Sprouted Mung Bean Sagu

A sensible diet does not mean fasting for most part of the day. Rather it means eating smart, deriving maximum nutrition for every bite, making the right food choices. For vegetarians, a healthy diet also means an intelligent blend of cereals and proteins. You may ask why?

Egg is called a complete protein source because it contains all the 20 amino acids needed by the body.

Does that mean you lose out on the proteins if you follow a vegetarian or a vegan diet? NO!!

Nature has provided so much variety that we can easily make every meal a complete protein meal simply by smart pairing of a cereal and a legume. This is because, cereals and legumes have complementary amino acid profiles. In simple speak, cereals will supply the amino acids found missing in legumes and vice versa. By consuming both at the same meal, every time, we can compensate for the amino acids missing in each of these grains and make the meal a nourishing and strengthening one.

Enter - a favourite South Indian breakfast. Rava Idlis are made with wheat semolina unlike usual idlis which are made from a rice based batter. Rava Idlis are always paired with Potato Sagu in homes and restaurants in Bangalore. In Tamil Nadu or other Southern states, the dish is usually paired with a mixed vegetable ‘kurma’, or chutney. All these dishes are great spicy accompaniments to the bland, soft rava idli.

However, I wanted to take this meal a notch up in the nutrition ladder. Looking for a protein ingredient to accompany the ‘rava’, I felt the best one would be mung bean sprouts. Several reasons for this – mung beans are a pantry staple in most homes, they sprout with little effort, are quick cooking, and lend character to any meal. Still, with great trepidation, I waited to see the reaction on my family’s faces when I served this up for breakfast. One look at them all, and I was satisfied we have a winner at hand.

I urge all of you to try this out too. Enjoy it for breakfast, brunch or even dinner. And let me know your thoughts. Here is how I made our weekend breakfast.

ALLERGY INFORMATION

• Contains gluten from rava. NOT suitable for celiacs, or people with gluten sensitivity.
• Contains buttermilk. Usually suitable for people with lactose intolerance.
• Does NOT contain egg, corn, soya, nuts. Suitable for people with nut allergy.

Preparation Time – 30 minutes, Cooking Time – 30 minutes, Serves – 4-6.

YOU NEED

Cookware – Idli steamer, Pressure Cooker, Mixer Grinder, Sauce Pan

Ingredients

For the Rava Idlis – I used an Instant Mix of Soulfull Rava Idli Mix. This was part of the goodies we received at the IFBM. Quite fresh and convenient. Mix the contents of the packet with enough sour buttermilk to make a thick pouring batter. Grease idli moulds, pour in batter and steam in a pressure cooker/idli steamer for 10-12 minutes until done.

For the Mung Bean Sprout Sagu

1. 1 heaped cup Mung Bean Sprouts
2. 1/2 cup finely chopped Onions
3. 1/2 cup diced Tomatoes
4. 1 tsp Ginger garlic Paste OR make a paste of a thumb size ginger piece and 2 cloves garlic
5. 2-4 green chillies depending on your heat preference
6. 1 tbsp khus khus (poppy seeds) soaked in hot water for half an hour
7. 2 tbsp fresh grated coconut
8. 1/4 cup roughly chopped green coriander leaves with stem
9. 1/2 tsp salt
10. 1 tsp Cooking Oil
11. 1/4 tsp Mustard seeds
12. 1/4 tsp Cumin seeds

To Assemble

1. Set the khus khus to soak in 1/4 cup very hot water.
2. Rinse the sprouts, place in bowl, add 1/2 cup water and pressure cook for 2 whistles.
3. Rinse, dice, prepare all vegetables as mentioned in ingredient list.
4. Grind these ingredients into a smooth paste – khus, fresh coconut, green chillies, fresh coriander leaves, ginger and garlic. You can add some water to help grind too.
5. Set a sauce pan over heat, add oil, tip in mustard and cumin to season.
6. When they crackle, add the onions, fry till soft, then add tomatoes. Add salt, fry till tomatoes are pulpy.
7. Pour in the cooked sprouts, add the ground paste, mix well, and simmer for 5 minutes. Do not boil on high heat. Add 1/2cup water to thin down if needed. We want a liquid dipping consistency. Check for salt. When the sagu is well blended, remove to serving bowl and enjoy with hot steaming rava idlis.

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Hesaru Kalu and Sabsige Soppu Palya

A Happy Ugadi to all readers. Wishing plenty of good health, happiness and laughter in all your homes. All who celebrate must be busy with the shopping and cooking of the special Ugadi feast. Ugadi, Yugadi, Gudi Padwa are different names to the New Year Celebrations across Karnataka, Andhra and Maharashtra. As part of festivities, I bring to you an extremely flavourful and healthy dish from the North Karnataka region.
If the name of the dish sounds tongue twisting to non-Kannadigas,  I apologise. Do not let the long name fool you. It just means ‘a curry with mung bean and dill leaves’.The dish itself is quite easy to put together. A North Karnataka special recipe, I was introduced to this super aromatic and healthy dish at my dear friend Deepa’s place. Deepa’s enthusiasm for life and generous nature is so infectious. I do have a feeling that she is so high on life because she makes and shares dishes like these, which are so nutritious and lip-smacking tasty at the same time.
Dill leaves are used in several cuisines around the world. What’s good about dill leaves? This amazing aromatic green is very low in Saturated Fat and Cholesterol. It is also a good source of 1.Dietary Fiber, and a very good source of 2. Vitamins - Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Niacin as well as 3. Minerals - Phosphorus, Zinc and Copper, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Potassium and Manganese.
To those not familiar with the flavour, it does take some time to accept. To be honest with you, my family was not so welcoming of the dill flavour when I made it first. At the next attempt, I reduced the quantity of dill leaves to half that of the mung beans. This then, found appreciation among my ‘testers and tasters’ - (read family).

You Need

1. Mung Bean – uncooked, 1 cup
2. Dill leaves – pick leaves, discard thick stem and measure 1/2 cup packed
3. Onion – diced, 1/4 cup
4. Oil – 1 tbsp
5. Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
6. Green chilli – 4-5 chopped fine
7. Salt – 1 level tsp or less

To Assemble

1. Rinse the mung beans well, pressure cook them in just enough water for only 2 whistles or till just cooked but not mushy.
2. Was the picked dill leaves under several changes of water, chop fine and set aside.
3. Heat oil in a pan, add mustard to crackle, pour in the chopped green chilli and diced onion. Toss well till light brown.
4. Add the dill leaves, sauté on high heat, stirring briskly.
5. When the leaves have been tossing for a couple of minutes, add the cooked mung beans, add salt to taste. If there is extra water from the cooked beans, add only if required to the pan at this point. The curry should be moist but not ‘gravy–ish’.
6. Stir on high heat for 2 more minutes, switch off flame, cover and set aside for flavours to blend well. Ready to serve after half an hour with Steamed rice or Jowar Roti.