Mung bean (Hindi: मूँग), also known as green bean, choroko (in Swahili), mung, mongo, moong, moog (whole). The beans are small, ovoid in shape, and green in color. The English word "mung" derives from the Hindi moong.
Mung Bean Sprouts: Nutritional Value and Benefits
Used extensively in Asian cuisine, bean sprouts are not often considered by the public as a nutritional element. However, bean sprouts, or rather Mung Bean Sprouts, as they are properly called, contain pure forms of
vitamins A, B, C, and E, in addition to an assortment of minerals including Calcium, Iron, and Potassium.
Thanks to this vitamin & mineral two-fisted punch of nutrition, bean sprouts are gaining popularity as a health food, turning up in everything from salads to soups or just as a healthy snack. Available fresh all year round, their delightful crunch and mild flavor make for an enjoyable snack experience, and are a welcome addition to many meals as an accompaniment or ingredient. It should be taken into consideration that the actual nutritional content is not sufficient as a total source of vitamins and minerals for the day; rather, they should be used in addition to other healthy, nutritious foods, and as a substitute for other less wholesome foods, such as rice and pasta.
Produced from mung beans, the sprouts are free of cholesterol, and are ideal for anyone counting calories. One cup of mung bean sprouts contains only approximately 30 calories, 3 grams of protein, only 6 carbohydrates, and only .2 grams of fat. Sprouts also contain a high source of fiber, are easily digestible and contain a high concentration of enzymes facilitating the digestive process.
This is a very light and delicious salad goes very well as a side dish with any meal.
Only drawback is that you have to plan 3 days ahead of time in order to sprout the moong beans. However if you like this and you can soak and sprout 4-5 cups at a time and can keep the sprouted beans in the fridge, they will stay fresh for > 1 week. You can use them as needed.
Note that these dry moong beans are available at local Indian or Chinese/Asian grocers.
Ingredients:
2 cups Moong beans
Water to soak the beans
Cheese cloth
Heavy weight
1 small white/yellow onion finely chopped
1/2 red onion finely chopped
2 tomatoes finely chopped
1-2 table spoon of Cilantro leaves finely chopped
Juice of 2 fresh limes
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
3/4 teaspoon black salt
1/2 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon roasted cumin seeds powder
1-2 tablespoon olive oil (optional)
Seeds from One pomegranate (optional)
Method:
* Wash the moong beans in water 3-4 times.
* Soak moon beans overnight in water.
* Next day drain all the water and tie the beans in a cheese cloth, discard the hard beans that are not soft and that sit in the bottom.
* Take a pan and put the cloth with beans in it, put some weight over it and make sure the cloth is wet you may put 1 cup of water in the pan and keep this in dark place.
* I usually put it in the bottom kitchen cabinet.
* You will have to wait two days, in between check if the cloth is dry, pour some water over it.
* 3rd day you will see the bean sprouting and poking out of cloth.
* The bean sprouts are ready for salad.
* Transfer the bean sprouts in a bowl.
* Add chopped onions, tomatoes, cilantro, all the spices, lime juice and olive oil, mix well. You can adjust spices and ingredients depending on your taste.
* You can also add one chopped jalapeno to this to give some extra kick.
* Also for extra crunch, sweet taste and color pomegranate seeds can be added.
* You can serve this right away or chill before serving.
Recipe by Surekha
Photographs by Surekha
Description of moong beans source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mung_bean
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
Mung Bean Sprouts: Nutritional Value and Benefits Source:http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/29536/mung_bean_sprouts_nutritional_value.html?cat=22
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