VEGETARIAN

Superfood SPROUTS Salad…Sprouting healthy & tasty beans!!

2008/06/08 / 22 Comments
“We don’t need a melting pot in this country, folks. We need a salad bowl. In a salad bowl, you put in the different things. You want the vegetables – the lettuce, the cucumbers, the onions, the green peppers – to maintain their identity. You appreciate differences. “
Jane Elliot
IMG 1607 Sprouted Mung Dal Salad
IMG 1626Fresh mint & a squeeze of lime…
I posted some bits about this wonderful sprout on the CLICK post for May ’08, where the theme was ‘Beans & Lentils’. Sprouts are easy to make at home, & you don’t actually need special bowls or ‘sprouters’. I sprout the dal at home almost every week, & can hardly stop marvelling at the cute little ‘sprouts’ the dal obliges me with each time. IMG 1594
A super healthy salad, & a very fresh & crisp one at that!
Check out an interesting article about sprouts on Oprah.com, where sprouts are called Superfood No. 9. “Sprouts are a highly nutritious food. Grown locally year round, sprouts are a good source of protein and vitamin C. All nutrients necessary for life are contained in seeds—a food category that includes grain kernels, beans, legumes, and nuts. Because sprouts are so fresh, and do not sit for days or weeks in warehouses, we know that we are getting optimum nutrition. ”

IMG 1053

Other Great Ways to Serve Sprouts
Use in coleslaw (cabbage, clover, radish)
Try in wraps and roll-ups (alfalfa, sunflower, radish)
Stir-fry with other vegetables (alfalfa, clover, radish, mung bean, lentil)
Blend with vegetable juices (cabbage, mung bean, lentil)
Mix with soft cheeses, tofu, yogurt of kefir for a dip (mung bean, radish)
Stir into soups or stews when serving (mung bean, lentil)
Top omelet or scrambled eggs (alfalfa, clover, radish)
Combine in oat, barley or buckwheat dishes (fenugreek, lentil, mung bean)
Add to sushi (radish, sunflower)
Sauté with onions (mung bean, clover, radish)
Puree with dried peas or beans (mung bean, lentil)
Add to baked beans (lentil)

IMG 1438

“Why Sprouts?…

…There are a great many reasons to eat sprouts. As we age, our body’s ability to produce enzymes declines. Sprouts are a concentrated source of the living enzymes and “life force” that is lost when foods are cooked or not picked fresh from your own garden. Additionally, due to their high enzyme content, sprouts are also much easier to digest than the seed or bean from which they came. “

Sprouted Mung Dal Salad

Ingredients:

Mung dal beans – 1 cup / soaked for 3-5 hours (till you see them start splitting open)
Tomatoes – 2-3 / deseeded & chopped small
Spring onions – 2-3 / chopped fine (can use 1 small regular onion too)
Mint leaves – a handful / chopped fine
Cucumber – 1 small / peeled & chopped fine
Juice of 1-2 limes
Green chili – 1 / deseeded/ chopped fine (optional)
Salt to tastecollageMethod:

  • Once the dal begins to split, drain it & put it into a sieve lined with cheesecloth or a plastic colander, with a bowl underneath. Cover it keep it in a dark place for 10-12 hours or overnight.
  • Wash gently the next day, taking care not to disturb the roots (sprouts) too much, to enable them to grow long. Cover & keep in dark place again.
  • In summer, my sprouts are ready in a day & a half. Check to see if they are done, rinse gently, drain & refrigerate.
  • Toss all the salad ingredients gently & chill well. This can be made a couple of hours in advance. Try not to keep sprouts for more than 2-3 days as they tend to taste bitter after that. Also, fresh sprouts offer maximum food value.

IMG 1607

My son asked me a ‘prudent’ question this evening while eating his salad, “Mama, if we plant these seeds, will these sprouts grow out on the branches?” Hmmmmmmmmmm….another long month of vacations!!

snackshots4salad This salad is on its way to SnackShots # 4 ‘SALAD’, to Michelle @ Greedy Gourmet.

no croutons required

…& also to Lisa @ Lisa’s Vegetarian Kitchen for her colourful No Croutons Required which she is hosting for the month of June. The theme for June is soups or salads featuring legumes because beans and pulses are an important part of a healthy vegetarian diet. Whole, or split, big or small, anything belonging to the legume family qualifies. (Thank you Arundathi for letting me know!!)

Bon Appetit!

