Two years later with a far healthier gut, I want to pay homage to this amazing ayurvedic dish.  It can be digested by infants, sick and elderly and can range from utterly simple to a gourmet centrepiece.

Like a basic sponge cake can have thousands of variations, the khichdi can go from basic to sublime.  Let me begin with the basic one in this post.  The yellow moong makes the lightest khichdi and split moong is medium heavy and whole moong is the heaviest.

Ingredients per person:

1/2 cup white rice

1/4 cup yellow moong dal (or split moong)

1 tsp organic ghee

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 pinch green cardamom powder

1 tsp grated raw turmeric or 1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 cup carrots, finely diced

Salt to taste, 2 pepper corns

Method

I prefer making this in a slow cooker/crockpot but it turns out good even in a pan or pressure cooker or instapot.

1. Wash the rice and dal till the water run clear.  If you are cooking in an open pan, soak the rice and dal mix for an hour if possible.  It opens and swells the grains and makes cooking time shorter.
2. In the pan of choice, add the rice dal mix with 4-6 times the water depending on the cooking device.  In the crock pot i add salt, cardamom powder and turmeric and let it cook for 3 hrs on High.  For the open pan you need six times water, let it come to boil and simmer on low heat for 30 mins.  Khichdi is never too cooked so just relax and let it bubble without sticking to the bottom. Just check ever 10 mins to see that there is enough fluid.
3. Once ready the rice and dal will have smoothly intermingled.  Now for the finally: in a small pan or large steel ladle, melt the ghee and add the asafoetida and cumin.  They will froth and simmer. Take off the fire before it burns (this trick is best done by heating the ghee on high heat and switching it off- add the two ingredients and turn on only if they are not crackling!
4. Add the ‘tadka’ to the khichdi and serve hot.

The consistency can be from thick gruel to thin soup- its personal preferences- the stronger the digestion the more the thickness is a rule of the thumb.

A tip on variations- You can add vegetables year round and ginger in winter.

The post Soul food: Khichdi appeared first on Bulbul Mankani.

My attempts to learn Yoga and Vedanta have had many mishaps.  Then a chance meeting with Swami Govindanand set the stage for a month long teacher training in Kodakkad, North Kerala: a new ashram, limited students and peace filled surroundings.

The course was designed by Swami Vishnudevananda back in the 60’s when he wanted the West to experience the depth of Yoga and he integrated Vedanta into it in what i found was a seamless way.  Twelve basic asanas, two Pranayamas, a map of essential Vedanta and much mantra chanting is the core of the course.  It is intensive and extensive- there is not a moment to spare on most days but they are filled with so much that can make life meaningful.

As ashrams go, and i have sampled quite a few, the Sivananda Yoga Vidya Peetham is charming being compact with three modern laterite structures and fair amenities set in rural paddy fields and much wilderness.  Kodakkad, as a village, is quite lovely with its few and far apart homes, wells, ponds, good roads and a cluster of temples. It faces east and not a single sunrise over the small hill of palms should be missed.  On many mornings we would be taken from our chanting routine to do some barefoot gayatri mantras looking at the sun- a most memorable moment of the month.

While the Asana teacher was disappointing but one plodded along, the Vedanta teaching more than made up for it: Swami Govindananda is extraordinarily lucid and engaging- he lives by his teachings and that gives a certain strength that is rare to find. His family provides a great support team- with a touch of Gurukulam.

A feature of this training are the pujas that all conducted with much vedic vigour- yantras, havan and chanting imbue the space with pranic energy.  We all noticed subtle changes in us as the days passed- the critical mind softening into the more accepting mind.  All questions are fairly answered by swamiji.  We all felt cared for through little gestures of Swami G.

Now a few weeks later, the ashram life is alive within- something has shifted and I want it to grow.

The post A taste of ashram living appeared first on Bulbul Mankani.

What I really want to share with you is the lessons I learnt on this trip:

1. Our cells are smarter than we are: Freed from digestive stress and with detoxification, they healed me when no medical system worked. The biggest barrier to health is digestive stress- and its cumulative. Regular detox through short and long water fasts and raw is my mantra. I am a lot more trusting of self healing today.

2. Deep Rest: Goes beyond sleep which varies in rest intensity – a night routine of wind down allows for shorter time in REM. The sea and the forest healed me as much as the fasting and Panchkarma. I can’t emphasise the healing power of pranayama, jal neti and yoga enough.

