
Ghee	2 Tbsp
Cumin seeds	1 tsp
Ginger freshly, grated	½ tsp
Black peppercorns, whole or lightly crushed	a few
Asafoetida	2 pinches
Salt	to taste
Hot water	8 cups (or more)

Method
Wash moong daal and rice together, put in a colander to drain the water and set aside.

Boil the water and set aside.

In a heated pot, add the ghee.  Add the cumin seeds and black peppercorns and fry until cumin seeds pop.  Add the asafoetida and stir for a second.  Add the daal and the rice and stir-fry on a medium to high flame for 3 to 4 minutes.  Add the ginger, hot water, and salt and boil over a medium to high flame, stirring occasionally until the daal and rice are soft and the mixture has turned into a broth.  If the consistency is too thick, add more hot water and simmer on a low flame for another 5 minutes.  The rice and daal need to be cooked soft, almost overcooked.  Garnish with more ghee and serve hot or warm.

Note

¨      If you are on the panchakarma treatment, make pongal or khichri with just rice, moong daal, water, salt, and ghee.  Consult your Ayurvedic doctor before adding any extras into the dish.

¨      To make pongal interesting, you may add vegetables (green peas, green beans, carrots, and even spinach).  Vegetables should be added after the daal and rice have been mixed in and before the water has been added.

¨      You may also add grated dry coconut and fried cashews to both the plain and vegetable pongal.

Khichri with Masoor Daal

Ingredients (Serves 4)

Uncooked rice	1 cup
Masoor daal (split red lentils)	1 cup
Ghee	2 Tbsp
Cumin seeds	1 tsp
Black pepper, crushed	½ tsp
Curry leaves	1 sprig
Asafoetida	2 pinches
Onions, finely chopped	½ cup
Turmeric powder	¼ tsp
Coriander leaves, finely chopped	2 Tbsp
Hot water	6 cups
Salt	to taste

Method

Wash the masoor daal and rice together, put in a colander to drain the water and set aside.

Boil the water and set aside.

In a heated pot, add the ghee.  Add cumin seeds and fry until they pop.  Add the curry leaves, crushed black pepper, and asafoetida and stir for 15 seconds.  Add the onions (optional) and fry until they are translucent.  Add the turmeric powder, daal, and rice, and mix well.  Fry on a medium to high flame for 5 to 7 minutes, constantly stirring.  Add the hot water and salt and boil over a medium to high flame until the water has almost evaporated.  Cover with a tight lid and cook on a low flame for 5 to 7 minutes (similar to cooking plain rice or pulao).  Garnish with more ghee and coriander leaves and serve hot with raita or chutney.

Note

-      Khichri with masoor daal is usually dry; it should not be a mushy dish.

-      You can turn khichri into a casserole, or add vegetables (carrots, green peas and green beans).  Add the vegetables after the onions are translucent, then further stir-fry for a minute or two before adding the daal and rice.  Spinach khichri is also very delicious.  Add spinach after the water has completely evaporated, and mix lightly.  Cook for few minutes before turning off the flame.

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ª Panchakarma is an ayurveda detoxification process that brings balance the three doshas (body types), namely, vata, pitta, and kapha.  Pancha means “five” and karma means “actions,” or in this case, therapeutic cleansing treatments.