An easy and tasty Bean Sprouts Curry in a tomato-onion-garlic sauce. This is a vegan, gluten-free, soy-free recipe.
There has been a lot of discussion in recent years about probiotic and prebiotic foods and the immense benefits they offer not just to our physical but also to our emotional health. Your intestines, like the rest of your body, are teeming with bacteria, trillions of them, helping you digest what you eat. Scientists have discovered that so powerful is the effect of your gut microbiome, as this ecosystem is called, on your overall health, that it can affect how you feel, how you look, and even how you think.
The good news is, we can influence our gut microbiomes to a healthier state by eating less processed foods and more probiotic foods like tempeh, miso, kimchi and sauerkraut-- foods that are already popular with vegans. To help those bacteria thrive, you also need to eat prebiotic foods -- foods that are rich in a certain kind of fiber -- like bananas, greens, leeks, onions, garlic, asparagus, and legumes.
The traditional Indian vegetarian diet tends to be very gut-friendly. Dosa and idli, for instance, are made with fermented batter teeming with healthy bacteria, as are other traditional favorites like dhokla and kanji. Indian pickles, like lime pickle and carrot pickle, are getting a boost as a great source of probiotic bacteria (I have a batch of lime pickle fermenting on the window sill right now). And sprouts, long an integral part of the Indian kitchen, rank high for their prebiotic potential like all legumes. Even better, they release nutrients within the legume, making it easier for the body -- and for that bacteria -- to digest and assimilate them.
I love cooking with sprouts, and I've shared with you a number of sprouted bean recipes in the past, including Maharashtrian usal, the popular street food misal, this simple Mung Bean Salad, Sprouted Mung Dosa, and even a Sprouted Bean Burger.
Today's recipe is an old favorite that I often make for a nourishing dinner.
For this sprouts curry I used matki or moth beans, which could be unfamiliar to those outside India. They are easily available online or at Indian groceries. They look like tiny brown mung beans, and have a rather nutty, delicious flavor that lends itself perfectly to lightly spiced curries like this one. You could use mung beans or really any old bean, if you'd rather, but if you use chickpeas or any of the larger beans, you will have to cook them first before adding them to the recipe.
This is a curry that'll no doubt make your gut happy: there are onions and garlic and, of course, the beans here, providing you with plenty of fiber for the good bacteria. Eat this with basmati rice or roti and Indian pickle for a meal that'll leave you -- and your belly -- happier and healthier.
More delicious curry recipes
Recipe card
Easy Bean Sprouts Curry
Ingredients
- 1 cup sprouted mung beans (or moth/matki beans)
- 1 large onion (finely chopped)
- 2 medium tomatoes (finely diced)
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1-inch knob ginger (sliced)
- 1-2 green chili peppers (like jalapeno or serrano. Use less or more depending on your preference for heat. Chop roughly).
- ½ teaspoon cayenne (optional)
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- ¼ cup cilantro (coriander leaves, chopped)
- ½ cup grated coconut (can substitute with 1 cup coconut milk)
- 1 tablespoon garam masala
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- ½ teaspoon asafetida or hing (hing), optional
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan or wok
- Add the mustard seeds and, when they crackle, add the asafetida, if using, then add the onions, turmeric, cayenne, if using, coriander powder, and coriander leaves.
- Saute for a few minutes until onions start to just brown. Add the ginger, garlic, green chili peppers, cayenne, turmeric and cilantro. Mix well and saute for a couple of minutes.
- Add the tomatoes and garam masala. Let the tomatoes release most of their liquid.
- Add the uncooked, sprouted beans (precook the beans only if you use a larger bean like a chickpea or a kidney bean). Add the coconut and stir well.
- Add 1 cup of water, bring to a boil, cover and let the curry cook about 30 minutes or until the beans are cooked. If you want more sauce, add more water.
- Add the lemon juice.
- Add salt to taste. Garnish with more cilantro if you wish.
Nutrition Information
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Roger says
I made this a few times it was similar to a recipe I had been given but lost. U mention add turmeric but u don’t say how much to use I usually use 1 to 2 tablespoons lol what is it supposed to be
Vaishali says
Hi Roger, no more than 1/2 tsp for most curries--turmeric is a strongly flavored spice and using too much can make the dish bitter. I've added it now--thanks for pointing out.
Ariel says
Greta recipe !
Se says
Can this be frozen?
Vaishali says
Yes absolutely!
chrisfff says
Hi. I can't find turmeric in the ingredients list.. and I can't find the ginger in the directions!
Any guidance? Thx 🙂
I am making this as I type..
Vaishali says
Add ginger with onions and 1/2 tsp of turmeric.
Subhashini says
I have already tried a sprouts recipe from your blog and I must admit, it was superb and addicting. Thanks a ton. I have saved many recipes from your blog and yet to try them. Can we substitute Serrano with Indian green chillies?
Vaishali says
Hi Subhashini, you can definitely use the Indian chilies in this or any other recipe where serranos or jalapeno chilies are mentioned. Thanks for the kind words about the blog. 🙂 Cheers.
Jay Jacobs says
Thank you for this recipe. It looks delicious.
I can't find the garlic and ginger in the instructions?
chessiepique says
This sounds great. How much turmeric? Is a teaspoon about right?
Vaishali says
Hi Catherine, 1/2 tsp would be great. I will add-- thanks!
Ellen Lederman says
So glad you are back and posting again! Am definitely going to make the chili peppers (possibly with Anaheim peppers----I love spicy food, but GERD is limiting that...:(
Am definitely going to make the bean sprouts. Used to be scared of sprouts (they can have bacteria, but have never gotten sick from them, nor have I known anyone who has.)