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Instant Pot Summer Kitchari

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My life changed when I discovered how to make Kitch’ in the Instant Pot.

Up until now, I’ve been making Kitch’ on the stove like a chump. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still good, but pressure cooking it takes it to the next level.

Not only with taste and flavour, but texture and digestibility as well.

Traditionally Kitch’ is made with white basmati rice. While that might seem counterintuitive in a culture that has been made the fear white, starchy things, it can actually be easier on the digestive system. The reason being, it breaks down really easily, and makes your Kitch’ a nice mushy consistency

Kitch’ is actually supposed to be mushy. Like, baby food almost. It is supposed to be super easy to digest, and the mushier it is, the easier time your digestive system has.

So when we use basmati rice, it’s easier to get that mushy, easily digestible quality.

Now, there is nothing wrong with using brown rice, in fact, it’s my preferred way to make kitch, but on the stove top it still feels a little too… firm.

So how do you get perfect Kitch’ every time, that’s easy to digest, tastes amazing, and comes out with the perfect Kitch’ consistency?

An instant pot, that’s how.

Not only does it come out perfect, it takes like half the time and effort. It’s a win, win, win, win, win!

This recipe is super simple, I’m gonna give you the bones of it, but feel free to add in any additional spices as you see fit, or seasonal vegetables.

When made exactly as it is, it’s the perfect summer time kitch recipe. The spices are nice and mild, the veggies are seasonal and generally cooling. We want to switch up our diet with the seasons, and so switching up what we put in our Kitch’ is always a good idea!

To start you’re going to soak 1 cup of rice with 1 cup of split moon dal for about 30 minutes. Rinse and set aside.

Then turn your Instant Pot to “Saute.” Put 1-2 tbsp of Ghee or neutral tasting oil, along with 2 tsp of whole cumin seeds. Let them sit in the oil until the pop and you can smell the aroma.

Next, put in 2-3 tsp on Garam Masala – more if you like it more flavourful and 1 tsp turmeric. Let the spices mix around in the oil. This will help with digestion of their fat-soluble constituents, and help with enhancing the flavor.

If you are super pitta, you can add in a bit of coriander to help with cooling and balancing your dosha.

Now press “cancel” on the instant pot and pour the rice and bean mixture into the spices and stir around.

Pour 7 cups of water on to the beans (a little more if you like it more soupy), and stir, making sure nothing has stuck to the bottom. At this point add in a couple of tsp of salt (or wait until the end if you prefer).

You can make this kitch with seasonal veggies. Add in any firm veggies like carrots, beets, or sweet potato at this point. I love to add green onion and spinach/kale but you want to add these at the end!

They will wilt easily into the Kitch’ without getting pulverized. By adding them at the end we let them cook a little which supports digestion, while preserving the Prana of the plants.

Awwwww Yeaaaaaa.

Ok, so at this point, you want to put the lid on the Instant Pot, ensure the valve is set to sealing, and turn on the Pressure Cook mode. Set the pressure to high, and the time to 22 minutes.

Now walk away and do whatever you need to do!

Once the beeper goes off, let it naturally release pressure for about 15 mins, and then, with trepidation, take a spatula and flick the valve to “release” manually.

Once the little thingy that shows the pressure (on mine its a little silver thing) has gone down, the pressure is released and you can open it up.

Add in your leafy veggies, salt and pepper if needed, and enjoy!!



Print Recipe
 Instant Pot Summer Kitchari
Prep Time 10 Minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Servings
people
Ingredients
Prep Time 10 Minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Servings
people
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. To start you're going to soak 1 cup of rice with 1 cup of split moon dal for about 30 minutes. Rinse and set aside.
  2. Then turn your Instant Pot to "Saute." Put 1-2 tbsp of Ghee or neutral tasting oil, along with 2 tsp of whole cumin seeds. Let them sit in the oil until the pop and you can smell the aroma.
  3. Next, put in 2-3 tsp on Garam Masala - more if you like it more flavourful and 1 tsp turmeric. Let the spices mix around in the oil. This will help with digestion of their fat-soluble constituents, and help with enhancing the flavor.
  4. Now press "cancel" on the instant pot and pour the rice and bean mixture into the spices and stir around.
  5. Pour 7 cups of water on to the beans (a little more if you like it soupier), and stir, making sure nothing has stuck to the bottom. At this point add in a couple of tsp of salt (or wait until the end if you prefer).
  6. Ok, so at this point, you want to put the lid on the Instant Pot, ensure the valve is set to sealing, and turn on the Pressure Cook mode. Set the pressure to high, and the time to 22 minutes.
  7. Once the beeper goes off, let it naturally release pressure for about 15 mins, and then, with trepidation, take a spatula and flick the valve to "release" manually.
  8. Add in your leafy veggies, salt and pepper if needed, and enjoy!!
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Ojas Mylk Recipe {& Podcast}

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I’m super excited to be bringing this Ojas Mylk recipe to you this week.

