Mid-afternoon or evening snack is something that I end up not planning for at all! Somehow planning for breakfast, lunch or dinner takes up so much time or effort that there is hardly any time left to think of something for the evening. Unfortunately, what I realize is that I end up munching on whatever is available! So much for careful eating 🙁 So I have been deliberately putting some thought into what I can have in the evenings when I get home – something quick and fast that does not require a ton of work! If you are looking for some ideas – try having some fresh fruit or a quick south Indian kosambari (check out Sprouted Fenugreek seeds and raw mango kosambari and Southekayi hasi sasive(cucumber in coconut-mustard sauce)) or a masala papad or try this awesome sprouts salad/usli/sundal 🙂
Usli is a south indian salad generally prepared using garbanzo beans(channa), white peas (vatana) or red kidney beans (rajma). Here I have used sprouted mung beans to prepare this usli. An advantage of this is that the cooking time is reduced. For other beans, you would have to soak and pressure cook the beans, but sprouted mung beans can be cooked in about 5 to 8 min on the stove top! Also mung beans are low in calorie, have a lot of dietary fiber and a ton of vitamins and minerals. It is also good for people trying to watch their blood sugar levels!
This recipe is really simple – first sprout the mung beans. Once you have the sprouts ready, you can store them in small freezer bags and use throughout the week! To whip up a really quick snack all you have got to do is stir-fry the sprouts so that they get partially cooked. Add some tempering! Maybe some chopped onions for a slight variation! And your healthy snack is ready. If you have the sprouts ready, it will take about 10 mins to prepare this – a quick, no-fuss snack that everyone is going to enjoy!
Sprouted Mung Beans Salad(Hesarakalu Usli/Sundal)
- 1 cup mung beans
- 2 tsp oil
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- pinch of hing
- 10-15 curry leaves
- 1 tbsp grated coconut
- 3 dried red chillies
- 1/2 lemon juice
- Salt to taste
- 1/2 medium onion chopped finely
- handful of chopped cilantro
Method
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Soak the mung beans in 2 cups of water for 8 hours or overnight. Then drain the water. Wrap the soaked mung beans in a clean kitchen towel and let it sit for another 8 hours and then you will see the mung beans starting to sprout. Wash the sprouts thoroughly in cold water before using.
- To prepare the usli, add coconut and chillies into a mixer and blend it coarsely.
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Heat 2 tsp oil in a large pan. Add mustard seeds and let it splutter. Add the curry leaves and hing and saute well.
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Add the sprouted mung beans and sprinkle some salt and water. Let it cook for about 5-8 min. Add the blended coconut-chillies mixture and mix well.
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Top with some lemon juice, coriander and chopped onions!
