mung bean and lentil curry with eggplant and green tomato
ingredients
- 1/2 cup dried mung beans
- 1/2 cup dried green lentils
- 3 cups water
- half an onion, chopped roughly
- 2 Japanese eggplant, sliced into 1/2-inch rounds
- 1 large green tomato, chopped
- thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, grated
- 2 red chilis, seeded and sliced thinly
- 2-3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 3 cups mung bean water* (or vegetable stock or water)
- ground cumin
- ground coriander
- turmeric
- curry powder
- ground chili
- garam masala
- salt
- pepper
- fresh squeezed lemon juice
directions
1. Rinse mung beans and bring to a boil in a pot with 3 cups of water. Cover and reduce heat to simmer for 1 hour. Rinse lentils and add to the pot after the mung beans have cooked for one hour. (If using split mung beans, cook together with the lentils from the beginning). Add a little more water if necessary. Continue to simmer for 15-30 more minutes until the water has been absorbed and the beans and lentils are tender. After you add the lentils to the pot, you can begin chopping and slicing your other ingredients.
2. In a large pan, add 1/2 cup of mung bean water (or stock or water) and bring to a boil. Add the onions and cook until water has evaporated. Add another 1/2 cup of mung bean water to deglaze the pan. Add the eggplant and green tomato and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the mung bean and lentil mixture to the pan and stir to incorporate with the onions, eggplant, and tomato. Add the grated ginger, ground cumin, ground coriander, chili powder, turmeric, curry powder, salt and pepper. I didn’t measure my spices, just added and adjusted to taste. I would suggest starting with approximately 1/2 tsp of each and adjust according to your liking — you really can’t go wrong with these spices (except the chili powder — if you don’t like a lot of heat, start with 1/4 tsp and taste before adding more). Stir to incorporate the spices into the bean mixture and cook for a few minutes. Add 2 more cups of the mung bean water or stock and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to a simmer, continuing to cook for 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in a small frying pan, add a little bit of oil and toast the coriander seeds for 30 seconds. Add the crushed garlic and red chilis and continue cooking for a few minutes, being careful not to burn them. Add the garlic, chili, and coriander mixture to the beans and lentils and stir in. Continue simmering the bean and lentil mixture until most of the liquid has been absorbed by the beans, stirring occasionally, anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour. Adjust the seasoning as needed throughout. Add a dash of garam masala and a squeeze of lemon juice before serving. Top with chopped cilantro and/or yogurt, if desired.
*What the heck is mung bean water? It’s the water I soaked my mung beans in. I’m in the process of sprouting my own mung bean sprouts (post to follow in a few days), and one of the first steps is to soak the beans in water for 8-12 hours. The website I’m following for sprouting instructions said that this water could be used for stock since it’s full of nutrients. So there you have it.
better with lemons 