Now Ojas is something I’ve chatted abut a little over on instagram, but maybe you’re still like, “what the heck is Ojas?”

I’m going to break it down for you in this post, but if you’re not into reading, check out my podcast episode where I go into detail on this! You can listen right here, or on your iPhone/Android:

Click here to Listen on iTunes

Click here to listen on Spotify.

Alright… let’s get into Ojas!

So, we have three subtle forms of the Doshas in our body – Prana, Tejas, and Ojas are respectively the subtle forms of Vata, Pitta and Kapha.

Ojas is the positive quality of Kapha and is the essential vital fluid of the body. It is like the essential energy reserve in the body. It literally means “vigour” and is the subtle essence of our reproductive flui, and other vital secretions in the body.

There isn’t like a Western equivalent of Ojas either, this is a concept that is unique to Ayurveda, but truthfully explains a lot.

Ojas isn’t an actually fluid either, it’s not like you can go to the doctor and have you Ojas level measured, it’s really the “sap” of our life energy that exists on a subtle level in the heart Chakra.

It gives us:

  • Mental Strength
  • Contentment
  • Patience
  • Fortitude
  • Calmness
  • Capacity for good memory and concentration

It is basically our physical and mental stability in this physical world.

On a more subtle/Pranic level, Ojas supports our immunity, our physical endurance and our capacity for sustained work and exertion.

So how do we now if we have low Ojas?

You’ll likely feel:

  • tired/burnt out
  • Sad/depressed/anxious
  • Impatient
  • Lacing in lustre
  • Mayb angry and frustrated
  • Chronic low grade infections/feeling sick all the time

These are all indications that your Ojas is low!

So what causes low Ojas?

Basically, our modern millennial world of hyper-stimulation is one of the biggest causes of low Ojas.

  • Excess use of phone/social media/watching TV (aka scrolling through the gram for hours on end, or binge watching Netflix)
  • High stress, leading to anxiety
  • Devitalized foods and pollution
  • Unnatural environment (think working under fluorescent lighting in a cubicle all day without stepping outside in nature)
  • Excessive sexual activity
  • Using drugs

Basically, anything in excess, all these modern indulgences in excess an lead to depleted Ojas.

The modern term “adrenal fatigue” would be a low Ojas condition.

So what do you do if you have low Ojas?

First things first you recognize the symptoms and say “oh damn, I got me some low Ojas..” then you work to shift the situation.

I’m going to be sharing with you a pretty bomb.com ojas Mylk recipe, but Mae no mistake… this isn’t the solution. This drink will definitely support your Ojas, but on it’s own, without lifestyle changes, ain’t gonna do much for you. Other than provide you with a delicious drink!

I am going to give you some tips on increasing your Ojas, and my suggestion is to make one change at a time. Pick one that resonates with you, and start slowly.

  1. Create routine/rhythm
  2. Practice Daily – meditation/asana
  3. Social media/technology cleanse
  4. Spend time in nature.
  5. Change your dietary habits – eat a whole foods, plant-based diet
  6. Supplement with herbs and special foods:
    • Ghee/coconut oil honey, shatavari, almonds, spices, cinnamon ginger cardamom saffron

Alright, I hope you guys found this helpful!

If you try out this recipe, please please tag me on Instagram @melissasinghyogifuel and let me know how it goes.

And if you listen to the podcast, I’d love for you to give it a rating or review and let me know if it was valuable for you!

As always if you have any recipe requests, or podcast requests I would love to hear them! You can comment on this post or send an email to hello@melissasingh.com

Print Recipe
 Ojas Mylk {+ Podcast}
Servings
mug
Ingredients
Servings
mug
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Place mylk in a sauce pan over medium heat.
  2. Once to desired temperature, place all ingredients in a blender, and blend on high.
  3. Adjust sweetness to taste, and enjoy hot!
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Vik’s Kitch – Vegan Kitchari

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Vegan Kitchari

My husband makes the best kitchari, period! And not to brag or anything, but he’s an authentic Indian human being so… you can only imagine how good this stuff is.

…

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The Best Ever Scrambled Tofu

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I know it’s like the vegan cliche to love tofu, but I seriously love tofu – especially scrambled.

I think it’s because when I ate meat, my go-to breakfast was eggs. At one point I was eating 4-6 eggs a day. It was overkill, I know. I just liked how easily I could whip them up, and how many different ways I could make them.

I especially loved scrambled eggs. But then I became vegan and alas, my love affair with eggs was no more.

Vegan Scrambled Tofu

However, during this pregnancy, I did actually eat a few eggs.

