Join Parsi KindChef Jamshed Mulla and other KindWorkers in making Vaghareli Khichri from parsicuisine.com. After completing your batch, freeze and label it for donation, then drop off at one of our participating food assistance providers, with a person or family that is in your heart, or anyplace that you prefer, when convenient. Finally, report on where you shared your KindSoup and spread the word: Post a picture or two of you and your soups on social media with #DoKindWorks and tag us @DoKindWorks.
Vaghareli Khichri:
It is the Ayurvedic detox food. Khichadi, pronounced kich-ah-ree and sometimes spelled “kitchari” or “khichdi,” has long been used to nourish babies and the elderly, the sick and the healthy during special times of Diet Detox & Cleansing.
- Ingredients
- 3 Cups Basmati rice
- 3 Cups red lentils
- 6 Cups water for cooking
- 5 Tbsp. Ghee or Clarified Butter
- 3 tomatoes, diced
- 6 potatoes, quartered
- 6-9 green chillies, slit (Marj’s option: or a less spicy chilis)
- 1 Tbsp cumin seeds
- 1 Tbsp mustard seeds, crackled
- 6 stems of curry leaves (Marj’s options: can replace it with lime zest)
- 2 heads garlic, finely chopped
- 6 onions, finely sliced
- 1 Tbsp tumeric powder
- 9 red Kashmiri chillies (Marj’s opton: can substitute paprika and cayenne)
- Method
- Clean and wash both rice and dal (lentils) 3 times with water, and keep aside soaked in 4 cups water.
- Put the soaked dal/rice in a pot, add 6 cups water, diced tomatoes, potatoes quartered, slit green chillies and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium.
- In another thick bottomed pot add 3 tblsp pure ghee, add cumin seeds, mustard seeds, curry leaves, garlic, onions, tumeric, and chillies and fry to a nice golden brown.
- Add this to the cooking dar rice khichri and cook covered on slow fire until soft and done. (as we say in parsi gujarati – vavri)
- Garnish with freshly cut cilantro and eat just by itself or with fried eggplant (vengna) slices or dahi kadhi.
Some Additional Notes from Chef Jamshed:
- If you do use green Indian or Thai chillies, slit and discard the seeds if you want it to be less spicy.
- Fresh curry leaves are generally available at Indian grocery stores, but call ahead to make sure they have them in stock.
- Kashmiri chillies are dried and look like this. They are not as hot as dried red chillies used in Chinese cooking.
- When cooking the rice and dal, cook until it is just starting to get to the “al dente” stage, and then complete cooking after mixing in the fried onion/spice mixture.
- If you have to substitute ingredients, don’t worry. Indian food is quite forgiving, especially if you aren’t familiar with the dish! 😊 – – Jamshed
************************************************************************************
Health and Safety Information
In order to protect the the quality of our KindSoup program, we ask that volunteers conscientiously observe the following guidelines:
Start with clean hands and wash again frequently as needed throughout the cooking process.
Start with clean kitchen surfaces and utensils (antibacterial wipes do a great job).
Keep longer hair tied back.
Follow other common sense procedures, such as never returning a tasting spoon to the pot!
Thank you for maintaining a high cleanliness standard for our KindSoup donations!
************************************************************************************
How to Donate Your KindSoup
- Seal containers with a tight lid and freeze. Label each container with: date prepared, your first name and last initial, “Rice and Lentils” and any relevant food allergy info. When convenient, drop containers of frozen soup off at one of the following participating food assistance providers, with a person or family that is in your heart, or a place that you prefer.
- 5171 Manning Place NW (in the Palisades neighborhood in DC). NOTE: Soups dropped here must be vegetarian or Halal only, please.
- Here2Help @ Bethesda Presbyterian Church, 7611 Clarendon Road, Bethesda. (Go down driveway next to brick house just before the church on Clarendon and look for coolers labeled for soup donations). Drop off Sundays, 9:30 am-12 noon.
- Homes Not Borders 3610 East St., Landover. Drop off daily 10 am-2 pm. NOTE: Soups dropped here must be vegetarian or Halal only, as they will be shared with newly arriving refugee families in the area.
- Rainbow Community Development Center 12120 Tech Road, Silver Spring (this takes you to the rear parking lot and loading dock – there is usually a large RAINBOW truck parked here): Drop-off Monday-Friday 9am-2pm. NOTE: If you go during Rainbow’s food distributions on Tuesdays/Thursdays from 9am-noon, you may see a long line of cars – you can drive past the cars to drop off your KindSoup. If you go at other times and the garage or back door is not open, call or text Anna on her personal cell at 301-852-4184 (if she doesn’t answer, leave a message and she should get back within a few minutes, or try calling the Rainbow Pantry cellphone: 240-639-2293).
- Upcounty Consolidation Hub 12900 Middlebrook Rd., Germantown (supporting 1,000 families with food and other supports). Drop off Tuesdays, Thursdays, or Fridays 9-11 am.
- Embry Rucker Shelter 11975 Bowman Towne Drive, Reston, 703-437-1975. Leave donations on the table around the back. Drop off anytime!
- NYC Community Fridges located throughout New York City.
- Bread and Roses 58 Newbury St., Lawrence, Mass., 978-681-8768. Drop off Mondays-Thursdays, 10 am-4 pm.
- The Bristol Lodge 27 Lexington St., Waltham, Mass., 781-893-0108. Drop off Mondays-Fridays, 9am-6pm.
- Community Refrigerators located in Los Angeles
See you in the KindSoup kitchen!
