118. Mung Beans
The mung bean / green gram / golden gram is the seed of Vigna radiata. It is native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely used in the preparation of both savory and sweet dishes. These are small in size, ovoid in shape, and green in color. The English word mung derives from मूँग – a Hindi word. Many parts of Asia and Southeast Asia use mung bean widely.
Whole cooked mung beans are prepared from dried beans by boiling until they become soft. Mung beans are light yellow in color when their skins are removed. Mung bean paste can be made by de-hulling, cooking, and pulverizing the beans to a dry paste.
In Chinese cuisine, whole mung beans are used to make a dessert, called “sugar water”. In Indonesia, they are made into a popular dessert porridge by cooking the beans with sugar, coconut milk, and a little ginger.
De-hulled mung beans and mung bean paste are made into ice creams and ice pops in Hong Kong. Mung bean paste is used as a common filling for Chinese moon cakes.
In China, the boiled and shelled beans are used as filling in glutinous rice dumplings eaten during the dragon boat festival. The cooked, blended and sweetened mung bean served as a beverage, is popular in many parts of China.
Beans without skins are more commonly used to make soups and gravy rather than the whole mung beans. In Kerala, whole mung beans are boiled to make a dry side dish for the rice gruel kanji.
De-hulled mung beans can be used just as the whole beans for making sweet soups. Steamed whole beans are seasoned with spices and fresh grated coconut in a popular and nutritious preparation called chundal in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
In south and north Indian states, mung beans are made into pancakes. They are soaked in water for 4 to 6 hours and ground into fine paste along with ginger and salt. The pancakes prepared on a very hot griddle are eaten for breakfast. These provide high quality protein, very rare in Indian cuisines.
Pongal (spicy as well sweet) and kichadi are two more recipes are made with rice and mung dal. With coconut milk and jaggery a sweet porridge called payasam can be made. Mung bean paste is a common filling of pastries popular in Indonesia and the Philippines.
Mung beans can be germinated by soaking them in water for a few hours and spreading them in a cool shady place. Mung bean sprouts can be stir fried with spices, ginger and garlic to make a tasty and nutritious dish.
Uncooked bean sprouts are used in filling for spring rolls in Vietnam. Blanched and garnished mung beans is a popular dish in Korea. Mung bean sprouts are the major bean sprouts used in most Asian countries.
The mung bean / green gram / golden gram is the seed of Vigna radiata. It is native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely used in the preparation of both savory and sweet dishes. These are small…
venkivisal.wordpress.com
