Mung Beans with Carrots and Cashews

Lucy from Nourish Me's re-working of a "revolting" cookbook recipe for mung beans to create what she calls an "inauthentic dal" looked to me so wholesome, attractive and tasty that I figured nothing could be wrong with adding my own little tweaks to make it even more inauthentic!

Apart from making Lucy's wonderful recipe just a little spicier — my trademark, I suppose — I fried up the garlic, ginger, dried red chili and curry leaf spicing to draw out their flavors in a bit of oil before cooking with the mung beans, and fried the carrots and cashews a little as well to preserve some of the crispness of the carrots while they're being cooked and, well, because I love the fragrance and character of fried cashews. The result, much like Lucy's, is a light, warming and nourishing dal that's so easy to digest it's a pleasure going back for seconds and thirds. Thank you, Lucy!

Mung Beans with Carrots and Cashews

Recipe by Lisa Turner Cuisine: Indian Published on December 6, 2007 Simple, creamy, spicy and nourishing mung dal cooked with carrots and cashews and simmered in coconut milk Preparation: 20 minutes Cooking time: 1 hour 15 minutes Print this recipe Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups dried mung beans 1 tablespoon olive oil 6 cloves garlic, minced or crushed 1-inch piece fresh ginger, minced or grated 4 medium carrots, chopped 1/2 cup raw cashews, chopped 4 dried whole red chilies small handful of dried curry leaves 1/2 teaspoon groundturmeric 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne 1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar 14 oz (400 ml) can coconut milk 2 cups fresh baby spinach, packed 1 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste juice of 1 lime (2 tablespoons) 1 fresh green chili, thinly sliced Instructions: Rinse the mung beans and soak for 6 hours or overnight in several inches of water. Drain and rinse. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. When hot, add the garlic and ginger and stir for 1 minute. Toss in the carrots and cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Add the cashews and continue to stir for another 5 minutes or until the cashews just start to change color. Toss in the dried chilies and curry leaves, stir for 30 seconds, then add the beans, turmeric, cayenne and brown sugar. Pour in 3 cups of water and raise the heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and stir in the coconut milk. Cover and simmer for 45 to 60 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the beans are soft and tender. Add more water as necessary or desired. Add the spinach and simmer for another 10 minutes to wilt the leaves. Just before serving, stir in the salt and lime juice. Garnish each serving with slices of green chilies. Makes 6 to 8 servings