| When I originally posted about kedgeree (AKA kitchari/mixture/mess!) I stated that one of the reasons for my love of this dish and it's go-to status in my kitchen is in its vast flexibility. In India, you'll very likely be served subji (vegetables), dhal (lentils), roti (bread) and rice (you know that one) for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It's a reliable way of making sure you get a good portion of all your macro nutrients at every meal and don't over load on sugar first thing, but I am conditioned towards something sweet for breakfast! Though simple kedgeree is normally something reserved for times of illness, recovery or cleansing, this variation has become my all time favourite 'weekend' breakfast. Yes, it takes a little longer to prep than porridge or toast but there's something delicious about taking my time to prepare this on a more spacious day and actually it doesn't take that long really, unless you faff about and waft round your kitchen like I normally do when I don't have to be somewhere at any particular time! It's a great nutritional launch pad, even if it gets as late as brunch, and I'm pretty sure there's no sweeter way to introduce vegetables to your first meal of the day! |  |
This is how I normally make it but being as flexible as it is, you could easily mix and match to suit your own preferences. This version is fairly 'tridoshic' from an ayurvedic perspective but I'd always recommend a bit more research from a more reliable source than me if that's something you're interested in exploring for yourself!
A Breakfast Kedgeree Gallery: | I start by boiling about half a cup of whole mung beans (traditional kedgeree uses moong dal which is the split, hulled beans but I like them whole and they're much easier to source) in vaguely twice as much water, with a cinnamon stick. After about ten minutes, I remove the stick and stir in roughly similar quantities of quinoa and grated carrot. Sometimes I'll add grated ginger and/or turmeric root at this point too. After another ten minutes or so, it's time to stir in four chopped dates and some spices. I actually have a 'breakfast spice' blend on hand and we sprinkle it liberally over pretty much all our breakfasts but for this dish it's probably about a teaspoon of ground cinnamon, the same of turmeric, half a teaspoon of powdered ginger and a quarter of cardamom. Use more if you're using powder as opposed to the freshly ground seed from the pod. When all the water is absorbed by the beans and quinoa (add more if its dry or sticking but doesn't look cooked) Pop the lid on and let it sit for a few minutes. At some point while all that's going on (normally just after I put the beans on) I'll also toast some cashews and coconut. |
| The coconut burns* very fast so I usually toast the cashews then turn the heat off and add the coconut, which seems to do a good job of toasting lightly in the residual heat. (*note to self, don't get so caught up in taking photos of what you're cooking that you forget this step and slightly over toast your sprinkles!!) To finish and serve, I stir in a generous teaspoon of coconut oil (to replace ghee, see my original kedgeree post for more on that!) to the warm mixture then serve with a goodly blob of home made yoghurt, a swirl of date syrup, the toasted cashew/coconut mix and a final sprinkle of the good old breakfast spice mix. These quantities do two servings but if I'm on my own I'll have it for breakfast and then again later as elevenses or an indulgent lunch! Mmmmmm hmm, so yummy! I hope you enjoy this suggestion and have a power fuelled day of inner sunshine as a result, whatever it's doing outside! Xx |  |
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