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Sprouted Mung Beans

MAKES : about 3 cups

Plan ahead, as it takes about two to three days to soak and sprout the beans. I like to make enough sprouts for a couple of dishes. You can season and eat them with rice or add to salads. Once sprouted, place them in a freezer-safe bag and freeze for up to 6 months; thaw before using.

1½ cups whole mung beans

1. Wash beans in 2 to 3 changes of water. Soak the beans overnight in plenty of water.

2. Drain mung beans. Wrap drained beans in a cloth (an old kitchen towel or a large handkerchief works well) and place in a bowl. Pour ½ cup water over the cloth to keep the beans and cloth moist, and cover with a lid. Keep in a warm place like the oven for 24 to 36 hours. Turn on the oven light. (If your oven has a pilot lamp, the beans will sprout faster.) The mung should have ¼ - to ½ -inch sprout.

3. Place sprouted mung in a colander and rinse in fresh water. The sprouts are ready to be used.

Stocking the Pantry

This list is for Indian groceries only. Start with the ingredients for particular recipes and build your pantry.

Spices

Indian cooking uses numerous spices and can seem overwhelming to a newcomer. You don’t need to purchase every spice in the book to get started. For ease, I have divided the list of spices into two parts: Spice Starter Kit and the Spice Cabinet. You can make numerous dishes with the first six spices in the Spice Starter Kit. As you expand your repertoire of Indian dishes you can expand your pantry. For detailed information about each spice, see Glossary of Spices and Other Ingredients (page 14).

SPICE STARTER KIT

Cayenne pepper (lal-mirch)

Cumin seeds (jeera)

Garam masala

Ground coriander (dhania)

Mustard seeds (rai)

Turmeric (haldi)

SPICE CABINET

Asafetida (heeng)

Ajwain (carom seeds)

Amchur (mango powder)

Bay leaves (tej patta)

Black salt (kala namak)

Cardamom (elaichi)

Black large cardamom (badi elaichi)

Cinnamon sticks (dalchini)

Cinnamon, ground

Cloves (laung)

Coriander seeds (sabut dhania)

Cumin, ground (jeera powder)

Fennel seeds (saunf )

Fenugreek seeds (methi)

Ginger, ground (sonth)

Kalonji (nigella seeds)

Paprika (degi-mirch)

Poppy seeds, white (khus-khus)

Red chiles, dried whole (sabut lal mirch)

Saffron threads (kesar)

Sambhar powder

Sesame seeds, white (til)

Silver foil (vark)

Tamarind, dried (imli)

Tamarind paste

HERBS AND FRESH SEASONINGS

Cilantro (fresh coriander leaves)

Curry leaves (meetha-neem)

Garlic (lehsun)

Ginger (adarak)

Green chiles

Mint (pudina)

BEANS, LEGUMES, AND PULSES

For detailed information for each item, see page 115.

Adzuki beans, whole (chori)

Bengal gram, whole (kaale chane)

Split, hulled chana (chana dal)

Black-eyed peas (lobhia)

Black gram, whole (sabut urad)

Split urad, with husk (chilke-wali urad dal)

Split, hulled urad (urad dal)

Chickpeas or garbanzo beans (kabuli chana)

Kidney beans (rajmah)

Lentils, whole (masoor)

Pink lentils (masoor dal)

Mung beans, whole (sabut mung)

Split mung, with husk (chilke-wali urad dal)

Split, hulled mung (mung dal)

Pigeon peas (split, hulled) (toor dal)

CANNED FOODS

Black-eyed peas

Chickpeas (garbanzo beans)

Kidney beans

Tomato sauce, paste, and chopped tomatoes

FLOUR, RICE, AND MISCELLANEOUS

Besan (gram flour or chickpea flour)

ENO

Flour, whole wheat (roti-atta, from Indian

stores)

White whole wheat flour, or whole wheat

flour

Jaggery (gur)

Rice

Basmati

Long-grain rice

Rice noodles

Poha (pounded rice)

FROZEN FOODS

Green beans

Mixed vegetables

Mustard greens, chopped

Peas

Peas and carrots

Spinach, chopped

Coconut, grated (in Indian stores)

MAIL-ORDER SOURCES

The Internet has made it very easy to locate Indian grocery stores or order online. This is a very short list to get you started.

INDIAN GROCERY STORES

To locate an Indian grocery store near you, visit www.thokalath.com/grocery/index.php.

Patel Brothers

42-92 Main Street

Flushing, NY 11355

(718) 661-1112

www.patelbrothersusa.com

Kamdar Plaza

2646