Ready-to-Eat Meals? Why Choose Khichdi?

There are so many ready-to-eat meals now available in the market. Given the current conditions, although most of us are “at-home”, and working from home, I am sure everyone including myself face this challenge every single day of planning for a quick nutritious meal for yourself and your family. This is where the ready-to-eat food and especially khichdi comes to my mind. Now let me talk about exactly is this khichdi and why do I as a nutritionist feel that is one of the best food that you can have anytime of the day and everyday too!

Khichdi is one of the most ancient food originating from India. Its references range back to thousands of years. In very simple terms, khichdi (also spelled as kitchari) is a mixture, usually of two grains that complement each other. It is a very simple one-pot dish which is made with a combination of lentils and rice or grains and is super easy to digest.

Khichdi is the basic food to the Ayurvedic way of life. Ayurveda is also one of the oldest sciences and believes that a body always knows how to heal itself. The Ayurveda science is based on the balancing of the 3 doshas, namely the vata, pitta, and the kapha. Our body is made up of the 5 basic elements of the universe – air, water, fire, ether, and earth, and our doshas or body types are determines based on the predominance of these elements. Kapha dosha has a pre-dominance of earth and water element, the pitta has a predominance of the elements fire and water, and the vata dosha has the predominance of elements air and ether. Khichdi is one dish that is most used for all these body types, just by adjusting the spices that are added into them.

Benefits of Including Khichdi in your Diet:

• Ultimate Comfort Food

Khichdi which is nothing buy a mixture of lentils and grains, is super easy to digest. A warm cup of khichdi is all you need when you are tired, have had a long day, or are even feeling sick. Since it is so easy to digest and assimilate, it is the best food to consume when you are feeling sick. This simple dish made with a mixture of lentils and rice, provides you with enough energy to keep you going through the day while your body is still healing.

• Vegan First-Class Complete Protein

Plant proteins are not considered first-class proteins, because they do not contain all the essential amino acids that our body needs. Khichdi being made of a mix of lentil and grains, can overcome this issue, because the grains and lentils complement each other in overcoming the missing amino acid in each of them. The grain contains the amino acid cysteine and methionine that lentils lack, and lentils provide the lysine that the grain lack. Together they make a plant-based first-class vegan protein!

• Gluten-Free

Whether you choose not to restrict gluten out of choice, or suffering from celiac or suffering from gluten intolerance, khichdi is one meal with which you cannot go wrong. It is ofcourse gluten-free, but also helps help in soothing the intestinal wall. It is highly nutritious and can contains complex carbohydrates to keep you full for several hours.

• Ideal Food During Detoxification

Ayurveda has a cleansing program known as Panchakarma. During any cleansing program, the metabolism slows down, which in turn has an effect on the digestive system also which also slows down. Khichdi is the ideal food suggested during this cleanse since it is so easy to digest.

Being a mix of lentils and rice it becomes an ideal food. Rice is easy to digest while the protein from the lentils keeps the blood sugar stable and help burn fat.

Ready-to-eat khichdis are now available and super convenient to use. It also comes in different variations, like Masala Rice and Lentils, Sprouted Mung Beans and Rice, Millet and Lentils, and Quinoa and Lentils. They are convenient, shelf-stable, gluten-free, vegan, and a must for every pantry. They can be consumed just by adding hot water and since they are freeze-dried they retain its freshness and nutritional content.

Even if you prefer to prepare your own khichdi over the ready-to-eat ones, it is super easy too. You just need to spare some time to soak it for a couple of hours, and then cook it either on a stove top in covered pan, or ideally cook it in a pressure cooker.

 Warmly,

Sonal

Also read : Ready-to-Eat Shelf-Stable Plant-based Foods