3. Stressors: Disconnect from self, emotional turmoils, unresolved issues, overthinking, overeating… there are so many stressors that create disease. I am more aware of my stressors now and feel calm just knowing this. Stress is becoming the theme of my next book.

4. Yoga Nidra: This powerful tool that i learnt at Bihar School of Yoga was finally practised and I see it’s potential big time. If you would like the guided recording of Swami Satyanand putting you into YN, I am happy to forward.

5. Present Moment Awareness: Finally I practised it for sometime everyday. What a ringside view of eternity. I am still at the threshold and look forward to deeper dives.

6. Minimalism: Was so happy living out of a bag for 60 days. My home feels too heavy and have been decluttering last few days. Things tie us down. We use such few things. If i count the things I haven’t touched in 3 years, the number will be over a 1000… Less is so so much more.

7. The elements: Sun bathing, plenty of water, contact with Nature and Earth, deep breathing, moving the body and emptying your mind = Health

So what was Panchkarma all about-here is Chris Lipp’s (fellow Panchkarmi) little ditty about it

Panchakarma its Day 1,

I’m sure this trip’s gonna be so much fun.

Oil massages and herbal steam,

The full treatment sounds like a dream.

Panchakarma its Day 2,

Cuisine is rice and vegi stew.

Taste is bland, ain’t so bad,

My body’ll be healthy and I’ll be glad.

Panchakarma it’s Day 3,

You know food is bad when beets are luxury.

Oil massages not what they seem,

buy lederle minocin Feels so rough and not so clean.

Panchakarma Days 4,5,6,

I’m drenched in oil and everything sticks.

And every night mosquitos swarm,

But dinner with friends makes it all feel warm.

Panchakarma it’s Day 9,

Started with drink from a cup of slime.

Soon enough my guts let loose,

Again and again and again and again…

Panchakarma it’s Day 10,

Don’t want to go through that again.

Got some oil up the “ooohh!”

And now my colon feels so cool.

Panchakarma it’s Day 11,

Water’s going up in the wrong direction.

But now my colon is spanking clean,

I feel light and my body lean.

Panchakarma Days 12 and 13,

My therapist is intimate with oiling my seam.

And now it’s coming to a close,

I’m feeling unadulterated down to my toes.

Going to take more care on what I feed,

No more panchakarma is what I need!

that’s him on the left

To your health and god bless her country Kerala!

The post Healing Lessons: Week 8 appeared first on Bulbul Mankani.

His answer was Enervation – the exhaustion of the nervous system- an accumulated fatigue from years of sensory overload and mental and emotional excesses…. it really made me look at my life. The parts that were most exciting- all that travel, reading, eating, conversations, adventures, working hard, research…. all that which made life so colorful and entertaining had actually drained and sapped the nervous system and now my body is trying hard to stay together. Toxic build up is slow and disease only shows up after the body’s fight against toxemia fails. Interestingly all the body is asking for healing is –

Fasting: A healing fast must also be rest from sensorial, mental and physical exertions. Freed from constant processing of food, drinks, thoughts and environmental toxins, the cells work toward pending jobs: cleaning up the dead materials, germs, toxins… releasing them, releasing mucus, fat, healing damaged tissues, fight infections and waste management.

Rest: Deep relaxation is a skill to learn- sleep is a minimal rest… dream filled sleep actually does not give much rest. Deep relaxation can come from a range of activities: Pranayam, meditation, massage, slow conversations, mindfulness….

Free Expression of disease: We have a tendency to suppress disease – the body is actually healing itself through the expression of disease- the phlegm, the fever, the loosies are all eliminating toxins so we defeat the body by medicating the symptoms away.

Will to heal: This along with inner peace help to release disease. One needs to look at subconscious programming that holds on to the disease. Yet a clear decision to heal will support the cells in doing the natural healing.

I am now at the Sivanand Ashram at Neyyar Dam and it surely provides the perfect atmosphere for healing. The forest surrounding the ashram and the breezy open areas are perfect for me to look within, know my body…. I notice all the staff lead rhythmic lives here, something rare in urban life…. the stresses of modernity are intense.

I hope we will look at our lives afresh from the enervation perspective. Minimalism come to me as one solution – limiting one’s consumption of food, materials, thoughts, ambitions and striking a balance of rest and activity.

My study into stress, disease and nature cure continues!

Lip – slight deterioration

Tongue- more improvement

(this may be from cooked food- the ashram has healthy food – lots of veggies but a lot of it is cooked and i am massively tempted)

A new moon fast is helping restore some balance as is the yoga, jal neti…

Coming up next- Panchkarma!

