What is Kola Kanda?
This Sri Lankan Kola Kanda Bowl is a traditional Sri Lankan herbal porridge hailed for its nutritious and medicinal powers.
Kola Kanda (from the leaf Gotu Kola ‘Kanda’), is a traditional Sri Lankan herbal porridge, hailed for its nutritious and medicinal powers.
Gotu Kola, also known as the ‘herb of longevity’ is a staple in Ayurvedic, Chinese and Indonesian medicine.
Gotu Kola can heal skin issues, to boost circulation (to the brain and extremities). It is thus improving brain power and concentration.
Gotu Kola also promotes liver and kidney health.
In Sri Lanka ‘Kola Kanda’ people consume this soup as a nutritious ‘drink’ for breakfast. Sri Lankan’s prepare this dish to provide healing and to prevent disease.
If you don’t have fresh gotu kola to hand, you can sub with watercress, lambs lettuce or coriander. You can also buy dried gotu kola leaves online and add a teaspoon or two to the porridge made with watercress. Gotu Kola is balancing for all three doshas, predominantly kapha and pitta.
Feeling Vata: This is a great breakfast for you. You do well on all kinds of rice, and the greens mentioned here are fine for you too. If feeling very Vata add a bit of coconut oil before serving and season well with salt and pepper. You’ll enjoy the maple or date syrup.
Feeling Pitta: Gotu Kola is a great cooling herb for Ptta. Traditionally Gotu Kola was used to stop bleeding from high Pitta. Enjoy the cooling greens in this recipee and feel free to add more!
Feeling Kapha: This is great breakfast for your dosha. Gotu Kola tastes bitter and astringent, which is perfect to balance out Kapha’s sweet and heavy nature. Go easy on the syrups or leave out completly.
Greeny Goodness – Sri Lankan Kola Kanda Bowl
Ingredients
- 50 g white basmati rice
- 150 ml water for cooking rice
- 1 x pinch of asafoetida or 1/2 clove of garlic
- 1 cup of fresh gotu kola leaf if you don’t have access to gotu kola leaf you can substitute with 1 x cup of watercress, lambs lettuce or fresh coriander
- 50 ml almond milk try and find plant milk without any additional fats added such as sunflower oils – not good for your health!
- sea salt and fresh black pepper to taste
- Maple or date syrup to taste if on a cleanse skip the syrup. If you need something sweet top with raw honey – but raw is a must on a cleanse.
Instructions
- First, wash and rinse the rice at least three times.
- Add the rice to a pot and add the water.
- Add the asafoetida or garlic. Turn up the heat and bring to a boil.
- Simmer on a medium heat until the rice is cooked and very soft, so you can cook the rice a little longer than usual (10-15 minutes). You want a nice mushy consistency.
- In the meantime chop the gotu kola (or lamb’s lettuce, watercress etc.) and mix with some water and the plant milk. Mix until you have a consistency that you like. I usually put it in my Vitamix and blend it for a few seconds on a high speed with the milk and a little water.
- Once the rice is nice and mushy, take it off the heat.
- Now mix in the green smoothie with the rice. Give it a good stir.
- Then put the pot back on the stove and get it to a simmer for a few minutes.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Add more water if you like a thinner texture, and if you like it sweet, serve with maple or date syrup.
- Garnish with herbs of your choice!
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