Moong Dal with Beans, Stir-Fry

By Flagthis -

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Another one of those vegetables that I like frozen over fresh, is French cut green beans.  I like beans cooked best, the South Indian way and the French cut beans fits perfectly in all of these recipes.

Frozen spinach, beans, ivy gourd, peas and carrots are always stocked in my freezer. These are my fall back vegetable when I run out of fresh ones in the refrigerator side. So, why am I clearing up my freezer, you ask? Becaaauuuse., hold on to your horses,.ahem ..ahem,  I will be going to India in a weeks time. Woo Hoo!! Ok, that is all the excitement I’m allowed to show for right now. This is how it works in my cards of superstitions - Never get excited before you do anything exciting, and always expect the worst, because you NEVER get what you expected! Well, if you don’t believe me, try it just once. I can assure you, if it wont be for my recipes you are coming back, it will certainly be for 'life’s valuable lessons', I so willingly impart and never seem to be in short of ;)!!

So, beating the excitement and coming back to the beans, this is a nice way to add proteins to your vegetable sides. You just need to soak the dal for an hour or two before hand, to allow them to cook easily along side the veggies. You can use any firm vegetable in this recipe like cabbage, spinach, beetroot etc. They all taste great.

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Ingredients

1 lb Beans, chopped fine
1/2 cup split moong dal/mung bean
2 -3 Green chilies, chopped
1 tsp black mustard seeds
1 tsp channa dal/ bengal gram
a pinch of asafoetida 
2 sprigs of curry leaves 
11/2 tbsp refined vegetable oil
salt to taste

Directions
  • Soak moong dal in water for an hour.

  • Heat oil in a pan.

  • Add mustard seeds, channa dal, asafoetida, and curry leaves

  • When the mustard pops, and dal turns brown, add green chilies and sauté for 15 – 20 seconds.

  • Add the beans  and the dal, minus the water (since it contains a lot of water soluble  vitamins, don’t throw away the water, use it for cooking something else where ever water is required )

  • Sauté till the beans cook. Make sure you don’t over cook them. They will be a tender vibrant green color when cooked just right.

  • Add salt to taste.

  • Serve with white rice and sambar.

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