Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Mung Bean Curry ~ Whole Moong Curry

Every where I see these days, the signs of spring are there. The grass all around my area is getting greener , trees with fresh new leaves, birds are out chirping and the days are  longer ....yep spring is definitely here. The only downside, rains!  We have been having one storm system after another dumping rain on us continuously for the last couple of weeks and it is enough to make me look at the sky each morning hoping for some sunshine.  The weirdest part about rains this past couple of weeks has been that  all weekend it rains, ruining any chances of outdoor activities and on Monday morning the sun finally makes an appearance when we are not able to enjoy it. A couple of days of some sun shine and right around the time the weekend is on the horizon so are the clouds, and we are faced with yet another wet weekend. Just when the weather's getting warmer and we are looking forward to spending time outdoors we are forced to stay indoors because of the rains. I am keeping my fingers crossed for this weekend, hope the trend changes from the last two weeks :-) 

Moving on,I make this style of  mung bean curry when I am looking for a change from the dhal/ usal type preparation using mung beans. This curry works as a great side dish with both roti and steamed rice. You can even use it as a filling in sandwiches or wraps.  The cinnamon, fennel and cardamom impart such a sweet and fresh flavor to the curry and the green chillies impart just the right heat. Try this when you are looking for a quick, healthy and low fat protein dish with a difference. 


Mung Bean Curry~Whole moong curry 

  
Click here for a printable view of this recipe 

Ingredients and method to make Mung bean curry
1 cup dry mung beans/moong beans(Green gram/pachai payaru) soaked in sufficient water for at least 4 to 6 hours
1 medium red onion cut fine
salt to taste 

1/4 tsp red chilli powder (optional, or to taste) 
1 tsp sugar handful cilantro for garnish (cut fine) 

Masala Paste 
1/2 tsp fennel seeds (saunf/sombu) 
1/2 tsp cumin seeds (jeera/jeeragam) 
1/2 tsp coriander seeds (dhania) 
1/4 tsp cardamom seeds (choti elaichi/ellakkai) 
1 inch piece of cinnamon (dalchini/pattai) 
1/2 tsp chopped ginger (adrak/inji) 
2 Thai or Indian variety green chillies (hara mirch/pachai molagai) (or according to taste) 
1 dry red chili (lal mirch/molagai vathal) (optional, or to taste) 

 For seasoning 
1 Tbsp oil 
1 tsp mustard seeds (sarson/rai/kadagu) 
1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera/ jeeragam) 

Soak the dry mung beans in sufficient water for 4 to 6 hours.  Drain the mung beans completely,wash once with fresh water and place in a container with just enough water as to cover the beans and pressure cook until soft but not mushy. (usually takes me about 2 whistles in the pressure cooker) 

Alternatively you can cook it on the stove top with sufficient water on medium heat until it is soft but not mushy. Keep the cooked beans aside. 

Grind together the dry ingredients mentioned in the masala paste first in a small spice grinder until it is fine. Then add ginger and green chillies, and a little water and grind together until it becomes a fine paste. Keep this ground mixture aside. 

 Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan. Add the mustard seeds, when the seeds begin to splutter, add cumin seeds. When cumin sizzles, add onions and saute until onions are translucent. 

Add the cooked beans, salt to taste, sugar and red chilli powder (if using ) and mix together gently. Add the ground mixture to this and stir until it mixes well with the beans. If you plan to use this curry in a wrap or want it to be on the drier side, do not add any water to this curry at this stage, just mix all the ingredients, garnish as below. If you plan to use this curry as a side dish for phulkas or chapathis/Indian flat bread, add water as required to achieve required consistency and simmer for a few minutes until all the flavors mingle.

Garnish with finely cut cilantro and serve hot with rotis/ phulkas/ chapathis or rice or use it as a filling in wraps or enjoy a bowl of this curry just on its own :)

61 comments :

Anonymous said...

Nutritious......!!!

Aparna Balasubramanian said...

I make a very simple version of this, just with a tadka and basic spices.
We call it "puzhukku" and we love it.
Btw, I don't soak the moong beans at all. I just pressure cook it (without soda) and it cooks very well.

Preety said...

i never made moong dal this way..nice recipe

Vishali said...

delicious moong bean curry Usha......as u said must be good with the ing's u mentioned....

Adlak's tiny world said...

totally new to me.... nice one.

FH said...

Love Moong dishes, loos delicious with Chapatis! :)

Deepa Hari said...

Delicious and recipe sounds great Usha...aromatic with all those spices...good one.

Deepthi Shankar said...

this one is such a healthy dish .. I too make this often along with chapathis ..

Laavanya said...

I love mung beans.. this curry is different & sounds delicious Usha.

Poornima Nair said...

