Type
Main meal
Budget
Mid-range
Prep time
30 minutes
Cook time
60 minutes
Makes
10 servings
Ingredients
- 60 ml (¼ cup) vegetable oil, divided
- 3 medium potatoes, diced
- ½ a cauliflower head (about 2 cups), in florets
- ½ sweet potato (about 1 cup), diced
- 500 ml (2 cups) pumpkin, diced
- 1 zucchini, diced in large pieces
- 4 medium carrots, diced
- 1 large onion, minced
- 5 ml (½ tbsp) ground turmeric
- 5 ml (½ tbsp) ground cumin
- 15 ml (1 tbsp) dried coriander
- 5 ml (½ tbsp) red pepper powder
- 15 ml (1 tbsp) storebought ginger and garlic paste
- 500 g (2 ½ cup) basmati or precooked NuPak rice
- 250 g (1 ¼ cup) uncooked red lentils
- 250 g (1 cup) moong dal lentils
- 2 bay and/or lemon leaves
- 5 ml (1 tsp) salt
- 250 ml (1 cup) cooked white beans
- 150 g (1 package) baby spinach
- 5 ml (½ tbsp) panch phoron (equal mix cumin seeds, garlic powder, dried peppers and black onion seeds)
- 2-3 fresh peppers (to taste, coarsly chopped)
Instructions
- In a large pan, heat 30 ml vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add chopped potato, cauliflower, sweet potato and pumpkin. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes until golden brown. Remove from heat and set aside.
- In the same pan, add a little more oil as needed and cook the zucchini and carrots for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
- In a large pot over medium-high heat, add 15 ml vegetable oil and onion. Cook until caramelized.
- Add turmeric, cumin, coriander, red pepper powder and ginger-garlic paste. Mix well until onions are coated.
- Add rice, red lentils and moong dal to onion mix. Gently stir. Add bay and/or lemon leaves, salt, white beans and all chopped vegetables except for zucchini and carrots. Add 7 cups of water and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat and let simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Add zucchini and carrots. Let simmer for 20 minutes.
- Fold in baby spinach and let cook for 10 more minutes, just until tender.
- In a small pan, heat a little oil and add panch phoron. Cook until spices are golden. Add spice mixture to the main pot, stir well and let simmer for 5 minutes.
- Serve with fresh hot peppers if you like a little heat.
N.B. You can also roast the moong dal lentils before adding to the pot to release more rich flavour.
N.B. You can use whatever vegetables you have on hand.
Asha
Asha is a talented chef from Bangladesh. She’s updating her recipe for traditional kitchari with locally-grown spinach and sweet potatoes for a comforting, nutrient-rich dish.
Her tips
- With this recipe, you can easily swap in canned vegetables for an even lower cost version that’s ultra-practical.