Moong curry

Moong (or mung) curry made from sprouted moong is delicious served with roti. However, you'll need to allow 2-3 days to sprout the moong. Rich in protein, it is a great dish for vegetarians and well worth the effort. Note that it is quite common to have a few hard moong seeds that don't soften and swell during the soaking and it is important to pick these out. You can try soaking them for longer and sometimes they will soften. If not, they will have to be discarded as they won't sprout and will remain hard even through the cooking process.

Ingredients

• • 1 cup dried moong

  • 4-5 cloves garlic

  • 1/2 tsp black peppercorns

  • 1/2 tsp + 1/4 tsp cumin seeds

  • 1 tbsp oil

  • 1/8 tsp fenugreek seeds

  • 1/4 tsp mustard seeds

  • 1 stalk curry leaves, leaves picked

  • 1 small onion, chop one half and slice the other half

  • 1 ripe tomato and/or 1 tbsp tomato paste

  • 2 tbsp curry powder

  • 1/2 tsp turmeric

  • Salt to taste

  • 1/2 tsp garam masala

  • 1 tbsp ghee

Method

• 1. Soak moong overnight or for 7-8 hours.

  2. Drain and rinse.

  3. There will usually be a few hard seeds that haven't softened with the soaking that you'll need to pick out. To do this, spread the moong on a clean old tea towel or a piece of muslin and pick through the beans, pushing the soaked swollen seeds to one side and picking out and discarding any seeds that are still hard.

  4. Once you've picked through the seeds, pile them in the centre of the tea towel and wrap into a bundle. Dampen the outside of the towel/cloth and place in a bowl. Set aside for a day to sprout. It will take longer in cold weather. Make sure the cloth is kept damp until the beans have sprouted.

  5. Rinse the sprouted moong and drain.

  6. Grind the garlic, peppercorms and the 1/2 tsp of cumin seeds to a paste.

  7. Heat oil. Add the fenugreek, mustard and remaining 1/4 tsp tsp of cumin seeds. When the seeds start to pop, add the chopped onion and curry leaves followed by the garlic-spice paste. Fry until the onions are just starting to soften.

  8. Stir the moong sprouts, turmeric, curry powder, salt, sliced onion, salt, and tomato/tomato paste.

  9. Fry for a minute of two and then add 3/4 cup water.

  10. Cover and bring to boil. Lower heat and simmer covered until the liquid is absorbed and the moong is cooked.

  11. Stir through the garam masala ang ghee and remove from heat.