The post Exploring Enervation: Week 6 appeared first on Bulbul Mankani.

Fasting on water is most beneficial on this day: Na gaayathrya para manthra: na mathu para dhaivatham: na ganagasya paramam theertham: na ekadasya samam vrathama?? (There is no mantra superior to the Gayatri mantra. There is no God superior to the mother, there is no water purifying or superior than River Ganges and there is no vrat or austerity or fast, holy or superior than the Ekadasi)

To add a spin on the fast I took a train ride to the southernmost tip- Kanyakumari – and spent an hour on the vivekanand rock with its emerald sea and delicious sea breeze. Read more about that here

Then a detox began- mild fever, loss of hunger and i slept for 48 hours… both tongue and lip began to show improvement: sticking to raw food is helping. A?My body does not want cooked food. And there are plenty of options… mango avocado smoothies, fig icecream, coconut juice, salads… a day later I wanted nothing – just water and so the rest of the week has been fasting once more.

I live in very peaceful parts- my porch faces a large bamboo grove and a wattle boundary wall. Lots of wild flowers grow in pots and sitting here give a sense of wellness – the surf can be heard if the crows don’t caw so much. On the rare cloud free days the sun and moon rise in direct line of sight of my window.

Fasting on my own is mostly a blur of sleep, looking at my lip and tongue, drinking some water and more sleep.

Somehow this fast is far more gracious than the one in Cochin. I feel at ease and there are no irritants.

Have located an organic store in trivandrum to get my supplies and feasting on fruits has been energizing. I have done a lot of journaling to look at my waning and waxing interest in writing. My panic at the life ahead. All I can share is the world within is as elaborate and complex as the one outside.

A small note on the cooked food experience- Rosie, my beautiful and wonderful caretaker worries about my food habits and makes dosas with carrots and tapioca and coconut dishes for me. Its hard to refuse all that love and there were times i wanted to have it too- well it is heavy beyond belief. It just lacks the liveliness of fruit. And funnily once it digests, it brings on sharp hunger for more, like an addiction.

The next and final stage of this healing trip is with Sivanand ashram- 80 kms downstream, next to a dam. I hope to connect with the Naturopathy teacher and do some quality yoga.

Lip update: from pretty fierce scabs to mild ones… I see the outer rim of the lip healed.

Half of my tongue is also healed.

More fasting needed. Ekadashi coming up in 48 hours!!

The post Between Ekadashis: Week 4 & 5 appeared first on Bulbul Mankani.

All the gains of fasting are diminishing rapidly: starting with the lip and then the tongue. Infact the lip is back to status quo. The first insight I gained is that food is the allergen, given that I introduced it into my body last Sunday. One of the first cooked food given to me was a wheat dosa – the likelihood that I am allergic to wheat is strong. Over the week as I travelled through fort Kochi and varkala, the kinds of foods eaten varied – I tried to stay raw with salads but did have shrimps and rice twice. Have been wheat free before this journey too and cant report an improvement.

Varkala has a Govt Nature cure hospital right by the beach – nice doctor willing to admit me but the shared space in wards and hygiene issues just made me step back. I seem to be unable to find my rough traveller bone.

Today being Ekadashi, I am going on a fruit fast followed by a water fast. My stress levels are really low in Varkala – there is good vibe where I am. I have spoken to three naturopathic doctors and they all are selling me some treatment or retreat and currently I am not inclined to try. The week ahead is going to be seeking answers within. I hope to speak to my body and get some answers – do yog nidra, yoga and meditations and long walks.

This has been a week of long walks – the sea and the Janardhan temple make for delightful trails. As was fort Kochi. Walking and breathing the sea air and connecting with the body more deeply. Keep life simple this coming week. Being a sleuth in search of inflammation triggers is my job.

The post Walks & Worsenings: Week 3 appeared first on Bulbul Mankani.

Somewhere on Wednesday/thursday food became an obsession – not to consume it but to savour it in my head – I must have gone to a hundred recipe sites, restaurant in Fort Cochin (where i move tomorrow), painted vegetables and wrote recipes I like in my new raw vegan recipe book. There is a restaurant called Primate that serves raw vegan – I must have looked at its food another 100 times! I fantasised cooking and experimenting, going to some restaurants and dreamt of eating mangoes. I will correct that to organic mangoes.

Breaking the fast yesterday was a decision to leave this place – its morbid and soul less place – almost no one once asked me how I was during the fast… the doctor comes if called and wants to leave as soon as she can… and then I found a beautiful place in Fort Kochi for three nights that came at the price of one day here! That nailed it.

