If you’ve eaten my Besan Chilla, an eggless, protein-rich “omelet” from northwest India, you will love my Sprouted Moong Chilla, an even more nutritious version made with– you guessed it– sprouted mung (or, as Indians pronounce it, moong) beans.
Sprouting beans, if you’ve never done it before, can be an intimidating idea. You are probably throwing up your hands now and going, heck, I barely have the time to open a can of beans, leave alone sprout some.
But here’s something to consider: contrary to what you may have believed, sprouting doesn’t take a lot of your time. I mean, yes, it takes time, but not dedicated time. You don’t have to stand over the container and watch the beans sprout (now doesn’t that thought beat watching water boil?) All you have to do is get them going and leave them alone. Largely. And if you add up the time you’ll have spent, I bet it won’t be more than 10 minutes over two or three days, combined.
That little time can add up to a lot of reward. Sprouting breaks down the amino acids in beans, making their protein content more available to the body. It also reduces the carbohydrate content of beans because the bean uses up a good amount of energy to sprout. Sprouting increases the Vitamin B and Vitamin C content of beans, and what’s more, sprouted beans are more easily digested by the body. Sprouted beans cook faster. Finally, it’s so easy, even a kid could do it. In fact, if you have kids, this is a fun project to do with them.
And if you think you need all sorts of fancy equipment to sprout, think again. All you really need is a container– any old plastic or glass or steel container should do– a large colander, and a kitchen towel. I am sure you already have those.Begin the process by placing your beans in a colander and washing them thoroughly in a few changes of water. Then place them in a container large enough to hold the beans and twice their volume in water. Immerse the beans completely in room-temperature water, top off by three or four inches more, and then let them sit overnight or about eight hours. By this time they will have soaked a lot of water and will have almost doubled in volume.
Soak a kitchen towel in water and squeeze out any excess water. Drain the soaked beans in a colander and cover them with the damp kitchen towel. Place out of direct sunlight and let them work their magic. All you need to do every 12 hours or so is shake them around in the colander, hands-free if possible or delicately so as to not break any tender sprouts, rinse them off, and cover again with a damp towel before setting aside.
In winter, mung beans take about two to three days to sprout in my kitchen, although it can be a faster process in summer. Also, some beans just take more time than others to sprout, so be patient. You will know you have succeeded when you see little white squiggles shooting out of the beans.
You can use sprouted beans in almost any recipe that calls for beans. But this Chilla is a great place to start because it’s a fast recipe, once you have those sprouts ready to go. And it’s super-delicious, not to mention super-healthy. And gluten-free and nearly fat-free. Boy, am I on fire today.
You can make this chilla extra-nutritious and extra-tasty by adding to it all sorts of quick-cooking veggies, like bell peppers, spring onions, spinach, watercress, zucchini, mushrooms, corn kernels, and even herbs. I used coriander and some grated carrot, which is what I had on hand. Be sure to chop the veggies fine or grate them to make the chilla as spreadable as possible.
Here’s the recipe. Enjoy, all!
- 1 cup dry mung (moong) beans, sprouted per directions above
- 1- inch knob of ginger, chopped
- 3-4 cloves of garlic
- 2 green chillies
- Salt to taste
- 2 tbsp chickpea flour (besan)
- 2 tbsp brown rice flour (optional, but makes the chillas extra-crispy. Use regular white rice flour if you can't find brown)
- 1 cup chopped coriander
- 1 large carrot, grated (use the side with the largest-size slots on your grater-- you don't want this to be too fine)
- Cooking oil spray
- Place the mung beans in the blender along with the ginger, garlic, chillies and salt and blend until smooth, using just enough water to get a slightly-runnier-than-pancake-batter consistency. Add the flours and veggies and mix well. Set aside for 10 minutes and mix again.
- Heat a cast-iron or nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until water sprinkled on the surface skitters off and dries up immediately.
- Spray on a thin coating of the oil and then place 1/2 cup of the batter in the center using a ladle with a rounded bottom. Use the bottom of the ladle to spread the batter into as thin a round as possible. This doesn't have to be crepe-like, but if you ladle it on too thick the inside might not cook through.
