Whole mung dhal curry with curry leavers, chilies and coconut milk is one of my favorite easy to make vegan curries to make with red curry powder. After cooking and enjoying a bunch of rich and droolworthy pork curry recipes over the past couple of months, I made this one for a lighter fare and healthy plant-based alternative to an equally delicious dinner.

I make my Whole mung dhal curry with precooked whole mung beans. I soak green mung beans overnight, boil for an hour before using in the curry. Except for soaking beans and preboiling, this healthy dinner tonight took just 20 minutes from start to finish.

Whole Mung beans is a more popular legume in Asian countries because of its draught friendly shorter crop cycle and easy to grow crop. Green gram / whole mung dhal curry, mung dhal or green mung bean in salads or sprouted desserts and breads are some popular healthy recipes with Mung beans in Asia.  

Mung kevum is an extremely popular dessert in Sri Lanka, made from roasted whole grain mung beans and Coconut or kithul treacle. Every household in Sri Lanka makes this in the Sinhalese new year time.

Whole mung dhal curry health benefits

My favorite whole mung bean recipe is the delicious whole mung dhal curry made with curry leaves, coconut milk and spices. I like it quite thick and almost creamy and chunky consistency with lot of heat from green chilies and aroma from the curry powders.

When I am tired of eating salads and protein shakes on my plant-based dinner menu, I shuffle things up with a Whole mung dhal curry to add extra plant proteins to my family’s healthy low calorie high protein meal plan.

The whole mung beans are packed with nutrients and deliver a healthy balanced dose of micronutrients like protein, carbohydrate, and fiber along with a wider collection of important micronutrients. My favorite part of eating whole mung dhal curry for dinner is a serving of this pulse delivering 15.2 grams of fibers per 38.7 grams of carbohydrates. whole mung beans contain more soluble fibers, benefiting to promote good gastronomy, blood glucose and cholesterol regulation.

Whole mung beans, like all legumes, contain antinutrient like phytic acid. Removing antinutrients by sprouting them or boiling them helps digestion and absorption of micronutrients. By Pre-soaking and boiling green mung beans and cooking it as a whole mung dhal curry helps not only with flavor but removes any unwanted discomfort from extra phytic acid.

Soaking removes phytic acid and helps kickstart the enzyme activity within the seed to convert some of the complex carbs into polysaccharides and sugars. Making a curry with coconut milk, Malabar tamarind, chilies, red curry powder and curry leaves not only improves flavor, extracts some of these important micronutrients, thus helping better absorption.

Where can I find Sri Lankan curry powder

If you are wondering where to get curry powders, I have posted recipes to my own homemade curry powder blends that I use all the time to cook my recipes. Also, you could buy Sri Lankan roasted curry powder, mild unroasted curry mix or black curry powder via amazon or Etsy they will work just as well.

Red curry powder

Yellow curry powder

Black curry powder

Whole mung dhal curry Sri Lankan style

Whole mung dhal curry for a healthy dinner tonight, packed with fiber plant proteins and flavor

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Course Dinner

Cuisine Sri Lankan

Servings 4

Ingredients

  

• 2 cups whole boiled mung beans
• 1 clove of Malabar tamarind
• 2 teaspoon red curry powder
• 1 inch stick of Cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp black curry powder
• 1 tablespoon of coconut oil
• 1 inch piece of ginger
• 1 clove of Garlic
• 10 curry leaves
• 2 green chilies
• 1 medium size red onion
• 1- inch crushed lemon grass root
• 1 Teaspoon of mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon yellow curry powder
• 2 one-inch-long pieces pandan leaves
• 1/2 cup thick coconut milk
• 1/2 teaspoon of crushed black pepper

Instructions

 

• Rinse and soak whole mung beans overnight.
• Boil mung beans with clove of Malabar tamarind in the water, until beans become soft.
• Mix red curry powder, Mild yellow curry powder, salt, and black curry powder. (Refer links in the articles and recipe notes)
• Slice onions, garlic, ginger, green chili, lemon grass and curry leaves thinly. Heat coconut oil in the pan and add mustard seeds. When they start popping add sliced herbs and onion, ginger, garlic, and green chili sauté for a minute.
• Add curry powder mix, pandan leaves, cinnamon, and coconut milk. simmer for 5 minutes until flavors are well combined.
• Add boiled mung beans. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes until flavors are absorbed and sauce is thick.
• Taste and adjust seasoning. Add a tempering if you prefer. (Refer to recipe notes).

Notes

Notes 

How and where to get curry powder 

I am providing links to make my own home blend curry powders, however if you can buy Sri Lankan curry powders from amazon, or Etsy they work just as well. 

If you can’t find Malabar tamarind 

Not to worry! Use a little tomato puree or two medium sliced tomatoes instead. Add them when frying onions, ginger garlic and cook them until soft in the sauce. 

 

Keyword whole green mung beans curry, whole mung beans recipe, whole mung dhal curry

Tempering to the curry (OPTIONAL)

• two teaspoons of sliced onions
• Thinly sliced garlic clove
• Thinly sliced ginger
• Two or three curry leaves
• Dry red chili broken in half
• One tablespoon of coconut oil
• Pinch of mustard seeds

Heat the oil in a small wok and add everything to the hot oil. Sauté for about 10 seconds until fragrant and carefully turn everything over curry and mix it up.

Post was updated from original post on 2021/11/17/