Healthy Green Moong Daal is one of my favorite daals, and it was one of the first recipes that my mother taught me how to make, at the tender age of 10. It is really one of the easier meals to make and one of the legumes that is high in protein as well! 1 cup of moong daal has 14 grams of protein!
My mother would make rotli, shaak (or sauteed vegetables of sorts) with this green moong daal, making it a wholesome and nutritious meal. Green moong has been consumed in Indian culture for thousands of years now. Here is a link to information about moong daal and its several benefits.
My kids love this daal and this daal is often our weeknight meal, as it comes together fairly quickly once the daal is boiled.
What are the other preparations of Green Moong?
Green moong can be prepared in several ways:
- Eat this daal as soup by adding a bit more water to it.
- Make healthy sprouts from this green moong daal. You can soak the green moong daal overnight in water. Drain the water out and place the moong daal in a muslin cloth, tie it and keep it hydrated. You should start seeing the moong daal sprouting in a day, and longer sprouts in 2 days time. It also depends upon the weather – sprouting happens faster in warmer weather. My cookbook Mumbai Modern has a recipe for healthy Green Moong Sprouts.
- You can make it without the water content, as a dry green moong daal, that is best eaten with rotlis or Indian flatbreads. It tastes wonderful as well.
- South Indians make a dish called Pessaratu which is essentially green moong daal crepes, and they are very delicious! A recipe for another time.
What are the ingredients of the Healthy Green Moong Daal?
The ingredients of the healthy green moong daal are:
- Whole Green Moong Daal : Moong daal can come in various forms, there is the whole green moong daal, then the split moong daal where each legume is split into half (with skin on), and the third kind is the split moong daal but with the skin off.
- Vegetable oil or any neutral oil
- Curry leaves
- Cumin seeds and mustard seeds
- Asafoetida : This is optional if you do not have it. Asafoetida is meant to balance out the bloatness or gassiness from legumes.
- Ginger-garlic-green chili paste
- Tomatoes and tomato paste: my mom never added tomato paste, but my grandma adds tomato paste to all her daals and shaaks.
- Spices like ground turmeric, cumin, coriander, red chili powder, garam masala
- Jaggery : If you do not have jaggery, you can use brown sugar or sugar. Jaggery is added to balance out all the flavors along with the spicy, savory flavors.
- Lemon juice : adds a lovely tang to the daal
- Cilantro
How to make this Healthy Green Moong Daal?
The healthy green moong daal starts off with soaking the green moong in hot water. This helps to sort of “activate” the legume, and make it slightly plump. Soaking happens for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
The legumes are boiled in water, in a pressure cooker for faster cooking. Salt is added to the cooker, which helps to raise the boiling point of water and hence softens the legumes faster and flavors it in the process. You can also boil the legumes on a stove top but this process takes a bit longer than the pressure cooker. You want to boil the legumes until each legume bursts open when gently pressed between the thumb and forefinger.
Once the legumes are boiled, they are cooked or sauteed with spices to flavor the daal. In a medium pot, vegetable oil or any neutral oil is added. Wait till the oil is hot for about a minute, and then we add curry leaves, cumin seeds, mustard seeds and asafoetida as well. Asafoetida is optional if you do not have it. It does not affect the taste.
Next we add ginger-garlic-green chili paste that is ground in a mini food processor, in the pot, and sauteed for about half a minute to a minute. Tomatoes and tomato paste are added along with all the dry spices and sauteed to make a paste of sorts. The boiled moong daal is added, along with jaggery and lemon juice and additional water to get the right consistency. You do not want it watery but at the same time you do not want it to be thick. Boil the daal for about 10 to 15 minutes for the flavors to meld together. Finally add cilantro for garnish.
How do you serve the Healthy Green Moong Daal?
The Healthy Green Moong Daal is best served with white rice, mango pickle and some crunchies such as papad. You can also serve it with rotli and Indian spiced vegetable or shaak. Or just eat it by itself for a high protein meal.
How do you store the leftovers for the Healthy Green Moong Daal?
The leftovers can be stored in an airtight container for upto 3 days in the fridge. Warm up a portion in the microwave with a tad bit more water as it thickens when kept in the fridge.
Other dinner or weeknight recipes that you can make from the blog are:
If you do make this recipe, please do not forget to tag #thejamlab on Instagram and/or leave a comment on this blog post.
XO
Amisha
Healthy Green Moong Daal
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole green moong daal
- 3 to 4 cups of water, for boiling
- 2 teaspoons table salt
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 inch ginger
- 1 green chilli
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 6–7 curry leaves
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon mustards seeds
- A pinch of asafoetida (optional)
- 2 small tomatoes, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 ¼ teaspoons garam masala
- 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chilli powder
- 1 ½ tablespoons jaggery, grated
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Garnish
- ¼ cup cilantro, finely chopped
Get Recipe Ingredients
Method
- Wash the green moong daal under a tap running with water in the sink about 3 to 4 times. Drain all the water.
- In a medium bowl with 3 cups of hot water, soak the whole green moong daal for 30 minutes to an hour.
- If you have a pressure cooker, transfer the medium bowl contents into the pressure cooker, add the salt and boil the green moong along with the water in a pressure cooker for 7 to 8 whistles.
- If you do not have a pressure cooker, transfer the medium bowl contents into a medium to large pot, with an additional cup of water, add the salt and boil the green moong daal for 30 minutes on medium-high heat, or until the moong daal is soft when gently pressed between the thumb and the forefinger. If the daal is not softened, boil for an additional 10 minutes and check again. Make sure that the water content is always about 2 inches above the daal. If not, add more water.
- In a mini food processor, finely grind the ginger, garlic and green chilli into a paste. Set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, on medium heat, add the oil. After a minute, add the curry leaves, cumin seeds, mustard seeds and a pinch of asafoetida (optional). Saute for 30 seconds until the seeds start splattering.
- Next add the ginger-garlic-ginger paste and saute for 30-45 minutes. Add the tomatoes and tomato paste, and saute for a minute.
- Add all the dry spices like turmeric, cumin, coriander, red chilli and garam masala and saute for a minute.
- Add the boiled moong daal with the water into the pot. Add 2 more cups of water and stir to combine.
- Add the jaggery and lemon juice and stir to combine. Boil on medium heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Garnish with cilantro. Serve with white rice or rotis.
Note: Taste test to see if additional salt is required.
Notes
How do you serve the Healthy Green Moong Daal?
- The Healthy Green Moong Daal is best served with white rice, mango pickle and some crunchies such as papad. You can also serve it with rotli and Indian spiced vegetable or shaak. Or just eat it by itself for a high protein meal.
How do you store the leftovers for the Healthy Green Moong Daal?
- The leftovers can be stored in an airtight container for upto 3 days in the fridge. Warm up a portion in the microwave with a tad bit more water as it thickens when kept in the fridge.