A very healthy dish...looks delicious

Finla said...

Curry looks yumm.

Indhu said...

this is a yummy and healthy one... I make this pretty often but without the ground masala :)

Priya Sriram said...

Moong daal curry is my favourite! Its a must try Usha! :)

Shama Nagarajan said...

a healthy protein rich recipe yummy

indosungod said...

Just had moong beans for lunch after a long time. this is definitely a variation to try. I have the big ones which cook really easy, the small ones from back home (naatu payar) take a bit more time to cook.

Unknown said...

New recipe for mr with moong beans, love cooking them. Like the spices you have used..

VIDYA VENKY said...

very nice recipe..will defiently try this one

Anonymous said...

Very healthy and yummy!

Lisa Turner said...

Sounds lovely Usha. Just the sort of dish I enjoy.

Rajitha said...

this is a new way of making moong bean curry for me...bookmarked

Priya Suresh said...

Very nutritious n protein packed curry..looks yummy!

saffronapron.blogspot.com said...

have not made this in a long time. Sometimes, I remember recipes only when I see it on othbers blogs.

Pavani said...

Looks delicious. That spice mixture sounds yummy.

Gita Jaishankar said...

This is a new dish to me Usha, I love the spices you have used here, must have tasted great with rotis :)

Making Love In the Kitchen said...

This is great and so simple. I have never seen mung beans spelled moong beans. I like it!

I think this could be a great breakfast- too often we fall into the sweet breakfast trap which leaves us hungry and craving sweets the rest of the day. This high protein curry is a great and hearty breakfast option

Meenal Mehta said...

very yummy looking :)

Cham said...

Moong bean and chapati would be a perfect confort food.

Vibaas said...

yummy recipe, usha. it will be so good with rotis :)

Nandinis food said...

Nutritious and aromatic dish! nice side dish for chapati! :)

Varsha Vipins said...

Love Moong..healthy n yum..:)

Mangala Bhat said...

Yummy recipe Usha ..Thanks for the recipe ..Healthy :)

A_and_N said...

I love bean recipes, and this goes to my -to try- list

suvi said...

nice one usha, bookmarking this!

karuna said...

moong dal looks yummy.

Anonymous said...

mmmmm..I really like this!I love the spices that go with it..I can already see myself rolling a wrap!Could you just tell me how to proceed if I dont have a pressure cooker? Thanx.Mia

Unknown said...

i make this almost similar to yours..love it with rice..looks nice..

Anonymous said...

usha,extremely nutritious one...Havent tried moongdaal this way.great idea!!

Valarmathi Sanjeev said...

Looks delicious and healthy too.

Sharmila said...

Nice recipe Usha! :-)

Archana said...

Nice recipe...love moong in any form ! Made usal just a day back...nice recipe, different from the usual ones i make

Ashwini said...

Love anything in moong..Nice recipe..

EC said...

Healthy dish .. yum

Vrinda said...

Nice curry Usha ..otherthan curry v also make kheer wuth moong daal

Simply Spices said...

very healthy recipe Usha! I always overcook(kind of mushy) with pressure cooker :(

yours turned out very well....

Chutneytales said...

This is a healthy,different and delicious curry..Thanks for sharing :)

Anu said...

Very healthy dish Usha. I usually prepare sundal with whole moong. Nice idea to make as a curry. Will try this for rotis.

Mahimaa's kitchen said...

good recipe.. never tried the dry curry..an alternative to gravy.

phanitha said...

yummy recipe...

chef and her kitchen said...

nice one..even i make this but ina simpler way with very few spices and tadka...yours look different

Priyanka Agrawal said...

i made sumthing like tht too recently but didnt post it. it is soo healthy!

LifenSpice said...

the gravy looks delicious! i usually make the usal, but this one looks much better..thanks for sharing:)

ARUNA said...

Hey Usha, this is yet another new recipe for me.......also sounds very nutritious!!!!Glad u shared with us!

Sum Raj said...

looks healthy..

AnuSriram said...

Yummy and nutritious!

Rajee said...

Very healthy with protein packed nutrition.

Sukanya Yogesh said...

Wonderful click. I have awards waiting for you in my blog. Please collect them, u deserve them.

Red Chillies said...

WE love moong beans at home. I make a simple version of this. Like the idea of adding fennel to this.

Chandani said...

i make this once a week, so healthy and comforting...i usually make mine with peas,corn and carrots...

Uma said...

looks so good and healthy Usha!

Cynthia said...

I have some dry mung dal. Thanks for the idea.

Mama Mojo said...

I was just searching for something new to do with my moong beans. Thanks for this recipe! I have a cup soaking now, and I'm going to try this tonight. Best wishes, Lila

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