10th January 2012: Cracked Wheat Kitchadi

I heard the sound of kids playing as I walked past a neighbour’s apartment today, and it bought back the sadness and loneliness of having my own family depart last week. Four of them staying with me, including 2 kids, and three staying nearby, we were together every day for 2 weeks – eating, drinking, swimming, playing, shopping, coffee-ing, icecream-ing, cooking, laughing, sharing, crying, visiting, loving, being amazed at growth and love and freedom, observing, reconnecting, reminiscing, discussing, reading, …..

Then they left, and in an instant life changed. I miss them. I miss the noise and the busy-ness, the anticipation and the closeness, the love and the sharing.

One more year to go…..

Enjoy your family, no matter what.

In The Kitchen

In The Cupboard was some cracked wheat (burgul) that needed to be used, and after looking at some recipes I decided that I would make up a slow cooker Kichadi using the cracked wheat and beautiful, yellow split mung dal.

Here is how I made it. It cooked overnight in The Rice Cooker on the Slow Cooking setting. If you don’t have a slow cooker, simmer for a couple of hours on the stove top.

Rinse 1/2 cup split mung dal and 1/2 cup cracked wheat in a couple of changes of water to remove any dust.

Heat a tablespoon of ghee in a small pan or in the bottom of your rice cooker. Add 1tspn cumin seed, 1/2 tspn ajwain seeds (if you have them), 1/2 tspn fenugreek seeds and 1/4 tspn fennel seeds. When the seeds are beginning to brown, add a pinch of asafoetida, a dried red chilli (broken in 2) and 6 or 8 curry leaves.

If you are doing this in a pan, add to the rice cooker. Add the cracked wheat and mung dal, with 4 or 5 cups of water. (Use more water if cooking on the stove top.) Stir in 1/2 tspn coriander powder, 1 tspn grated ginger and 1/2 tspn turmeric powder.

If available, add a fresh cardamon leaf. and an Indian Bay leaf (tejapata).

Cook for 9 hours on the Slow Cooking setting (or at least 1.5 hours on stove, and up to 2.5 hours, adding water as necessary).

Voila! Breakfast ready for you, hot and delicious, when you get up in the morning. Just add Celtic Sea Salt and a little black pepper, and enjoy. This morning I also added two chopped tomatoes and a handful of chopped parsley.

Namaste.

Music Today

Thillana by Salem Gayathri, a wonderful Carnatic Vocalist

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