The shrill pitter patter of the mung beans being poured into a bowl and the swoosh and clatter of them being washed and rinsed reminds me of waves lapping the shore at Bamburi Beach, Mombasa. It’s a place where I’ve had a bucket load of happy food memories.

First the mung beans bloom; They’re fat and full of water. Next, their sage skins crack and reveal the creamy white of the inside, rather like Japanese Kintsugi. After a few days and minimal TLC the mung beans begin to sprout delicate tendrils which get longer over the span of 24 hours. Full of goodness and earthy crunch, the mung beans are ready to eat.

Make your own sprouted mung beans by washing them and soaking for 24 hours. Once they’re plump, drain the water from them and scatter them into a colander lined with kitchen paper. Cover with another piece of kitchen paper and leave them for 48 hours, trickling a little water on the top piece of kitchen paper after the first 24 hours. Keep them on the countertop at room temperature. After 72 hours, they will be ready to eat. You can store them in the fridge for 24 hours.

You can pack the sprouted mung beans into lunchboxes, toss them through salads, stir-fry them with spices or eat them straight up with a spoon. I like to pack some protein into my breakfasts and my go-to ingredients to do this are sprouted mung beans, tofu, cheese and edamame. This dish puts sprouted mung beans to good use.

My lightly stir-fried vermicelli noodles are tossed with sprouted mung beans, crackled mustard seeds, curry leaves, chillies and turmeric for a big, punchy breakfast number you’ll cook again and again. Transform it into a filling lunch or dinner with the addition of pan-fried tofu.

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Sprouted Mung Bean Breakfast Noodles

My lightly stir-fried vermicelli noodles are tossed with crackled mustard seeds, curry leaves, chillies and turmeric for a big, punchy breakfast number you’ll cook again and again. Transform it into a filling lunch or dinner with the addition of pan-fried tofu.

Course Breakfast, Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine Indian

Keyword noodles, pasta, stir fry, vegan

Prep Time 25 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Total Time 50 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Sanjana

Ingredients

• 150 g sprouted mung beans
• 350 g vermicelli noodles
• 2 medium carrots peeled into ribbons with a vegetable peeler
• 2 tbsp oil
• 2 tsp black mustard seeds
• 10-12 curry leaves
• 1/4 tsp asafoetida
• 2-3 dried red chillies
• 3-4 fresh green chillies
• 1 medium onion diced
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp fresh coriander to garnish

Instructions

• Cook the vermicelli according to the package instructions. Drain and set aside.
• Heat the oil in a large, non-stick pan. Add the mustard seeds and allow them to crackle. Add in the asafoetida, curry leaves (stand back, they will splutter), fresh and dried chillies. Sauté momentarily and then add the onion. Cook the onion until translucent.
• Next, add in the sprouted mung beans, carrots, turmeric and salt. Stir-fry for 4-5 minutes.
• Finally, add in the cooked vermicelli noodles and toss to combine. Garnish with fresh coriander.

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This pilaf is one of those recipes.

 It takes 90 minutes to prepare, 35 minutes to bake and probably just 10 minutes to devour. Like any Indian rice dish, it requires a dash of spice and a whole load of TLC. The end result is a buttery platter of golden rice and crisp-tender vegetables that pair perfectly with any curry or simply with a bowl of lime and coriander yoghurt.

The idea is to partially cook each component of the dish before arranging it in a buttered roasting tin, covering with damp greaseproof paper (cartouche) and foil, and then baking until the rice is steamed to fluffy perfection. It’s a foolproof way to ensure your rice is spot on every time. The best bits the golden brown edges but don’t tell anyone I told you that.

I love to ribbon vegetables; whether they’re for a salad, pasta or rice, they look so beautiful and are quick to cook. The ones I find work best are all used in this recipe – carrots, courgettes and asparagus. However, you can use any veggies you like. I also added baby pearl potatoes, paneer (of course, don’t you know me at all?), petit pois, cashews and echalions (banana shallots). Be experimental and add whatever you fancy.

I’ve intentionally kept the spicing mellow in this pilaf. There’s nothing worse than killing the flavour of fresh vegetables and golden rice with OTT spicing. It happens all the time in restaurants and makes me sad. When cooking rice, you’ve got to remember that it will take on every flavour you add and this is particularly important in things like baked rice and biryanis because of the slow cooking. It has lots of time to infuse with the spices so it’s very easy to go overboard. Don’t fall into this trap.

I’ve added black cumin and black cardamom for a smoky flavour, saffron and green cardamom. They are perfectly balanced against all the sweet, buttery vegetables.

This recipe makes enough for eight hungry people because it was simply made for sharing. The leftovers are delicious the next day and even the day after that.

