Sprouted Moong Salad

Okay, so how many of you dislike sprouts? Well, it was/is not my favourite dish in the world, but then every now and then the angel in my head tries to tell me that its one great health food and I should learn to like it! Hmmmm... I did try, well... several times, but somehow I did not like the raw flavours of sprouts. Probably the dishes I chose to have were not the best to make a start into the sprout-world!

But then, few days back... again when the health-conscious side of me dominated and said I should try my version of sprouts and make myself like it, I obeyed! I soaked some moong beans in water and drained out the water a while later and let the fellows sprout for a day. 

  

Oh dear, the joy of seeing tiny little saplings grow on the lentils is a delight and they looked really pretty! I let them grow for another couple of hours and then dished out a recipe in my head and voila... created my version of a sprout salad!  :)

Well, this salad is not the typical salad, as in the ingredients are not entirely raw, I have cooked the sprouted moong a bit. I understand the complete health benefit of sprouts is when eaten nearly raw. But hey, this is my start, so I forgive myself :) These make great snack too! Try them out :)

  

Ingredients

Green Moong - 1 cup

Water

Olive Oil - 1 tsp

Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Sweet Corn kernels - 1/4 cup

Carrot - 1 medium, grated

Green Chilly - 1, minced

Salt - to taste

Method

Sprouting the Moong

• Soak the green moong in water for about 6-8 hrs and then drain out the water and set the damp moong beans in an air tight container. Allow to rest for a day or so until tiny little saplings start to sprout out.
• They are good to be used once tiny saplings appear.

Making the salad:

• You could steam them for about 5 minutes in a pressure cooker, if you do not want them to be crunchy-munchy OR you could use them as is, as with some sauteing the rawness goes away. Choice is yours.

• In a pan, heat olive oil and add in the mustard seeds. Once they crackle, add the moong sprouts and finely minced green chilly. Saute for a few minutes. 
• Add salt, and the sweet corn kernels. Toss them around for just a minute.
• Take it off the flame and now add in the grated carrots. We do not want to cook the carrots, hence we add them after the rest of the ingredients are cooked.

• Lay them in a serving bowl (I put them in cabbage leaf to give it a salad look and feel :) ) and decorate with some coriander leaves and maybe you can even try squeezing a few drops of lemon juice on top!

• And oh, did I forget to tell you, you can eat your serving bowls too, if you like crunchy cabbage! :)  Wasn't that a refreshing salad?!