Name: Kitchari Spice
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Ingredients: 2 teaspoons cumin powder; 2 teaspoons coriander powder; 2 teaspoons whole cumin seeds; 2 teaspoons whole fennel seeds; 1 teaspoon mustard seeds; 1 teaspoon turmeric powder

This is a full flavored Ayurveda Kitchari Spice Mix packed full of color and health benefits. If you want a spice for everything – this is it!

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Kitchari Spice Mix

If you don’t know what Kitchari is, let’s start there. Kitchari is a traditional Ayurveda food that is used in cleansing. It is a mixture of Basmati rice and Yellow Mung Bean s along with a traditional spice mix.

You will find that the Kitchari Spice Mix varies a little but often contains much of the same spices. Some amounts vary or sometimes a spice or two is substituted. For example, I choose to use both cumin AND cumin seeds. Not every recipe does that.

The nice thing about this lovely spice is that it has tremendous health benefits and is useful for more than just kitchari. I keep a mason jar around and have used it with meat, eggs, and plain rice.

How to Make Kitchari Spice Mix

Are you ready for how simple this is? First, gather up your spices: cumin, coriander, fennel seeds, cumin seeds, mustard seeds and turmeric (amounts below). The great thing is that you don’t have to worry about grind up the seeds! Just throw them in whole and be done with it!

The, you simply add all spices to a mason jar, put the lid on and shake well. Store in a cool, dry place.

What Spices Are in Kitchari?

There are slight variations in the different versions of kitchari that people make. This one is pretty standard with a little deviation. Let’s go through the spices that are used and what their benefit are!

Cumin

Not only is cumin a great flavor spice, it has some pretty awesome health benefits. Some of these include the following [3]:

Promotes digestion
High source of iron (this one is important for me)
Antioxidant
May help improve blood sugar (again, important for me as a Type 1 Diabetic)
May promote fat reduction

Coriander

Did you know that coriander is actually an herb? Most people just think of it has a seed that is ground up. Coriander is the seed and (wait for it….) cilantro is the leaves. I know, I know, you probably knew that. But I learned this recently. Not sure how I never knew this!

Coriander is a pretty cool herb. It has some awesome benefits such as possibly lowering blood sugars, fights inflammation due to its antioxidants, and may benefit heart and brain health[4].

Herbs are pretty cool ya’ll!

Fennel Seeds

Fennel is something that I am relatively new to. Especially fennel seeds. I wish I would have found it long ago, however. For the health benefits AND the taste. Here are a few of the amazing health benefits[5]:

May help regulate blood sugars
Reduces water retention
Useful when dealing with constipation and indigestion
Have a cooling effect on the body (according to Ayurveda) and reduces all 3 doshas

Brown Mustard Seeds

I’ll be the first to admit that I HATE mustard. Hate it. Hate it. Hate it. However, I love to use mustard seeds. Maybe it is the processing involved that I don’t like, I’m not sure. But they are quite beneficial to health. Most notably they are anti-inflammatory, help with psoriasis and contact dermatitis, and promote healthy blood circulation [6].

Turmeric

The major constituent in turmeric is curcumin which is what the focus is generally on. The most relevant health benefits of curcumin are therapeutic activities such as antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and antihyperlipidemic[1]. It is also a powerful antioxidant that neutralizes free radicals[2]. WE WANT THIS!

One big thing to note is that turmeric is fat solvable. What does this mean? It means you want to take this with a fat in order to get the best benefit. Ghee (like this one) is a great fat to pair it with.

Why use Cumin Powder AND Cumin Seeds?

Well, why not?? Cumin is AMAZING. Isn’t that enough? The only reason that I chose to somewhat double down on cumin was that when you get a cumin seed in your mouth you get this POW of flavor which is fantastic. Yet the powder infiltrates what it is mixed with and gives you a more mild pow. I feel that both really enhance this kitchari spice mix.