Anyone know knows me, or has been following this blog for a while, knows I love mung lentils. From my grandma’s mung dal to my own mung lentil burgers, pancakes and frittata’s, if you can make it using mung, I will give it a go.
From an Ayurvedic perspective mung (or moong) is sweet, cooling and tri-doshic (meaning it is good for all constitutions). It is high in protein, fibre, nutrients and is easy to digest. Ayurvedically speaking it is known to nourish the tissues and strengthen the immune system and is known as the queen of lentils.
I discovered this particular lentil dish at the Indian restaurant Sona in NYC. It came beneath some pani puri. At first my friend Marissa and didn’t know if we should eat it, but of course nothing was going to stop us trying (if you know Mari and I, you’ll know we will try most foods at least once). What we gained was a delicious snack and a perplexed waiter!
Of course, I immediately worked out how to make a healthy version, baking not frying the mung. This is a simple recipe and you can change the seasoning, making it a healthy and versatile snack. I made an everything bagel seasoning version for Mr B and he loved it.
Ingredients
- 1 cup mung, soaked overnight
- 2 tbsp. EVOO
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- 1 tsp. chaat masala (optional)
Method
- Drain and wash the soaked mung lentils and then leave them to dry in a sieve or on a kitchen towel
- Preheat the oven to 425F and line a baking tray with parchment paper
- Mix the dried mung with the oil, salt and pepper
- Lay out flat on the parchment paper
- Bake for 20 minutes and then turn the oven off. Check every 5 minutes for the mung to turn golden brown and remove when ready (too long and they will go black and hard)
- Let cool and then store, add chaat masala and/or other seasonings and store in a glass jar
