Mung Bean and Spinach Dal

What's a mung bean? They're little tiny green beans that don't really need soaking so you can just boil them up within an hour and they're ready to rock. Packed full of protein and joy, they're sure to brighten your day. They can also be sprouted and then used in salads - that's the trendy thing to do. I'm just going to be unhip and cook with them.

What's a dal? It's any kind of curry made from a pulse (lentils or beans). Why bother with it? Because it's healthy, tastes good, doesn't involve any death and is bloody cheap!

Spinach needs no introduction, so on with the show...

Serves: 4
Will cost you: 1.68 zl per person (33 British Pence, 39 Euro Cents, 1.71 Romanian Leu)

What you need:

- a couple of handfuls of mung beans
- 1-2 tomatoes
- 2 onions
- 2 green chillies
- 1 inch of ginger
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 heaped tsp of coriander powder
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 200g spinach
- a dash of cream (optional)
- 200g basmati rice

Let's rock!

1. Boil a couple of handfuls of mung beans in UNSALTED water for around an hour until they're soft but not a mushy pulp. Don't salt the water - this will harden the beans and makes it difficult to soften them.

2. Chop the tomatoes. Finely chop the onions. In a pestle and mortar, pound up 2 cloves of garlic, one inch of ginger and 2 green chillies. Pound it real good!

3. Get the dry spices ready on a plate

4. Wash the spinach and then finely chop.

5. Heat some oil in a wok. When hot, add the cumin seeds.

6. When they crackle, chuck in the onions.

7. Sprinkle in a little salt and after around 5 minutes, bung in the pounded chilli, garlic and ginger.

8. After about 5 more minutes when the onion is pretty much done (reduced and starting to brown slightly), add the turmeric

9. Give it all a good old stir

10. Add the tomatoes

11. Mix it all up

12. Rock in the spinach

13. Sweat the spinach down for a minute then add the coriander powder

14. Yeah!

15. Add the mung beans

16. Add the garam masala

17. I know what you're thinking - it's too healthy so far! Yup! So, how about a dash of cream?

18. Check the salt - add more if you like. Turn off the heat and serve with rice.

Brill!

What did all this cost me?


- a couple of handfuls of mung beans: 2 zl
- tomatoes, onions, green chillies, ginger, garlic: 1 zl
- spices: 0.20 zl
- spinach: 1.80 zl
- cream: 0.10 zl
- 200g basmati rice: 1.60 zl

Grand total: 6.70 zl
Serves: 4

Cost per person: 1.68 zl