A simple, colorful and spicy Indian curry featuring mung beans

Native to India, the small, beautiful gold-green mung bean is one of my favorite beans to cook with. Although Indian cooks most often cook with split mungs, I particularly enjoy cooking with them whole in a dry texture finish so that the plumb and tender legumes stand out by themselves — besides, they take hardly any longer to cook than the split ones, especially if you soak them ahead of time. Serve this simple but incredibly flavorful curry with vegetables, an Indian rice dish such as simple pulao rice or piquant lemon rice and an Indian flatbread for a complete and satisfying meal.

You may also wish to try one of my all time favorite mung bean recipes: mung beans with paneer cheese. It is a flavorful combination of buttery-soft and sweet mung beans, golden-brown fried paneer cheese, tomatoes and spices — a wonderful dish to serve to your dinner guests.

A simple, colorful and spicy Indian curry featuring mung beans

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole dry mung beans
• 2 teaspoons ghee, butter or oil
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 to 2 teaspoons turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
• 1/2 tablespoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 medium onion, finely sliced
• 1-inch piece fresh ginger, grated or minced (1 tablespoon)
• 3 to 4 jalapeños or green chilies, finely chopped
• 1 large tomato, diced
• 1 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
• fresh ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley or cilantro, chopped

Instructions:

• Rinse the mung beans under cold running water and place in a bowl. Cover with several inches of cold water and soak for 6 hours or overnight. Drain, rinse, and set aside.
• Heat the ghee or butter and oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the cumin seeds, and stir and fry for a minute or two. Next add the ground spices, stir for about 15 seconds, and then add the onion, ginger and jalapeños or green chillies to the pan. Fry until the onion wilts and begins to brown.
• Add the mung beans and and 1 1/2 cups of water to the pan. Bring to a boil, immediately reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered until the beans are just tender, about 20 to 30 minutes. Add more water if necessary just to keep the beans covered.
• Now add the tomato, salt and pepper. Simmer for another 15 to 20 minutes or until the beans are soft and the liquid is mostly absorbed. Taste for seasoning, then stir in the parsley near the end of the cooking time. Serve hot with fresh cooked rice or Indian flatbreads.

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