I feel mung beans are little pockets of goodness and feel so virtuous when I have a handful of homemade mung bean sprouts for breakfast. This is cooked but very satisfying and filling as a snack or part of a meal.
INGREDIENTS
1 cup mung beans
1 large onion thinly sliced
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon chilli powder
¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Fresh coriander leaves and finely chopped tomato to finish
Salt to taste
METHOD
Wash and rinse mung beans. Soak them in plenty of water overnight or for a minimum of 12 hours. Drain the soaking water and rinse them well. Put the beans in a large steel bowl or Tupperware container. I like to place my bowl in the oven for one or two days. At the end of day one, I like to shake them and put them back for further sprouting. By end of day two, you will have a half centimetre sprout.
Heat the oil in a medium sized fry pan. When hot enough, fry the sliced onions for three minutes. Add the powdered spices and fry for a couple more minutes. If the spices are sticking to the bottom of the pan, add a couple of spoons of water. Add the sprouts and fry continuously on medium heat for two to three minutes. Reduce heat, add salt and half cup water. Cover the pan with a lid and allow to cook for ten minutes, checking at least once in between that the sprouts are not completely dried out. After ten minutes remove lid and cook until the mung bean is cooked.
Once cooked, squeeze the lemon juice. Mix in the coriander leaves and finely chopped tomato before serving. You can eat it on its own or you can make a toasted sandwich with cheese and sprouts as filling or simply serve with roti or pita bread.