Tasty Colorful Kitchari Skillet Meal

by Maria Theresa Maggi on February 21, 2013

red lentil quinoa kitchari skillet meal with cabbage, kale, red bell pepper and carrots

This (very nearly)  fat free (and gluten and soy free) vegan meal started out by piecing leftovers together. I never would have thought to blog about it, except for the fact that I shared it with my dear friend Clark in the middle of a hectic day of moving, not sure he would like a concoction I usually make when no one is around. His eyes got wide when he tasted it. “Did you put this on the blog?” he asked. When I said no, I thought it was leftovers, he said, “You really should put this on the blog. It’s really good.” And thus yet another “recipe” got hatched from a leftover afterthought.

Although this meal doesn’t have any Northwest Native American foods in it, it reminds me of the energy of a totem pole. Instead of protective animal spirits carved into wood, the spirits of 3 different Asian staples were “built” into a single tasty meal to fortify and protect vegan well-being.

In keeping with the spirit of this blog, “slow motion” might be one of its totems, since you have to make a couple of comfort staples first, but they are easy and relative fuss free to cook up.

“Fusion” might be another of its totems, because it combines flavors and foods used in at least 3 Asian cuisines. And to show its playful way of combining everything harmoniously, it has a line-up of tasty-colorful veggies and even one fruit to complete its cast of helpers. Come to think of it, that’s powerful medicine, no matter what your tradition is. When your nutritional totems are crowned  with “tasty-colorful,” how can you not be protected, guaranteed to meet the world, or the dinner or lunch plate, with arms (and mouths) wide open?

Maybe you’ll simply want to try out the kitchari first, and add your dark green veggies at the end, like the video suggests. But then you’ll have leftovers. And you can make a rainbow totem colorful-tasty kitchari skillet meal, with or without the Japanese Sweet Potato.  It’s all good. And all good for you.

 

Maria (moonwatcher)

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{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }

1 veggiequest February 22, 2013 at 8:14 am

This looks delicious, and since I already own The 30 Minute Vegan, I’ll definitely be making it!

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2 moonwatcher February 22, 2013 at 8:57 am

Thanks, veggiequest, awesome! I was over at your blog visiting yesterday, and really enjoyed it. The butternut squash and the carrots with onion and rosemary really sounded good to me.

Maria

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3 Marcia February 22, 2013 at 1:41 pm

WOW! Thanks for the beautiful post! Funny, I’ve been looking for a recipe to use some Japanese sweet potatoes and here you are, perfect! How lucky we are to have you on our list of must read blogs, thanks Moonwatcher!

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4 moonwatcher February 22, 2013 at 4:35 pm

You are so welcome, Marcia. I’m always glad to help someone eat a Japanese sweet potato!

Maria

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5 Nicole O'Shea February 22, 2013 at 2:08 pm

Sounds yummy! I must have missed that you were moving! I hope it is going well 🙂

xoxo

Nicole

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6 moonwatcher February 22, 2013 at 4:34 pm

Thanks, Nicole! I didn’t move. My friend Clark did, though. 🙂

xo

Maria

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7 Lisa H February 22, 2013 at 4:27 pm

Not only does it sound delicious it is so beautiful! Can’t wait to try it!! I so enjoy your posts…they are like your food…full of color and inspiration! Thanks so much for sharing your stories!

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8 moonwatcher February 22, 2013 at 4:33 pm

You are so welcome, Lisa! I am so glad you enjoy my posts!

Maria

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9 Ginger March 15, 2013 at 5:03 pm

This looks fantastic. I suppose it could be made with brown rice, too. I have oodles of brown rice and no quioa at the moment. But maybe I’ll buy a little box and give it a try just the way you suggest. I like that you add your veggies as a stirfry at the end. Gotta love fresh, tender-crisp veggies.

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10 moonwatcher March 15, 2013 at 8:38 pm

Hi Ginger, thanks! If you have a lot of brown rice, then you could try making some kitchari with it and a lentil that cooks about the same length of time as the rice–like yellow split peas for instance. The quinoa and red lentils go together nicely becasue they cook in about the same amount of time. And yes I love those fresh, tender-crisp veggies!!

Maria

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11 Kathleen March 22, 2013 at 5:49 am

This is so-o-o-o-o wonderful. I was daunted at first by the number of steps, but it is really easy to do … just do one thing at a time. The nice part is that you’re not under pressure to get any one step done in a specific time. This recipe goes at your pace. And so-o-o-o-o delicious. My husband and I have literally been eating this every dinner for the past five nights. Yesterday evening I asked him what he wanted me to cook … and it was still Kitchari Skillet. Thank you very much for posting this recipe.

BTW. I make the Cheater Pad Thai sauce using peanut flour rather than peanut butter. Peanut flour is what’s left after pressing peanuts to extract the peanut oil, so it is mostly fat free. I get it from http://www.bellplantation.com where they call it PB2. I use it pretty much whenever a recipe calls for peanut butter. Guilt free and yummy.

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12 moonwatcher March 22, 2013 at 9:20 am

Dear Kathleen, I can’t tell you how broadly I smiled to read this comment! How you grasped the “just do one thing at a time” without any “pressure-to-get-any-done-in-a-specific-time” spirit of the recipe, as well as enjoying the great tastes!! I am really glad to know you and your husband enjoyed it so much. Thanks, too, for the tip about the peanut butter flour. I’ve heard of it, just haven’t gotten around to trying it, but someday I will. The amount of peanut butter I use is miniscule. I keep it around for the dog 🙂 , and am not tempted to eat a lot of it.

Maria

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13 Carole April 5, 2013 at 10:17 pm

Maria, thanks for joining in the Food on Friday fun. I hope to see you again soon. Hope you checked out some of the other links. I am blown away with the ideas people have come up with! Cheers

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14 moonwatcher April 6, 2013 at 8:04 am

Hi Carol, thanks for stopping by! I hope to spend a little time this weekend exploring some of the wonderful ideas on your post!

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