What Is Khichari? Why Monday Is Khichari Day in Our Family

In our family, Monday is khichari day.

After a weekend of socializing, celebrating and indulgent food, there's nothing I crave more than a warm, soothing bowl of khichari. It's comfort food that leaves you feeling light, nourished and ready for the week ahead.

And because we make it with our own Sprouted Mung Khichari, Monday dinner is the easiest meal of the week. We just add water, let it simmer, and it's ready in less than 20 minutes.

So what is khichari?

Khichari is mung beans and rice cooked together until soft and creamy, somewhere between a risotto and a porridge. It's seasoned with warming spices like turmeric, cumin and ginger. Every family has its own version: soupy or thick, plain or loaded with vegetables.

It's the first solid food for many babies in India, the meal grandparents ask for when they're unwell, and the dish so many of us come home to when we need looking after.

How we make Monday khichari

Our khichari is a bowl perfectly blended with sprouted mung beans and Sona Masoori rice, with balanced flavours of ginger, turmeric and cumin. Sona Masoori is a light, fragrant rice that cooks up beautifully creamy.

1. Empty the pouch into a pot and add 3 to 4 cups of water (more for soupy, less for thick).
2. Stir, bring to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes, just like rice.
3. Serve it up!

How we serve it

Khichari is lovely on its own, but on Mondays we make it a little feast:

• Stir-fried veggies on the side, whatever's in the fridge.
• A little raita, cool yogurt with cucumber or herbs.
• Papadam, thin, crispy lentil crackers for crunch.
• A little pickle for a tangy, spicy kick.

It's simple, colourful and everyone at the table is happy.

Why it's such a nourishing meal

Here's what one serving of our Mild Sprouted Mung Khichari gives you:

• 9 g of plant protein. Mung and rice together form a complete protein, with all the essential amino acids your body needs. Beans are low in one amino acid (methionine) and rice is low in another (lysine), so together they fill each other's gaps.
• 18% of your daily fibre. Fibre feeds the good bacteria in your gut and helps keep you regular. Most of us only get about half the fibre we need (CDHF). More on mung and gut health.
• 17% of your daily iron. Iron helps carry oxygen around your body, and it's one many of us, especially women, need to watch.
• Only 170 calories, with no oils, no sugar and nothing artificial.

And because every bean is sprouted first, it's gentle on your tummy. Sprouting lowers the natural sugars in beans that cause gas, and it boosts the bean's plant goodness. Here's why we sprout every bean.

Khichari and Ayurveda

In Ayurveda, khichari is the meal for giving your body a rest. Mung is light, easy to digest and balancing for every body type (vata, pitta and kapha), and rice is soothing and grounding. That's why khichari is the heart of the traditional Ayurvedic reset.

You don't need a cleanse to enjoy it, though. For us, it's simply how we reset after a busy weekend. More on mung in Ayurveda.

Khichari or dal: what's the difference?

People ask me this a lot. Dal is a stew or soup of pulses, usually served with rice or flatbread. Khichari is mung and rice cooked together into one complete bowl. Love both? Try our Warming Ginger & Turmeric Sprouted Mung Dal Stew, with 11 g of plant protein per serving.

If you've never tried khichari, I hope you'll give it a go. Maybe it'll become a Monday tradition in your home too.

— Anu