This post featured on

Posted by Deeba @ PAB

About me: I am a freelance food writer, recipe developer and photographer. Food is my passion - baking, cooking, developing recipes, making recipes healthier, using fresh seasonal produce and local products, keeping a check on my carbon footprint and being a responsible foodie! I enjoy food styling, food photography, recipe development and product reviews. I express this through my food photographs which I style and the recipes I blog. My strength lies in 'Doing Food From Scratch'; it must taste as good as it looks, and be healthy too. Baking in India, often my biggest challenge is the non-availability of baking ingredients, and this has now become a platform to get creative on. I enjoy cooking immensely as well.

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22 Comments

  • meeso

    2008/06/08 at 6:47 pm Reply

    I have never been successful at sprouting… they look so good too… Makes me want to try again!

  • Pearlsofeast

    2008/06/09 at 2:50 am Reply

    Deeba dear, We also eat sprouts regularly.Very nice presentation and great pictures.Great ideas for wraps. thanks
    Hey I am also going to send a salad recipe to this great event.

  • Manggy

    2008/06/09 at 3:38 am Reply

    Nice pics! You must’ve spent a good while staging everything just right!

    There’s always a vendor selling mung bean sprouts here, and sometimes one can find alfalfa sprouts…. That’s about it. I wanna be able to use pea shoots!! I don’t want to sprout it myself though, I have no such patience!

  • Passionate baker...& beyond

    2008/06/09 at 3:43 am Reply

    Thanks Meeso…they’re not so much trouble to make.
    Hi POE…waiting to see your salad recipe!
    Hey Doc, thanks for the compliment…didnt take too long stage; same platform nah?? Patience will come with age Manggy my dear; you can enjoy deep fried & full fat (in ‘everywhich’ form ha ha) at the moment! Calorie counting catches up much later!!LOL

  • Passionate baker...& beyond

    2008/06/09 at 3:43 am Reply

    Thanks Meeso…they’re not so much trouble to make.
    Hi POE…waiting to see your salad recipe!
    Hey Doc, thanks for the compliment…didnt take too long stage; same platform nah?? Patience will come with age Manggy my dear; you can enjoy deep fried & full fat (in ‘everywhich’ form ha ha) at the moment! Calorie counting catches up much later!!LOL

  • Dhanggit

    2008/06/09 at 8:26 am Reply

    great photos deeba!! i remember i succeeded in sprouting some lentils when i was a kid. it was accidental i forget some lentils and since the kitchen roof was leaking due to heavy rain well the rest is a funny story 🙂

    have a great day!!

  • Arundathi

    2008/06/09 at 9:29 am Reply

    Deeba – I sprout lentils every week too. And I add it to almost everything. Thanks for the great ideas.
    You could also send this in to Lisa’s Vegetarian Kitchen for her lentil salads event.

  • delhibelle

    2008/06/09 at 10:20 am Reply

    Hi Deeba,
    Thanks for some interesting ideas with sprouts, and did I tell you that I so enjoy the quotations you use:)

  • Happy cook

    2008/06/09 at 6:15 pm Reply

    I have never done any sproutting too.
    Have had them back at home. But I have never tried them.
    Your salade looks so good.
    I like that you filled that jug with it.

  • Bharti Khemani

    2008/06/09 at 7:02 pm Reply

    Hi Deeba
    Thanks much for visiting and taking time to leave your comment. It helped me gain perspective.
    Sigh…yes yes, I have to do the sprouting too. My family doesn’t seem to enjoy it uncooked though. Blanching would kill most of the nutrients right?

  • Lisa

    2008/06/09 at 9:00 pm Reply

    Thanks for this entry! Mung beans are one of my very favorites. I really should incorporate sprouts into my diet.

  • onesilentwinter

    2008/06/10 at 2:38 am Reply

    I am going to try this immediately- okay maybe i will wait till tomorrow. Being a raw foodist it is nice into this recipe! Thank you!

  • Purnima

    2008/06/10 at 12:27 pm Reply

    The sprouts look colorful..as usual a brilliant post n super food indeed ( u r tagged, pls chk my post.)

  • Meeta

    2008/06/14 at 3:40 pm Reply

    These lind of salads always make me smile – they not only look fantastic but taste lovely. Great idea Deeba!

  • Michelle

    2008/06/25 at 10:32 pm Reply

    Once I tried sprouting my own seeds and was successful….too successful because I made too much and most of them just died away because I didn’t eat them quick enough! Have to try again, but with less “enthusiasm”. 🙂 Your salad looks very healthy and refreshing. Thanks for participating in SnackShots again and don’t forget to check out the roundup soon!

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