Kitchari, or Kitchadi is a vegetarian stew made from cooked split mung beans and rice, usually basmati.  It is a wonderful, nourishing, easily digestible food for everyone.  Kitcharis are a core food in Ayurveda and it's where I first learned about them.  Yellow split mung beans can be found on-line, or in many health food stores.  Don't let the laundry list of ingredients deter you; the kitchari preparation is quite easy.  Read on at the end for why this kitchari recipe is particularly useful for the lungs and bronchial ailments: 

Lung Kitchari (serves 4)

½ cup white basmati rice
¼ cup split yellow mung beans
6 cups water
1 TB ghee
½ tsp ajwain seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/8 tsp hing (asafetida)
1 stick of kombu seaweed
1 tsp coriander seeds
1/4 tsp cardamom seeds or powder
1 tsp black peppercorns
2 TB ghee (divided)
2 medium sweet potatoes, diced into 1” pcs
1 cup string beans or zucchini, chopped
¾ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp ground cloves
1 tsp turmeric
¾ Tsp rock salt
1 TB fresh ginger, minced
½ small onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, smashed
½ tsp ground cumin
1 TB ground flaxseed

Procedure:
Wash rice and mung beans and rinse until the water is clear.  Wash the sweet potatoes and dice them. Warm one TB of ghee in a medium saucepan.   Add the ajwain seeds, cumin seeds, and hing.  Cook for a moment until the seeds sizzle.  Add the sweet potato plus the kombu stick, rice, mung beans, and water.  Cook for about 45 minutes.

Warm the other TB of ghee in a small skillet. Add the coriander, cardamom, peppercorns, and ginger.  Saute for 2-3 minutes.  Then stir in the rest of the spices, onion, and garlic cloves and cook another couple of minutes.  Put this spice mixture into the rice and mung.  Add the other vegetables and the flax meal and 1 to 1 1/2 cup of water.  Cook 20 minutes more. 

Adapted from the Ayurvedic Cookbook by Amadea Morningstar

*Amadea writes – this is an excellent kitchari for fighting winter ailments.  Ajwain and ginger work to decongest the lungs, while the onion and garlic warm and stimulate the immune system and circulation.  Sweet potato is rich in Vitamin A, which soothes the lung membranes and supports the immune system.  Flaxseed will enhance clearing of the lungs.