Dum dum dummm… Don’t call the vegan police on me! I had what I call – and EGG-sistential crisis. My body was craving eggs. But I was VEGAN. I felt this moral obligation to NOT eat eggs. I felt bound by my vegan label, but also I felt this weird guilt about even considering eating eggs. I had so many chats with my husband about what I should do, and really it came down to this:

He said, “Why are you vegan in the first place?” and I said, “Because I don’t want to harm animals or the environment..” and he said, “Well, if you could eat eggs in such a manner that didn’t harm the environment or animals, wouldn’t you do that?”

Hmmm. He was on to something. There is a little farm near where my mom lives that has a big space for their chickens to roam, they get their eggs fresh every day, and they ONLY farm eggs. Not the actual chickens.

My craving for eggs had lasted over a month. I figured my body was trying to tell me something. So I finally – after months of debate – ate the damn eggs. And honestly, It felt like it was exactly what my body needed at the time. Later, my friend let me know that at the time during my pregnancy that I was craving eggs (around 2-3 months), was when my body would be needing a whole lot of a nutrient called choline. Choline is used to promote the development of the brain and nervous system and is abundant in eggs. My genius body knew exactly what I needed when I needed it!

Thanks bod.

Vegan Scrambled Tofu

Even though the eggs tasted great, they didn’t go down so well.

My body wasn’t used to digesting animal protein. I started to feel bloated, and gassy every time after I ate them. So once the cravings went away, I stopped consuming them and went back to my old, reliable fav – scrambled tofu.

I remember the first few times I tried making this dish. Without a recipe to go on I put in waaaaay too much turmeric to make them egg-colored, and way too much salt. In fact, I think all I put was salt and turmeric. They were gross. Needless to say, I have evolved since then. My knack for putting together spices that compliment each other has improved thanks to my amazing husband, the spice-master, Vikram.

Vegan Scrambled Tofu

There are tons of different spice combinations you can use to jazz up your plain tasting tofu

But the one I’m sharing with you today is by far my favorite. It can be nice and mild with just a pinch or two of cayenne, or you can totally spice it up and add in some hot chili flakes. The spice world is your oyster my friends!

The other amazing thing I love about this recipe is that you can pretty much add any veggie you want to it! One of my go-to combo’s is onions, mushrooms, spinach and red peppers. But you can add or omit veggies to your personal liking. I always feel weird about posting the exact, specifics of a recipe when I know that certain things can, and SHOULD be modified based on personal preference. Like who am I to tell you what vegetables to put in your scramble? Life is short, throw in whatever you want.

Vegan Scrambled Tofu

Vegan Scrambled Tofu

Other delicious veggies I’ve tossed in here:

  • Kale
  • Green Onions
  • Garlic
  • Avocado (sliced and put on top – this is always a good idea)!
  • Broccoli
  • Bok Choy
  • Black Beans

I wouldn’t necessarily put all of these in at once, (or you could, YOLO and such…) but I just want you to know that this recipe will pretty much taste delicious with any combo of veggies.

Check out the recipe below, and let me know what you think! Are there any other flavor combos you like? Let me know in the comments section! Happy Eating 🙂

 

Print Recipe
 The Best Scrambled Tofu
Vegan Scrambled Tofu
Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 20 mins
Servings
people
Ingredients
Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 20 mins
Servings
people
Ingredients
Vegan Scrambled Tofu
Instructions
  1. Over medium heat, place the onions in a pan with a few tbsp of oil, and saute until they are translucent.
  2. Add in the rest of the vegetables (with the EXCEPTION of the spinach which you will add right at the end) and saute until soft.
  3. Place another tbsp of oil in the pan, and begint o crumble up your tofu. Literally pull some apart, and crumble it in your hands so it resembles scrambled eggs.
  4. Add in your spices, and stir so they mix evenly with the tofu and veggies. Add in salt and pepper, and modify spices according to your preference.
  5. Add in the spinach, stirring to ensure the spinach is evenly distributed. At this point you can reduce heat to low, and cover for 10-15 minutes.
  6. Serve with oven baked potatoes or sweet potatoes, and definitely avocado! Enjoy 🙂
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Simple Vegan Pumpkin Spice Latte

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Vegan PSL It’s pumpkin spice season y’all!!!!

I’m only a little excited can’t you tell?

I LOVE pumpkin spice. You can call me “basic.” You can call me a “common white girl.” You can call me disgusting because perhaps you find pumpkin spice things overrated and disgusting. (Though chances are if you’re reading this, you actually like pumpkin spice and are excited about this recipe just as much as I am). But I don’t care. I shamelessly eat, drink and breathe pumpkin spice everything at this time of the year!

So one of the best, most delicious things about pumpkin spice season, is the infamous PSL. Pumpkin Spice Latte. I had my first PSL years ago in University at Starbucks. And let me tell you, it was delicious! This was my first taste of the PSL and I was hooked. Whenever I could afford one I got it. I would also shamelessly go there to study in hopes that one of the baristas would come around with those little samples. You know how they do that sometimes? Topped with whipped cream. Omg, so good!