My gains

I have lost 6 kgs, my lip is mending (half of it has new skin) but astonishingly it is my lichen planus tongue that has healed the most. This is delightful- will i be able to eat chillis in the future – quite likely. Not that I miss it so much but its just convenient when I am socialising. My skin is glowing and a lot of the chubbiness is gone.

The other great revival is doing jal neti (pouring water through one nostril and it trickling from the other) – mildly painful at start, it has given me a new breathing apparatus – I find i am breathing more air and it feels light. Yoga claims the maximum nerve ending are in the nostril and jal neti clears up the toxins clogging the passages. Breaking the fast has also cleared up the foul breath I had every morning.

The highlight of the week- eating Mangoes last evening. Despite the pesticides that left an after taste. Thats how clean my palate is.

The learning of the week- fasting can be done at home with a fasting companion- it does not need a clinic. Looking back at the fast with Nandini – it was so much more enjoyable. Also learnt about the advantages of wheatgrass juice why they give every morning.

Next week – I will be in Fort Cochin and Varkala where I have rented a room in a cliffside villa overlooking the sea. I hope to make and experiment with raw vegan and take some nature cure treatment on my own.

There will be pictures for sure- even the journey to Varkala is picturesque I am told. The pic accompanying this post is of Fort Cochin beach with its Gulmohar trees.

The post Of Fasting & Fantasies: Week 2 appeared first on Bulbul Mankani.

I could not take my eyes off the spectacular emerald green at the hangout of the three- Arabian sea, Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean. In the distance a deep blue edge contrasts with the green. This is Kanyakumari how much is aldara without insurance – the southern tip of India with some big breakers that hit the rocks with big sprays even at low tide. The breeze is sparkling fresh and if there was not a train to catch I would have just spent the whole day there- just enjoying the sun and sea. The monsoon is completely missing in Tamil Nadu preferring the state of Kerala.

Vivekanand came here and meditated for three days and a temple was built in his honour on one of the big rocks. The smooth oval rock is a few minutes ferry ride with some nice uplifts and squealing kids. There is a quiet simple meditation room that i found beautiful- a soft OM buzzing in the air and very little touristic sounds filter in. Again the train back hurried what could have been a long halt.

The next rock features the massive statue of Thiruvalluvar, a Tamil saint and poet. Some chemical coating is underway and a net of girders envelops it for the next few months.

This has been an impromptu trip- began as pre dawn visit to the Janardhana temple with its waking washing and dressing the gods and lamps being lit- all very heady and beautiful. I was keeping my first ekadasi fast. By 5 am I was wondering if the beach is safe to walk when a bus comes by going to the train station. A?In seconds i knew i was going to Kanyakumari- i had a little money and no umbrella- the phone had no juice but to spend the fast on an adventure seemed like a great idea.

You hang out at the station and learn a lot- Kerala likes its newspapers- three malayali ones and the ‘new’ Indian Express do brisk business. Everybody reads (it has 100 percent literacy) and works. The women were waiting for trains to take them to Trivandrum – neat sarees with pin tucking the pallu to blouse- many wear white flowers in their hair. The friendliness is fabulous- two offered me tea and liked that i was on a fast (first ritualistic offering on the 11th day of the moon- complicated pleasing of Lord Vishnu- one of whose incarnation is Janardhana)- everyone has a basic command of english and some prefer Hindi- Like my coconut man Biju- he also runs an auto and is extremely dependable.

The communist government gives excellent public transport – clean, super cheap and efficient. My 127 km ride from Varkala to Kanyakumari cost 30 rupees (less than half dollar) and the ride was through lakes, rivers and finally the Cardamom Mountains- the tail end of the Western ghats- they have sharp spikes and reminded me of the Tetons though far smaller. The basic food – rice, small fish and tapioca are affordable and no one goes hungry i think. The only beggar I have seen is outside the temples. Maybe in Trivandrum there are many. A?Water fountains work and i have survived the municipal water so far.

Southern railways is cleaner and cheaper than its northern counterparts. A?The ticket reminds you that they recover only 57% of cost from sale of ticket. Made me want to buy a few extra ones. Most people have a train pass and the journey from Trivandrum to Kanyakumari is has few takers in off season. Biju has filled the auto with orange coconuts that have divine sweet water- perfect end to the fast.

An Ekadashi to remember.

The post An Ekadashi to Remember appeared first on Bulbul Mankani.