One of my favorite dishes from Yamuna Devi's gospel of Indian cooking, Lord Krishna's Cuisine: The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking is her tender chickpeas simmered in a golden karhi sauce. I've more than a few favorites from the book that often appear on my table, yet each and every time I browse through the 800 pages of culinary Indian bliss, I find yet another recipe that I can't believe I haven't tried … I have owned this treasured cookbook for about 20 years. Then there is the pleasure of revisiting some of my favorites from the book and tinkering with the recipes and my initial adaptations.
Truly, if I had to pick just one cookbook to keep out of my extensive collection, this would be that desert island choice. I'd hope for a truckload of legumes, grains and spices to go along with it and fresh produce from the isle. As I have noted in the past, this was my earliest introduction to Indian cooking shortly after I became a vegetarian. It opened up a whole new nourishing and exciting culinary world to me that I continue to cherish and explore.
This time around, earthy mung beans are simmered in a tangy yogurt sauce. This recipe called for sprouted mung beans, which I am sure would have been just perfect, but I didn't plan ahead — mung bean sprouts take 2 to 3 days of preparation — and so came up with a version using whole mung beans that I soaked overnight and then simmered until tender.
Karhis are yogurt based dishes that are usually served with rice. Often they contain cooked or sprouted legumes, sometimes dumplings and vegetables. This one is on the tangy side of the spectrum and I went with a thicker gravy that is popular in Northern India. Depending on the yogurt you use, a karhi sauce might be slightly sweet, thinner, with a consistency like a soup or a thick gravy. I experimented with the original recipe and came up with this treasured vegetarian main that I served with buttered Jasmine rice. You may want to consider serving up yellow lemon rice with fried cashews as a side for some extra flair and tart flavor.
Mung Beans in a Golden Karhi Sauce |
Recipe by Lisa Turner Adapted from Lord Krishna's Cuisine: The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking Cuisine: Indian Published on May 17, 2013 Sweet and colorful mung beans simmered in a creamy, fragrant, spicy and tangy seasoned yogurt sauce Preparation: 15 minutes Cooking time: 65 to 70 minutes Print this recipe Ingredients:
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More mung beans dishes you are sure to enjoy from Lisa's Vegetarian Kitchen:
Indian-Style Spicy Mung Beans (Moong Dal)
Mung Bean Paneer
Spicy Mung Beans
Sour Mung Bean Soup
Hi Lisa,
ReplyDeleteWould love to try this recipe but
need to know when to add the 2
cups of yogurt. I assume at or
near the end.
Thanks for all your great ideas!
Donna in SoCal
Oh dear. The recipe has been edited now. Sorry for any confusion.
ReplyDeleteLisa, Thank you for this great kitchen post. Your attention to detail is amazing!
ReplyDeleteModular Kitchen Collection
Comforting!
ReplyDeleteComforting!
ReplyDeleteHi, Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe. I prepared this for last night's dinner, and it was a real treat! I paired with the Lemon Yellow Rice with Fried Cashews, as suggested, and it was fantastic!! Peace, Stephanie
ReplyDelete