Wednesday 11 May 2016

Mung beans and quinoa in a spicy broth

I bought dried mung beans last year with the admirable intentions of regularly sprouting them.  It just hadn't happened.  Hence my interest in finding this recipe for spicy mung beans and quinoa.  It ls like a double whammy hit of protein and nutrients.  We ate it the first night with stirfried vegies, leftovers corn and some frozen peas to add a bit of green.  It lasted well in the fridge for a few days and was really good with kale salad and chopped red pepper or in wraps.

My only quibble was that the mung beans could have been cooked a bit longer.  The dish kept really well for a few nights in the fridge and the mung beans softened over this time.  It is great comfort food and quick to make.  I used the cherry tomatoes because they had to be used and I have added pepper into the recipe though I didn't use it because I think a little extra seasoning would be good. 

I am sending this dish to Healthy Vegan Fridays, Gluten Free Fridays, No Waste Food Challenge, My Legume Love Affair and Meat Free Mondays.

More quinoa dishes on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
Asparagus, potato and quinoa soup (gf, v)
Pea, quinoa and feta fritters (gf)
Polenta quinoa sticks with rhubarb sauce (gf, v)
Pumpkin, almond and quinoa soup (gf, v) 
Quinoa, cashew and honeyed carrot salad (gf) 
Tahini, quinoa and apricot toasted muesli (v)

Mung beans and quinoa in a spicy broth
Adapted from the Full Helping
Serve 6

1 cup dried mung beans
1 tablespoon rice bran oil
1 tablespoon brown mustard seeds
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cumin
6 cups water
1 cup chopped cherry tomatoes (optional)
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup quinoa

To serve: 4-6 cups chopped vegetables

Before beginning, cover mung beans with boiling water to soak for 30 minutes.  This can be done while you prepare the spices.

Heat oil in a medium-to-large saucepan over medium heat.  Fry mustard seeds and garlic for 1-2 minutes until mustard seeds start to pop.  Stir in turmeric and cumin for a few seconds and then add water, salt, tomatoes, quinoa and drained mung beans.

Bring to the boil.  Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes and then rest for 5 minutes.  Serve hot with vegies.  This dish keeps well in the fridge overnight.

On the Stereo:
High Violet: The National

17 comments:

  1. Your bowls always look very beautiful and appealing. I tried to make one the other night but wasn't nearly as successful. I think you keep the various components separate so that the colors are in contrast -- I had mixed all the vegetables in the pan to coat them with sauce, so it wasn't so pretty. Well, I'll keep looking at your examples.

    best... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

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    1. Thanks Mae - I have been copying what I see online and it does make dinner look appetising but that is not to say that I have plenty of jumbled up meals - good luck with developing a style that you like

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  2. This sounds very healthy! I like the sound of the spicy broth :D

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    1. Thanks Lorraine - I changed it from ginger (in the Fully Helping version) to mustard because I prefer these flavours - and it worked very well

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  3. I don't think I have ever had Mung Beans, Johanna. I almost remember a time when I had intentions of sprouting them and didn't. Beats me what I did with them! (it was a long, long time ago:)

    Looks like a meld of wonderful healthy ingredients with a kick of spice, I'm sure I would enjoy this dish!

    Thank you so much for sharing, Johanna...

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    1. Thanks Louise - I still have more mung beans so might have to revisit this - I really like the idea of sprouting them but I just haven't been doing it.

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  4. I'm not actually sure if I've had mung beans! It's hard to believe but I can't remember eating them. This looks like a good way to venture into trying them out.

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    1. Thanks Kari - I have searched for mung bean recipes before and there are not heaps online if my memory serves me right

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  5. I'm a bit of a convert to mung beans - I tend to add them to baba ganoush to make a sort of side salad. The instructions on my pack said soak for 12 hours and cook for 35 minutes to 40 minutes, and that's definitely way too long. Maybe there's a perfect mung bean cooking time yet to be discovered!

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    1. Thanks Joey - the stuff I read about mung beans was that they needed 35-40 min cooking but there was no mention of soaking - so do you cook them and mix with baba ganoush - hope to hear more about your conversion to mung beans

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  6. I had a mung bean curry the other week.... it was yum! I cannot recall ever having them before.
    This sounds such a healthy and tasty dish. Gorgeous! x

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    1. Thanks Kate - I tend to think of mung beans as being more dal than curry but I am interested

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  7. Wow, what a great combination of mung beans and quinoa, looks lovely and healthy. I like mung beans in any form. Thanks very much for joining MLLA for this month. Please come and see the round-up on 2nd June.

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  8. I have never tried using mung beans before- I should give it a try.
    I'm always interested in adding more protein to my diet, especially since I can't really have soy much - this sounds like a good way to get more in =)

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  9. I left a comment here few days back, but I cannot see it.

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    1. Hi Sadhna - thanks for alerting me - these messages are moderated and I am a bit behind with moderation - usually I get notified but seems haven't been getting some notifications (checked my spam and they aren't there either)

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    2. I can write again.
      This is a very interesting recipe of mung beans and quinoa, I love this quinoa recipes with spicy broth. Thanks for joining the MLLA for this month. Please come and see the round-up on 2nd June.

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