Sprouted Mung Bean Curry

Soaking beans and sprouting them requires a bit of patience or a bit more patience to get it right. I had tough time sprouting my mung beans because of the quality of beans. From one cup of beans, I got only a half cup's worth of fully soaked and sprouted beans ie about 2 cups of sprouted beans. Well the rest of the beans went right into the trash. Anyway a very good recipe that inspired me to make this curry is from the very popular online cooking show 'ShowmetheCurry'. I have modified this recipe according to the ingredients in my pantry and the result was a very yummy,delicious and a tasty curry that I am going to experiment with other sprouted beans varieties too.

Ingredients

sprouted mung beans - 2 cups

curry leaves - 4 leaves

salt - to taste

Masala paste

step1

mustard -1/4 tsp

fenugreek- 5 or 6

pepper corns - 6 or 7

red chillies-3

tomato -1

In a frying pan add little oil and heat it. Now add the above ingredients in the given order. Add to the blender when they are all well fried. Proceed to step 2.

step 2

hing- a pinch

turmeric-1/4 tsp

sweet onion - 1 med

Wipe the frying pan clean and now add little oil.Heat the oil. Add hing,turmeric and the chopped sweet onion.Saute well and combine this 'step 2' mixture and 'step 1' mixture in the blender. Add 70z (I used half of 13.5oz can which is 6.75 oz )of coconut milk to the blender and blend the ingredients to a fine paste. Keep the masala paste aside.

Method

Cook sprouted mung in the pressure cooker for 2 whistles. While cooking, add half a cup of water to the sprouts. Dont add more, since it will make the sprouts mushy. When the sprouts are done, add the paste ,water(about 2 cups approx), few curry leaves and salt to taste. Simmer the curry for about 5 to 7 min. Delicious curry is ready to serve along with rice or chappathis.

I am so happy that this post will be eligible for Susan's MLLA (My Legume Love Affair)Event, hosted this month by Sowjanya of Ruchikacooks.

Navarathna Kurma

This is a kurma that I make quite often at home. My hubby likes this kurma with rice very much and a combination which I totally detest. I can consume this kurma with almost any tiffin item like puri,dosa or chappathi but I just can't imagine eating with rice. But one thing that completely excites me is that Iam sending this post to Nupur's Blog bites event. This is an event that challenges bloggers to use pressure cookers,rice cookers and slow cookers and attempt recipes from another blog. Here is my humble attempt at doing just that. I have followed the recipe from Solai Chidambaram madam's blog.(Pls click the link to go to the recipe) She has a huge collection of veg and non-veg Chettinad recipes and a huge fan base too. My hubby found this website and asked me if I could make this kurma for him and after reading this recipe I wanted to do this immediately because of the easy way she explains this recipe. And here goes the recipe....

Masala Paste

Coconut grated-4 to 5 table spoons or half coconut
Cashews-6
Chutney dhal-1 tablespoon
Poppy seeds-1 teaspoon (optional)
Garlic-6 pods
Ginger-a small piece
Cinnamon-1 small piece
Clove-1
Cardamom-1
Fennel seeds-1 teaspoon
Green chilli-6(according to taste)
Keep the kadai in the stove. In a teaspoon of oil add the cinnamon, cardamom, clove and fennel seeds. Then add all other items one by one and coconut at the end. Fry in medium fire for 3 minutes. Grind it to a smooth paste.
Method

In a pressure cooker heat some oil. Season oil with spices like cinnamon, cardamom, clove and fennel seed. Add chopped onion(1) and tomato(1) pieces.Saute well.Add vegetables of your choice.Do not add more than 1 1/2 cups of veggies. Pour some water along with some salt and a tsp of chilli powder. Close the pressure cooker and cook until the steam escapes or until the veggies are cooked well. It is time to add the ground paste with a cup of water along with remaining salt.Add cauliflower and cooked peas now.Cook for 5 min and if you feel the curry is thick add water to dilute it or just leave it as such. This is such an easy dish that can be prepared less than 30 min.