Pratibha’s Mung

Pratibha learned this recipe after she moved from London to Florida.  Nani told her how to make mung over the phone (a family tradition), and after many years of practice and some slight modifications, this recipe is her masterpiece.   When her daughter Meera comes home, Pratibha always has mung ready!

Servings: 4-6 people

Ingredients:

• 1 cup mung
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 10-12 limdo (curry leaves)
• 1 medium-sized tomato (diced)
• 1 Tbs. oil
• 1/2 tsp. rai (mustard seeds)
• 1/2 tsp. jeera (cumin seeds)
• Pinch of hing (asafetida)
• 1/4 tsp. haldi (turmeric powder)
• 1/2 tsp. crushed garlic
• 1 tsp. crushed ginger
• 1/2 tps. crushed green chili (or finely chopped fresh chili peppers, like serranos or jalapenos)
• 1/2 – 1 tsp. salt
• 1 cup water
• Fresh cilantro – chopped
• Little lemon juice

Directions:

1. Wash mung until water is clear (approximately 5 or 6 times). 
2. Add mung and water to pressure cooker.  Cover and cook on high.  When the pressure cooker starts making noise, reduce the heat to medium-high and continue to let cook for about 5 minutes.  Then turn off heat.
3. Wait until pressure cooker has cooled, and then open. 
4. Make vagaar on medium heat: oil, rai (mustard seeds), jeera (cumin seeds), hing (asafetida), diced tomatoes, and limdo.
5. Then add garlic, ginger, haldi, green chili, and salt.  Let cook for about 2 minutes. 
6. Then add the mung, 1 cup water, half of the cilantro, and squeeze half a lemon.  Bring to a boil for about 5-10 minutes.  Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with rice or on its own.  You can also eat it with roti and yogurt.