Baked Buttered Vegetable Pilaf
Serves 8

Ingredients

550g golden Sela rice
500g baby pearl potatoes, parboiled
400g carrots, peeled and ribboned
150g asparagus, ribboned
450g courgette, ribboned
225g paneer, cut into rectangles and grilled
5 banana shallots, peeled and sliced in half – root trimmed but left on
100g cashew nuts
150g petits pois

Hot water to boil the rice
Salt, to taste

100g butter
2 tbsp oil
4 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
1 black cardamom pod, whole
2 inch cinnamon stick
2 whole cloves
1 tsp black cumin
1 tbsp grated ginger
2 whole green chillies
150ml water
Large pinch saffron

Fresh coriander, to garnish

Method

1. Wash the rice and soak the rice in cold water for an hour.

2. In a large pan, melt the butter and add the oil. Add in the cardamom pods, black cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, black cumin, ginger, cashews and chillies. Saute for a few moments before adding the potatoes. Allow the sizzle on a low heat for 5 minutes.

3. Add the shallots and paneer and keep on a low heat, trying not to break the shallots. Once everything s lightly golden, season with salt, add the saffron and 150ml water, then switch off the heat and set aside.

4. Drain the soaking liquid from the rice. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and add the rice. Boil it until it’s 50% cooked, just as you would boil pasta. Drain and set aside.

5. Grease a large roasting tray with butter and add the drained rice. Pile on the potato mixture, plus all of the ribboned vegetables and give it a very gentle mix. Try not to break up the vegetables.

6. Take a piece of greaseproof paper and scrunch it up under the tap, squeezing out any excess water. Place this directly on top of the rice and vegetables. Cover the tray with foil, leaving room for it to rise up as the rice steams.

7. Bake in a pre-heated oven t 180C for 35 minutes.

8. Remove from the oven and allow to sit, covered for 10 minutes. Remove the foil and paper and fluff up the rice with a fork. Arrange on a platter or into bowls. Garnish with fresh coriander.

Serve with your favourite curries or like I have it… with plain Greek yoghurt and nothing more.

Love Sanjana

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I wish we all had three day weekends. One night to recuperate from the long week we just had, one night to party hard and another to recover from the partying – in that order.

Don’t get me wrong, I love work, but three day weekends would make me a very happy bunny indeed. Speaking of bunnies…

In this week’s recipe, grated carrots, swede and sweet potatoes are bound together with nutty chickpea flour and spices to create these light and crispy fritters. Dip them in a spicy coriander and lime chutney and the flavours come alive.

I wanted these fritters to remain a beautiful orange colour, keeping the filling grated and not mashed. In order to do this, I blanched the whole carrots, swede and sweet potatoes for around 6 minutes, refreshed in iced water and then grated them. This way, the vegetables became bright coloured and part-cooked, yet still held their shape.

These would make a great starter as part of an Indian or international menu and are perfect for lunch or impressing dinner party guests. They can be shallow fried, then placed in a low oven for up to 30 minutes until you’re ready to serve them. If you don’t eat onions, omit them – I added them mainly for colour.

If you can’t get hold of swede, you can also try these with courgettes and if you’re feeling indulgent, some grated paneer would taste divine.

Fresh coriander stalks, lime zest and ginger bring beautiful fresh flavours to this dish, which are reflected in the coriander and lime chutney – it’s a fantastic pairing.

Carrot-munching rabbits don’t know what they’ve been missing out on all this time. This is where it’s at.

Carrot and Swede Fritters with Coriander and Lime Chutney
(makes 10-12)

Ingredients for the Carrot and Swede Fritters

240g carrot, peeled (about 2 large carrots)
240g swede, peeled and halved (about 1 small swede)
120g sweet potato, peeled
2 tbsp finely chopped red onion
1 tbsp finely chopped coriander stalks
1 tsp lime zest
1 tsp minced ginger
1 tbsp lime juice
2 green chilli, finely chopped
5 tbsp plain flour
3 tbsp chickpea flour
2 tbsp fine cornmeal
1 tsp cornflour
½ tsp toasted cumin seeds
Pinch bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp salt
Oil to shallow fry

Method

1. Place the whole carrots, halved swede and sweet potato in a pan and cover with boiling water from the kettle. Bring to a boil and simmer for 6 minutes. Drain and shock the vegetables in a bowl of iced water.

2. Grate the vegetables and squeeze all the water out of them (this is very important as your mixture cannot be runny).

3. Combine the grated vegetables with all of the ingredients for the fritters and bring together with your hands.

4. Form small fritters with the mixture and place on a cling film lined baking tray. Dust with some fine cornmeal, cover and place in the freezer for 30 minutes.

5. Heat about 1cm of oil in a frying pan. Place in a few fritters at a time, trying not to move them around too much. When lightly golden on one side, flip and cook the other side. Use the back of a fork to very gently press and flatten them to create craggy edges which will crisp up. When golden on the other side, place the fritters on a baking tray and put them in a preheated oven at 180°C for 15-20 minutes to cook through.

6. Serve with a coriander and lime chutney and a wedge of lime.

Ingredients for the Coriander and Lime Chutney

80g fresh coriander including stalks
4 hot green chillies
Juice and zest of 1 lime
1 ½ tsp sugar
½ tsp salt
1 clove garlic

Method

1. Blend all of the ingredients in a food processor to create a fine puree. If you don’t have a food processor (I don’t have one), use a pestle and mortar and some elbow grease to pound it all to a pulp.

When you’re making your chutney, please try not to get any ‘chatta’ (splashes) in your eyes. I don’t want an inbox full of angry emails threatening legal action.

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