AYURVEDIC MUNG BEAN STEW

 
 

Mung bean stew is a dish I grew up with thanks to my Filipino mum, whose Ginisang Munggo I still cook today. This is the kind of food that always felt good to eat and easy to digest, and one of the reasons I was led to the philosophy of Ayurveda which shares this somewhat similar mung bean stew. Just like classic Ayurvedic meals, the mung beans are soaked and cooked until falling apart. The 6 tastes (sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter, astringent) are all in there thanks to the assortment of spices, with the astringency of the mung beans helping to clean up mucus and congestion and tone up the digestive tract. A mung bean stew, whether Ayurveda- style or not, is delicious with coconut milk or just as yummy left light and brothy. 

Enjoy it as a soup or serve with rice, which when combined with lentils (mung beans in this case), offers all the amino acids needed to make a complete protein.

METHOD 

  1. Wash the mung beans thoroughly and then soak overnight, or minimum 8 hours 

  2. In a pan heat ½ tbs ghee, add turmeric powder and asafoetida and sauté for a few seconds.

  3. Add the mung beans, peppercorns, cardamom pods and hot water. Bring to the boil then simmer, lid on, until the mung beans are soft and easily squashed between finger and thumb (around 45 mins).

  4. In a separate frying pan make the tarka: heat the remaining ½ tbsp ghee and add 2 cloves of chopped garlic (if using). Sauté lightly for a minute.

  5. Add the fresh ginger, cumin and coriander, and sauté for a minute or so until aromatic. Add the chard stalks and a splash of water to stop it sticking, and continue cooking for a few minutes.

  6. Add the tarka to the mung beans with the chard stalks and chard leaves. Cook for 5 minutes or more until the chard is completely tender. 

  7. Add more water if needed and check seasoning. Add a splash of fresh lemon juice or a swirl of coconut milk if you like.

  8. Enjoy as a soup or serve over freshly cooked rice.

INGREDIENTS

Serves 2 as soup, or 4 if serving with rice 

  • 1 cup/200g mung beans

  • 1 tbs of ghee or coconut oil

  • ½ tsp turmeric powder

  • small pinch asafoetida (hing) to taste

  • 4 black peppercorns

  • 3 cardamom pods, bashed

  • 1 litre hot water plus more if needed

  • 2 cloves garlic, optional

  • Thumbnail fresh root ginger, peeled and finely chopped

  • 1 tsp ground cumin

  • 1 tsp ground coriander 

  • 200g rainbow chard, washed and chopped, stalks separated

  • 1 tsp sea salt to taste

  • Lemon juice to taste, optional

  • Coconut milk to taste, optional

Jasmine Hemsley