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Ayurvedic inspired Mung Bean Stew recipe by Jasmine Hemsley & Mum

Mung bean stew is a dish I grew up with thanks to my Filipino mum, whose Ginisang Munggo I still cook today. This is the kind of food that always felt good to eat and easy to digest, and one of the reasons I was led to the philosophy of Ayurveda which shares this somewhat similar mung bean stew.

The magic of the mung beans

The mung beans are soaked and cooked until falling apart. The 6 tastes (sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter, astringent) are all in there thanks to the assortment of spices, with the astringency of the mung beans helping to clean up mucus and congestion and tone up the digestive tract. A mung bean stew, whether Ayurveda- style or not, is delicious with coconut milk or just as yummy left light and brothy.

"...mung beans help to clean up mucus and congestion and tone up the digestive tract"

Enjoy it as a soup or serve with rice, which when combined with lentils (mung beans in this case), offers all the amino acids needed to make a complete protein.

The ingredients

Serves 2 as soup, or 4 if serving with rice

1 cup/200g mung beans
1 tbs of ghee or coconut oil
½ tsp turmeric powder
small pinch asafoetida (hing) to taste
4 black peppercorns
1 litre hot water plus more if needed
2 cloves garlic, optional
Thumbnail fresh root ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
A few cardamom pods, bashed
200g chard, or other leafy greens, washed and chopped
Sea salt to taste
Lemon juice to taste, optional
Coconut milk to taste, optional

The cooking steps

Wash the mung beans thoroughly and then soak overnight, or minimum 8 hours
In a pan heat ½ tbsp ghee, add turmeric powder and asafoetida and sauté for a few seconds.
Add the mung beans, peppercorns and hot water. Bring to the boil then simmer, lid on, until the mung beans are soft and easily squashed between finger and thumb (around 45 mins).
In a separate frying pan make the tarka: heat the remaining ½ tbsp ghee and add 2 cloves of chopped garlic (if using). Sauté lightly for a minute until soft but still aromatic.
Add the fresh ginger, cumin, coriander seeds and cardamom pods, and sauté for a minute or so until aromatic.
Add the tarka to the mung beans with the chard. Cook for 3-5 minutes until the chard is tender.
Add more water if needed and then season to taste with salt. Add a splash of fresh lemon juice or a swirl of coconut milk if you like.
Enjoy as a soup or serve over freshly cooked rice.

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