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Mung Bean and Vegetable Soup

Mung Bean and Vegetable Soup

My regular readers may have noticed that posting has been light here at Lisa's Kitchen lately. I hope to be back to my regular cooking habits and hence blogging frequency too. In the meantime, I share this nourishing soup containing one of my very favorite legumes.

Widely cultivated in the Far East and Indian subcontinent, the sad neglect of the bright green mung bean deprives busy cooks elsewhere of a nourishing and time-saving friend. Soaked overnight, mung beans cook in as little as 20 minutes and provide an easily digestible source of protein, dietary fiber as well as thiamine, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and copper. Best of all, the mild and slightly astringent taste of mung beans pairs easily with almost any variety of vegetables and spices for simple, wholesome and delicious dishes that form a complete meal when served with rice or other grains.

Use this recipe as a simple template for quick and easy mung bean and vegetable soups, adjusting spices to suit your taste and incorporating your own favorite vegetables at intervals suited to their cooking times. In this case I used three carrots added with the beans at the beginning of boiling, and half a cup of fresh garden peas 5 minutes before finishing. Wholesome, warming and delicious, this mung bean and vegetable soup is thick enough to serve on a bed of rice or on its own in a bowl, and is a satisfying dinner solution when time is a cook's precious commodity.

Asafetida powder — the ground resin of a fennel-like plant found in Asia — is a pungent spice reminiscent of onions and garlic but far more digestible (many Indians avoid onions and garlic altogether in favor of asafetida). It is easily found in Indian and Asian grocers, and should be added to hot oil for only a few moments. If you don't have asafetida, add one clove of minced or crushed garlic with the other spices.

Mung Bean and Vegetable SoupMung Bean and Vegetable Soup
Recipe by
Cuisine: Indian
Published on September 27, 2019

Simple, quick and nourishing all-purpose midweek soup with mixed vegetables, creamy mung beans and gentle Indian spicing

Preparation: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 to 30 minutes

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Ingredients:
  • 1 cup dried whole mung beans (3 cups cooked)
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 1 to 2 cups chopped mixed vegetables of your choice
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/4 teaspoon asafetida
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
Instructions:
  • Rinse the mung beans and soak in several inches of water for 6 hours or overnight. Drain and rinse, then transfer to a large saucepan and cover with 3 cups of fresh water. Bring to a boil, turn the heat down to low, and stir in the cayenne and turmeric. Cover and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes or until the beans are soft, stirring occasionally.

  • If using root vegetables such as potatoes or carrots, add to the pan with the beans and water. Add other vegetables at intervals suited to their cooking times (e.g., after 10 minutes for green beans, after 15 to 20 minutes for corn or peas).

  • When the beans and vegetables are cooked, remove from heat. Heat a frying pan over medium heat. When hot, add the olive oil, wait a few moments, then swirl to coat the pan. Toss in the brown mustard seeds, wait a few moments to let the seeds start to splutter, then quickly stir in the cumin and coriander. Toss in the asafetida, stir once, then pour the seasonings into the soup. Let the soup sit for a few minutes to let the flavors mingle.

  • Season with salt to taste, and serve hot or warm. Serves 4.

Makes 4 servings

Mung Bean and Vegetable Soup

Other mung bean dishes you may enjoy:
Indian Sour Mung Bean Soup
Mung Bean and Coconut Soup
Mung Bean and Tamarind Dal
West Bengali Mung Bean & Tomato Soup

On the top of the reading stack: Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Audio Accompaniment: Vibrant Forms II by Fluxion

20 comments:

  1. They really are a lovely shade of green! The soup looks wonderful. Glad to see you posting and hope all's well!

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  2. that looks so yummy and comforting!

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  3. Your mung bean soup looks so fresh and yummy, packed with vitamins!

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  4. hey lisa, i hope you are now feeling well? the soup looks fantastic, so healthy and fulfilling

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  5. When i was living at home, mung beans were a regular item at home, i have not made them for a while, soup looks delicious.

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  6. Wow such a delicious soup, looks fabulous and filling..

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  7. good to see you posting again - this looks like it will stick to your insides - hope it gives you the nourishment you need

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  8. This seems so unusual and interesting - will be trying this!

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  9. hope you are feeling better Lisa.. i am making only one bowl meals like this now:-) I have never soaked the mung with yougurt or lemon juice.. how does it help?

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  10. Hi Soma;

    I am feeling a bit better, thanks. The yogurt helps with digestion, though mung beans are one of the easiest legumes to digest.

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  11. Mmmm, it's been far too long since I've fixed mung beans - thank you so much for reminding me of them, and for the awesome recipe! I'm also very excited that this recipe will give me another way to use the very large bag of Asafoetida powder sitting in my pantry, which I'm finding lasts quite a long time... :-)

    I'm sooooo excited that you're reading Crime and Punishment... It's one of my top 3 favorite books of all time...

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  12. Yummy & Healthy! I love the green Mung of all the pulses. Surely a high protein source.

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  13. Hi friend nice blog you have here. what about link exchange with me. please confirm

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  14. Hope everything's going well with you! This soup looks yummy. I think it would be really good pureed!

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  15. Have I told you I love your soups... I love the variety of beans you use in them :)
    this soup looks so comforting especially with the chilly weather that we have been having in Seattle!

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  16. "Crime and Punishment" is for sure one of my very favorite books, which is saying a lot. Reading it for the third or fourth time now and it won't be the last.

    Next is "Waiting for Godot" and then maybe "The Castle" by Franz Kafka (again) or more Dostoevsky. "The Brothers Karamazov" comes to mind again.

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  17. Along with chickpeas and red lentils, these beans are my favourites too.
    This soup looks very filling and comforting. Perfect for my rainy days at present.

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  18. Mmmm... thanks for the delicious reminder to make some lentil soup. It's supposed to rain here this weekend, so it's perfect timing!

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  19. This looks really beautiful. Mung beans are so delicious! They are sadly neglected in the American diet.

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  20. A very savory soup! Served it over brown rice and it was a very tasty meal. Will definitely make it again!

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