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When my nephew Myles was a little tot and just starting on solid foods, he couldn't get enough of my mung bean casserole. He would devour it and get upset when you showed him the empty bowl..lol. And out of all of my nephews and nieces he is by far the most adventurous when it comes to trying new foods. Although to be fair his sisters aren't far behind him. It was important to my sister that her children grow up enjoying vegetarian and vegan foods although her home isn't either of those. Saturdays are always a opportunity for me to try out something new with the little ones and I was a very proud Auntie a couple of weeks ago when I had Noo eating raw broccoli as a side salad to her pasta. And this last weekend I had them taste testing nuts and seeds...the outcome...loved pumpkin seeds and cashews. Not so keen on brazil nuts and they were undecided on almonds. lol. Oh! I nearly forgot the littlest niece Layla who happily chomped her way through a tray of raw veggie crudities and tried my homemade Spicy Roasted Red Pepper hummus and liked it so much she wanted to keep the pot all the herself! lol. She can be forgiven...she's two!
Anyway today's recipe is a great dish from one of my favourite cookbooks Mridula Baljekar's The Low Fat Indian Vegetarian Cookbook. As with many of the recipes in Mridula's cookbook, it is easy to make and I made mine whilst prepping other dishes at the same time. Yep..that easy. lol. I happen to love the humble little green bean that is the Mung. Horrible name...agreed but this bean is so versatile. I have lost count of the ways I've used it and then recently found out the generic bags of beansprouts are almost always sprouted mung. Who knew? Not me apparently. lol. I was a little intrigued at this recipe because it had never occurred to me to stir fry them. I often throw Aducki beans in a veggie fry and they are great.
I sat down with my bowl of stir fry and enjoyed every mouthful. Once again Mridula provided a meal that was packed full of flavours from the somewhat delicate spice base through to the tender crisp cauliflower florets and holding it together was the wholesome (I know I use this word a lot but wholesome is important to me!) mung bean. I'm really pleased I made this dish...and I had stacks of leftovers which got safely stashed in my freezer...didn't I mention this is a stir fry you can freeze too? lol My bad...
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| Indian Stir Fried Mung Beans |
Indian Stir Fried Mung Beans Serves 4
(Recipe from The Low Fat Indian Vegetarian Cookbook/Baljekar)
150g/5oz/ 1/4 cup dried mung beans
300ml/ 1/2 pint/1 1/2 cups of water
2 tbsp of sunflower or olive oil (I used 1 tsp sun)
1/2 tsp black mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
2.5cm/1" piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1-2 green chilli peppers, finely chopped (seeds if you wish)
50g/2oz/1/2 cup red bell pepper, cut into 2.5cm/1" dice
1 bunch of spring onions (scallions), finely chopped
125g/4oz/1 cup carrots, halved length ways and thinly sliced
125g/4oz/ cauliflower, divided into 5mm/ 1/2" florets
1 tsp salt or to taste
2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves
Pick over the mung beans, wash and soak in plenty of cold water overnight. Drain and rinse several times.
Put the beans and water in a saucepan and place over a high heat. Bring to the boil, partially over the pan and cook over a medium-high heat for 5-6 minutes or until it stops being frothy. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 10-12 minutes or until the beans are tender (realistically 15-20 mins ~R~) and the liquid reduces to about 2-3 tablespoons.
In a wok or non stick saucepan, heat the oil over a medium heat. When the oil is hot but not smoking, add the mustard seeds followed by the cumin seeds. As soon as the seeds pop, add the ginger, red pepper and spring onion. Stir fry for 1 minute.
Add the carrots and cauliflower, stir fry for a further minute, then add the salt. Stir fry for 1-2 minutes.
Add the cooked beans, along with the cooking liquid left in the pan. Stir fry for 2-3 minutes or until the beans and vegetables are well blended.
Stir in the coriander leaves, remove from the heat and serve...
Enjoy!
Thanks for stopping by and I hope your Thursday has been a good one for you. I'll be back on Saturday as tomorrow I am looking after the Littlest one and having a new hob fitted (Woo! Four rings baby..it's been a while..lol). Hope your Friday is smashing....
~Red~
NB: This is not my recipe and therefore take no credit for it whatsoever. It is the hard work and creative talent of Mridula Baljekar and hers alone. Thanks to her for writing a great cookbook...~R~
