Green Moong Dal (Sabut Moong Dal)

Green Moong Dal also known as Green Gram or Mung Beans is high in antioxidants and one of the healthiest dals. This dal is made with ginger, garlic, tomatoes, onions, and Indian spices.

What is Green Moong Dal?

Green Moong Dal also known as Sabut Moong Dal or Green Gram Curry or Mung Beans Curry is a healthy and delicious dal.

The Mung Beans are first cooked in an Instant Pot or you can use a pressure cooker. In a separate pot, cook the ginger, garlic, onions, and tomatoes – this is your masala paste. Add the cooked lentils to the masala along with water and spices, and enjoy with rice.

Is Green Moong Dal healthy?

Yes, Green Moong Dal also known as Mung Beans is super healthy. It’s one of the dals that is ideal for weight loss because it is loaded with high-quality protein and fiber. This type of dal keeps you fuller for longer and is good for your digestive health.

Moong Dal also has a low glycemic index so it doesn’t spike your blood sugar levels making it ideal for diabetics. Additionally, mung beans are high in antioxidants.

Ingredients for Green Moong Dal

Green Moong Dal / Mung Lentils – I used whole green moong lentils.

Water – You’ll need water for soaking and cooking the lentils.

Avocado Oil – you’ll need to cook the spices down.

Ghee – you will need ghee for tempering, you can also use oil instead.

Ginger, Garlic, and Green Chilies – chop the ginger and garlic. Slit the green chilies.

Sliced Garlic – you will need sliced garlic for tempering.

Onions – I love using chopped red onions.

Spices – Hing (asafoetida), Kashmiri Red Chili Powder, Turmeric Powder, Coriander Powder, Salt, Garam Masala, Amchur (mango powder).

Whole Spices – Cumin Seeds, Ajwain (carom seeds), Black Cardamom.

Fresh Cilantro – chopped cilantro leaves.

Lemon Juice – just a squeeze of lemon juice.

How to make Green Moong Dal

Soak & Pressure Cook Sabut Moong Dal

1. Wash and rinse 1 ½ cups of green moong dal well. Then soak the sabut moong dal in enough water for 5 hours. I generally soak the dal in 4 times the water amount.

2. Then drain the dal. Wash and rinse it well. Add the dal to the Instant Pot along with 4 cups of water. Add salt and turmeric powder. Stir.

3. Cook on High Pressure for 18 minutes. Let the lentils naturally release. While the dal pressure cooks, you can move on to the next section and chop your veggies.

4. Once done, this is what you should have. Perfectly cooked dal.

Cook Sabut Moong Dal

1. Chop onions, tomatoes, ginger, and garlic. Slit green chilies in half.

2. Heat up a pot on medium heat, then add oil. Once the oil is hot, add cumin seeds, ajwain (carom seeds), hing (asafoetida), turmeric powder, and black cardamom. Saute for a minute.

3. Then add ginger, garlic, and green chilies. Saute for 1-2 minutes.

4. Add onions and season with salt. Cook for around 5 minutes until the onions are translucent and golden brown.

5. Add tomatoes and season with salt.

6. Stir.

7. Cover and cook on low-medium heat for 6-7 minutes until you have a paste-like consistency.

8. Now add your powdered spices – red chili powder and coriander powder. Also, add a ¼ cup of water to prevent the spices from burning.

9. Stir and cook for a minute.

10. Now add your cooked dal. Note, there won’t be much liquid in here since the lentils will soak up the water.

11. Also add 1 cup of water. Stir. Adjust salt as needed.

12. Cover and cook on low-medium heat for 10 minutes.

13. This is what you should have. Turn off the stove.

Prepare the Takda (tempering)

1. Add ghee (or oil if you prefer) to a small tadka pan. Heat up the ghee.

2. Add sliced garlic and Kashmiri red chili powder. Cook for about 2 minutes until you can smell the aroma of the garlic.

3. Pour tadka over dal. Stir.

4. Now add amchur powder (mango powder) and garam masala. Stir.

5. Add fresh cilantro.

6. Also add a squeeze of lemon juice. Stir.

7. Let the dal sit for 15 minutes before serving. Enjoy with hot rice. It’s heaven in a bowl.

Tips on Making Creamy Green Moong Dal

In order to get that creamy consistency when making Green Moong Dal, you will need to:

1. Soak the sabut moong dal for at least 5 hours in lots of water.
2. Pressure cook the dal with the least amount of water so the consistency is not water.
3. Finish off with a ghee tadka – but you can always use oil instead of ghee and your consistency should be just fine.

Substitutions

For a vegan option – simply replace ghee with avocado oil.

For a gluten-free option – replace hing (asafoetida) with gluten-free hing.

Serving

• White Basmati Rice – Mung Beans Curry tastes best with white basmati rice.
• Brown Rice / Quinoa – for a healthier option, you can use brown rice or quinoa.
• Roti / Sabzi – To complete a typical Indian meal, Sabut Moong Dal can be served as an accompaniment with roti and sabzi.

Storage

Generally speaking, dal can be stored in the fridge in a pyrex glass container for up to 3-4 days.

If I make a lot of dal, I sometimes freeze it in a pyrex glass container and use it within a month or two. It lasts for a while and it tastes great.

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Green Moong Dal

Vegetarian, Vegan option, Gluten-free option

Green Moong Dal also known as Green Gram or Mung Beans is high in antioxidants and one of the healthiest dals. This dal is made with ginger, garlic, tomatoes, onions, and Indian spices.