Vegan PSL

Then I grew up, got out of university, and started paying attention to the food that I was putting in my body.

No longer was I living off Tim Horton’s bagels and the cheapest can’s of soup I could buy. I was a grown woman, with a job that paid more than minimum wage, in the health and wellness field. So I started getting familiar with what I was putting in my body. I began to read labels. I made an effort to eat foods that had only real ingredients. So you can imagine my disappointment when I read the ingredients in a PSL..

Milk, Pumpkin Spice Sauce [Sugar, Condensed Skim Milk, Pumpkin Puree, Contains 2% Or Less Of Fruit And Vegetable Juice For Color, Natural Flavors, Annatto, Salt, Potassium Sorbate], Brewed Espresso, Whipped Cream [Cream (Cream, Milk, Mono And Diglycerides, Carrageenan), Vanilla Syrup (Sugar, Water, Natural Flavors, Potassium Sorbate, Citric Acid)], Pumpkin Spice Topping [Cinnamon, Ginger, Nutmeg, Clove, Sulfiting Agents].

…and a whopping 50G of sugar in a Grande :O

Vegan PSL

This was just crazy to me. I wanted the delicious taste of the PSL without all the funny ingredients, and without eating my body weight in sugar. You know?

Vegan PSL

So I went to work, doing some research online and in the kitchen to create a PSL that was both delicious and nutritious. I think I’ve created a simple, easy to make PSL syrup that will make even the biggest Starbucks fan a convert!

This recipe can be made two ways – one with espresso and non-dairy milk like a regular latte, OR with dandy blend (or any other coffee alternative) and non-dairy milk. You can also make this recipe whether or not you have a legit espresso machine with a milk frother! I’ve got to look our for my peeps.

This syrup will last for about a week or two in the fridge. The mixture does thicken up a bit after a few days, so I would recommend stirring it around a little in your beverage, but it melts into the lattes really well! So don’t be alarmed 🙂

Vegan PSL

I have been putting about 1 tbsp of the mixture in my lattes and LOVING it! I don’t like my latte’s to be overly sweet though, so if you are one of those people who lives their lattes sweeter, just add a little bit extra until you achieve your desired taste.

Print Recipe
 Simple Vegan Pumpkin Spice Latte
Vegan PSL
Servings
Lattes
Ingredients
For The Syrup
For The Latte
Servings
Lattes
Ingredients
For The Syrup
For The Latte
Vegan PSL
Instructions
Syrup
  1. Place all ingredients in a pan over low heat and whisk together until a syrupy liquid forms. You can add a little more pumpkin if desired, or make it slightly thinner with some water (though not necessary).
The Latte (w/ Espresso)
  1. Pour your shot of espresso into a mug with 1 tbsp of the syrup. Mix together with a spoon. Add a tbsp of coconut oil or MCT oil for a little extra creaminess, and daily dose of fatty acids.
  2. Steam milk using a steamer OR place approx 1 cup of milk in a sauce pan over medium heat, and froth using a whisk!
  3. Pour milk over your espresso and voila! You have a PSL
The Latte (w/ Dandy Blend)
  1. OPTION 1: Heat up 1 cup (or slightly more) or almond milk using either a steamer or on the stove top. Add 1 tbsp dandy blend, 1 tbsp syrup, optional tbsp of coconut oil and milk to a blender, and blend together for 15-20 seconds. Serve
  2. OPTION 2: Place all ingredients (1 tbsp syrup, 1 tbsp dandy blend, optional coconut oil, and 1 cup or more non-dairy milk) in a sauce pan over medium heat. Whisk together until desired temperature is achieved. Serve.
Recipe Notes

Syrup Recipe Adapted from Oh She Glows

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Coffee Be Gone, Dandy Blend Elixir

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I never thought I would be the type of person who didn’t drink coffee. It was an integral part of my daily routine for so many years. Every morning, I had coffee. I couldn’t wake if I didn’t have my coffee. …

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8-Ingredient Easy Vegan Mac n’ Cheese

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I have some seriously fond memories when it comes to Mac n’ Cheese. It brings me back to my childhood. Kraft Mac and Cheese was the first thing I ever learned how to “cook.” I remember feeling so proud that I – young Melissa – was able to cook food on my own….

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Rockin’ Turmeric Veggie Soup

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A few years ago my friends and I started calling my dad, Rockin’ Rob. Why? ‘Cause he’s Rockin. In University my dad would bring us a 24 pack of beer to our university house, he would play fun drinking games with us at his house in the summer time, and he would drive us to the bar on nights out. As I type this I am realizing how much my life has changed since university, but you can imagine that university aged Mel and her friends thought my dad was pretty Rockin’. And Rockin’ Rob was born.

…

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