Superfood SPROUTS Salad…Sprouting healthy & tasty beans!!

Deeba @ PAB

16 years ago

“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

Sprouted Mung Dal Salad

Fresh 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.

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. ”

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)

“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 tasteMethod:

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.

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!!

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

…& 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!

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