Moong Usal Recipe - How to Make Moong Usal Dry Version

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Moong usal is a popular Maharashtrian vegetarian dish. The usal is served along with pav, a similar combination to the even more popular pav bhaji. I am not claiming this recipe is an authentic version since I got it from a food-based book written by a non-Indian. The usual usal recipes I see are all gravy-based and have a lot more ingredients than my simple version but since the first time I made this usal, I have been cooking it this way and serving it with roti, rice, or even on its own. Since I don't like the taste of raw sprouts in salads and such, this is a great alternative, and a method which doesn't compromise the nutrition in moong sprouts.

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Typically, usal is made with maki or moth bean sprouts. Using moong sprouts for usal is also not uncommon so I decided to go ahead and do just that. I also learnt from the book that Misal is Usal with has been spiced up a bit more and made into a kind of chaat. I really need to try making some misal at home too, a dish that I have only tried once when I visited TH's aunt in Mumbai many years ago.

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Some other recipes you may be interested in:
Soya chunks biryani with sprouts
Pesarattu recipe
Moong dal tadka
Vada pav recipe
How to make pav

Moong Usal Recipe

Adapted from Ginger and Ganesh
Serves 2-4

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups moong bean sprouts
1 cup onions, sliced
½ cup of cubed tomato
1" piece of ginger, grated
2-3 flakes of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon amchoor (dry mango powder) or ½ teaspoon tamarind paste
1-2 green chillies, chopped
A pinch of turmeric powder
1 teaspoon red chilli powder (adjust to taste)
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon Kitchen King Masala (or garam masala / goda masala)
1 teaspoon grated jaggery or brown sugar
2 tablespoon oil
Salt to taste

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Heat oil and add the onions and green chillies. Saute until the onions have turned a light brown.
2. Add the minced ginger and garlic and fry until the raw smell disappears - about a minute.
3. Now add the coriander, chilli powder, turmeric, and salt, and jaggery or sugar. Fry for another minute.
4. Add the sprouted moong dal and chopped tomato along with the amchoor. Add some water and cook on low flame covered for 8-10 mins.
5. When the beans have turned plump and soft, add the garam masala and garnish with chopped coriander.
6. Cook in open pan until the water has more or less evaporated and you have a dry dish. Adjust salt and amchoor as needed.

Step by step pictures to make Usal:

Heat 2 teaspoon oil in a pan and add the sliced onions and green chillies.

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 Saute until the onions turn a golden brown.

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 Cook covered for 5 minutes or so or until the moong sprouts are cooked soft.

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Serve usal hot with steamed rice and some gravy or pav.

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Notes:

- You can pressure cook the sprouted beans until soft and then follow the rest of the recipe

- Use some tamarind paste or lemon juice if you don't have amchoor in hand (amchoor is dried mango powder, used to add sourness to dishes)

- Omit red chilli powder if you can't tolerate much heat in dishes

- The tomatoes are optional