Mung Bean Curry and Rice : One Pot
Right, so this dish is not pretty, photographically speaking. I tried and tried but cannot make this look as lovely as it tastes. My first thought was to ditch the recipe for this blog, but thought you dear reader (yes you, one single reader) would really be missing out. This is so easy, takes less than an hour total, requires dirtying only 1 pot AND it lasts the week ~ I literally have eaten this for 4 lunches in a row…. because I WANT to. Enough said.
I came up with this recipe when I was making Kitchari ~ a traditional Ayurvedic recipe used to balance and cleanse the body. There are bazillions of different recipes out there for Kitchari ( khichdi, khichri, khichdee, khichadi, khichuri, khichari, kitcheree, kitchree) but basically a variation of mung beans, dahl, rice, water and spices. If you’ve never tried it, you should. However, this one is a little more exciting and likely a little less “Ayurvedic”, but it’s not like I’m suggesting we add bacon, so in my books, this is still a healthy healing meal. Think Ayurvedic comes to Thailand. And… nothing is wrong with bacon, it just has it’s place.
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup mung beans (soak them over night)
1 cup basmati or jasmine rice
1 tin (large or small) diced tomatoes (skip if you are going for anti-inflammitory)
1 can coconut milk
3-4 cups water (more if you aren’t using tomatoes)
2-4 tablespoons curry paste (I’m into yellow right now, but any will do)
1 onion
optional: add any veggies you want
Place the mung beans in a bowl, cover in water and soak over night… and likely throughout the next day while you are at work. (if you forget about them, they will start sprouting. Also okay) Dice the onion and fry it gently in a large pot – use some ghee if you have it or coconut oil
Add the curry paste and a splash of coconut milk, stir until combine
Add mung beans, (rinsed) rice, tomatoes, and water - bring to a boil and then lower heat, simmer for 30 mins. Stirring occasionally.
Add the coconut milk and simmer for another 10-20 (the longer you soak your mung beans, the less cooking time they need). If you are adding any vegetables you can do it at this point.
And that’s it! I do think the secret to this simple recipe being so good is the quality of your curry paste. I buy mine from the Asian market and it is a staple in my fridge. And yes, this is a long time to cook rice, but that is partly the point. Everything is broken down and really easy to digest - this isn’t curry ON rice, it’s a one dish wonder and I love it.
Enjoy!