- When the top looks dry and the edges turn brown, flip over and cook until golden-brown.
Serve hot with some coconut or date-tamarind chutney.
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(C) All recipes and photographs copyright of Holy Cow! Vegan Recipes.
OMG.. mouth watering here.. Awesome clicks dear 🙂
HI;
I have a problem with sprouting moong in winters. They start having a weird smell after a day, you say it takes 3 days for you in winter. I do the shake every 12 hrs method. Any idea where I may be going wrong? I love making the mug ghavan and also the mug wade with sprouted mug. Lovely, fast and healthy in one dish is never bad.
Love Ash.
Hi Ash, are you keeping them in a colander, after you have drained them? Also, try and keep them in a cool, dark place– you don’t want lots of light and heat getting to your beans while they are sprouting. Don’t oversoak them either, the first time– no more than eight hours or thereabouts.
Also wash them thoroughly every 12 hours. In my experience, the funky smell begins only if you leave them untouched for a day or two, and they sit on top of each other spoiling away. Hope this helps.
Looks super delicious, I too make it in a similar manner. Please do send it to my “Healthy Me & Healthy Us” event. Please do read the event rules 🙂
Priya, just sent it along. Thanks for letting me know.
I like this twist. Moong does take a while to sprout in winter, even here in Dallas, I usually stick the moong wrapped in the towel in the oven overnight, like we leave dosa batter. Helps me.
Oh wow these look yummy. Do you just serve them with chutney for a meal? Wondering what to make alongside…
Yes, chutney is perfect with these. See post for the cilantro-coconut and tamarind-date chutney links.
Chilla looks absolutely nutritious and highly inviting…Sprouts are my favourite.
Oh my god!! These look so yummy!! Thanx for sharing!!
Hey,
This one tastes really good. I too add veggies to it – mix veg – peas, beans, carrots etc. Will try beet sometime.
Thanks for sharing.
Hi Vaishali. I made something very similar a few months ago (without brown rice) and the chillas turned out quite bitter. I’ve been meaning to make them again because they’re so nutritious. Is there something I need to specifically do to avoid the bitterness?
I would advise making the chillas rather thin so it doesn’t remain uncooked inside. That could be causing the bitterness.
healthy and nutritious recipe.. looks yummy..
http://foody-buddy.blogspot.com/
We make chillas pretty often for breakfast. But have never tried sprouted moong! Sounds incredibly healthy and I can just imagine the extra crunch it would lend to the chillas 🙂 And i also love the idea of adding all those different veggies! Gotta try this soon…
healthy fare-love that; loks swell
I love sprouting moong, but can rarely figure out anything to do with them. Thanks for the recipe! You’re lovely!
delicious chilas!! i love the line where you have said – ‘It also reduces the carbohy’drate content of beans because the bean uses up a good amount of energy to sprout.” very informative
Sowmya
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Delicious and Healthy.I just tried this recipe.We liked it.
Anon, glad you liked it. Thanks for the feedback! 🙂
I love this recipe! I’ve made it twice already, and it comes out beautifully. Thank you!
Jyothi, thanks, glad you liked it. 🙂
We made this chilla over the week-end, and it was absolutely delicious. We didn’t have rice flour on hand, so used cornmeal instead. We ate it with coriander chutney on the side. We will definitely make this again.
Thanks.
Delicious..I m fond of making chillas..Thanku. Please clarify one thing I have heard cooking sprouts robs them off of most of the nutrition.
Hi Vaishali
Do we have to pressure cook the sprouted moong before using it for making the chilla dough?
Cheers
Madhu
Hi Madhu, no need to pressure-cook. Use the sprouts raw.
Hi.
Can I make the batter the night before ?
And then leave it in the fridge and use the next morning?
Thx.
Yes!
Lovely recipe. I tried sprouted moong Chilla and it tastes so yummy! Many blessings to you for sharing a very healthy recipe. Love.
So happy you liked it, Alpa!
How long do the sprouted mung last in the fridge?