Adapted from a recipe on my friend Renee’s blog, this is a mild Indian-inspired dish that has dual benefits. First off, it’s considered part of a cleanse to help detox the body and aid digestion. You may not associate Indian food with a cleanse, but this is a simple, clean and comforting meal that is often served when someone is under the weather – think an Indian “chicken soup for the soul” kinda deal. Mung beans, which are in Renee’s original recipe, are high in fiber and magnesium (which many women need more of). Plus, the combination of rice + protein = a complete protein, making this an ideal vegetarian dish for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
It’s also the perfect “kid food”. When Renee told me she makes this for her daughter all the time, I knew I had to try it out with my kids too. It’s a staple kid food in India, so don’t be afraid of the spices in this one. While it does have some bold spices, they are subtle in the finished dish. Trust me. This dish is worth trying, super delicious, and I didn’t even get to the best part yet…
Best part is, you can sneak in lots of veggies. Similar to a rice pilaf, you add lots of finely diced vegetables to layer in the flavor. To save time, I let my food processor do all the chopping – which makes the vegetables less obvious to the kiddos. To get my kids (and especially my unicorn-loving daughter) excited, I called it “Rainbow Rice”. And guess what, it WORKED! It felt like a freakin’ miracle. My daughter, who’s usually picky over the teeniest, tiniest speck of green in her food, ate rice with salad in it. I was over the moon ecstatic. And let’s just say our collective bellies were very happy. I hope you’ll have the same success with this dish too!
Here’s the real-life moment from my Instagram page:
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dabblingchef A rose by any other name?… I’m calling BS on that, Shakespeare. Did he have any kids? Cause clearly he didn’t understand the power of names and kid food. Yesterday, when my daughter came home from school, I announced, quite enthusiastically, that mommy made Rainbow Rice for dinner. She jumped for joy and ran around the house screaming Rainbow Rice, Rainbow Riiiiiice!!! Now, let me back up a sec. My daughter is a picky eater. I’m talking God forbid she spot a speck of green on her pasta. She eats a few choice veggies, but not as many as I’d like and she refuses to even taste things (my son always tastes stuff so this is new territory for me). When we sat down to eat the Rainbow Rice, I was shaking in my chef’s hat. I’m talking heart palpitations and sweat beading down my forehead. The Rainbow Rice had cut up yellow peppers, spinach, kale AND Swiss chard in it. As she took a bite, I literally held my breath. But guess what. She liked it!!!!! She actually liked it!!!! I resisted the urge to run around the house screaming for joy. Then my son informed her there’s salad in her rice to which I sent smoke signals and hand gestures worthy of an MLB game to please for the love of guacamole don’t say that right now!!!! Nevertheless, she ate it. She liked it. My heart skipped a beat. Now the question is, Sir Shakespeare, would she have loved it just the same if I had called it kitchari instead? I guess we’ll never know. But Rainbow Rice sounds so much more fun, doesn’t it? ?? {and thank you @laurelstreetkitchen for the game changing recipe, search “kitchari” on laurelstreetkitchen.com for more}. ??
Inspired by: laurelstreetkitchen.com – the original recipe is here.
“Rainbow Rice” Kitchari with Mixed Vegetables
I prepped the rice and beans ahead of time to make this a quick, weeknight dinner option. Cooked grains keep in the fridge for up to 5 days, so you can make a batch on a Sunday to use throughout the week.
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
PREP TIME: 30 minutes COOK TIME: 20 minutes TOTAL TIME: 50 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons ghee or coconut oil or avocado oil
- 1 small onion, finely chopped (or minced in food processor)
- 1/2 orange or red bell pepper, finely chopped (or minced in food processor)
- 1 carrot, finely chopped (or minced in food processor)
- 2 big handfuls Super Greens Mix (or 1 cup spinach and 1 cup Swiss Chard or 2 cups greens of choice)
- 2 teaspoons whole cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- Kosher salt
- 3/4 cup cooked mung beans or cooked chicken (pulled rotisserie chicken works well here if you are ok with it not being a vegetarian dish)*
- 2 cups cooked basmati rice
- 2-3 cups water or bone broth
- ¼ cup yogurt (optional)
- Small bunch cilantro (optional)
Special time-saving equipment: food processor
How To Make It
- Place onions, pepper and carrot in food processor. Pulse until finely minced. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
- Place greens in food processor and pulse fine. Transfer to another bowl and set aside.
- In a medium pan, melt the ghee or oil over medium heat. Add the onion, pepper and carrot mixture and cook until just softened, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the cumin seeds, coriander and turmeric and a pinch of salt and cook until just toasted, about 1 minute more. Then add the beans (or chicken) and rice.
- Add the chopped greens and stir to combine. Add 1 cup of the broth and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Add another cup of broth, cook for a few minutes more until broth is absorbed, then add additional broth 1/2 cup at a time, if needed. Since rice is already cooked, it shouldn’t need much more but it does absorb it fast. Taste and add more broth until desired consistency is reached. Season with salt and add a little more ghee, if you’d like.
- Serve with yogurt and cilantro, if using.