Whoever said that cooking legumes Indian style is one lengthy procedure obviously hasn’t met the multigrain sundal. If somebody in your family is averse to eating beans or lentils, serve them this super tasty multigrain sundal and they’ll be begging for more!
Whether you want a quick snack or healthy breakfast, there’s always multigrain sundal to the rescue! Packed with protein, fibre, carbohydrates and minerals, it lifts a wilting you. There’s a snag though — you’ll have to plan ahead when you make multigrain sundal. That’s because you’ll have to soak the legumes overnight, or for 10-12 hours beforehand. And soak we must! We’re only mimicking nature’s procedure to remove or reduce phytic acid and tannins, and release the goodness enclosed within. Nutritional inhibitors and toxic substances are the seeds’ or nuts’ defence mechanism until they find favourable conditions to grow. And we provide that very condition: water. You could even wait until the legumes have partially sprouted if you wish. So really, soaking them will not only make them easier to cook but will also make them easy on your stomach and you’ll be able to absorb the necessary nutrients easily.
You’ll be glad you did prepare in advance. It’s mighty delicious you see. Sundal is a snack made often in South India with a varied permutation and combination of beans and legumes. Different kinds are steamed and others cooked, and they are all tempered lightly and seasoned with fresh coconut. I’ve made this particular one with four legumes: groundnuts (peanuts), chickpeas (Kabuli), mung beans (green gram), and Azuki beans (red cow pea or karamani). You can use all of them or maybe three of them or more: it doesn’t matter. You have many options, like black eyed peas, soybeans, small brown chickpeas (Indian), dried green peas, and horse gram (kollu).
You can eat them as is or as a side with any Indian bread or dosa. I ate my multigrain sundal with this quick finger millet wheat dosa — a must try combination. I’ll surely post another sundal recipe, soon. Until then, let me know if you liked this recipe and share you love, will ya? Tag us with #notjustspice.
Multigrain Sundal
4-6 servings
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup groundnuts (peanuts)
- 1/2 cup chickpeas (Kabuli channa)
- 1/2 cup mung beans (green gram)
- 1/2 cup Azuki beans (red cow pea or karamani)
- 2 big onions
- 5 dried red chillies
- 3 teaspoons ginger garlic paste
- 1 tablespoon split urad dal (split black gram without the skin)
- 3/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
- A sprig of curry leaves (optional)
- 3-4 tablespoons oil
- 1/4 teaspoon asafoetida powder
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1/2 cup grated coconut
- 1 teaspoon salt, divided
Instructions
- Soak the legumes separately for 12 hours.
- When they’re ready, pour out the water and rinse them together thoroughly.
- Cook them in a heavy-bottomed vessel or in a pressure cooker with 1/2 teaspoon salt (I let them cook longer than usual — when they are just cooked, that is — as I wanted them a little mushy, in order to eat them with this quick finger millet wheat dosa).
- While your lentils cook, you can prepare the seasoning: in a wok or kadai, add the oil.
- When hot, add the mustard seeds. When they crackle, add the dried red chillies and split black gram.
- When you see the split black gram beginning to change colour (it should happen in 7-8 seconds after you’ve added them into the pan, on medium heat), add the onions and curry leaves. Sauté.
- It’s time to add the ginger garlic paste when you see the onions taking on a light pink hue.
- When the raw smell of the ginger garlic paste disappears, add the asafoetida powder and turmeric powder.
- Mix it about for 30 seconds, then add the cooked legumes and the remaining salt. Mix thoroughly.
- Add the grated coconut and then turn off the heat.
- You can add some more coconut when you serve the sundal. Serve hot.
Notes: You can halve the ingredients if there are only two people to eat multigrain sundal.
Related Links:
How To Make Sprouts at Home, and Why (notjustspice.com)
Chickpea (Wikipedia)
Legume (Wikipedia)
Adzuki bean (wikipedia)
A Guide to Indian Dal, Lentils, Beans, and Pulses (indiaphile)
What’s the Difference Between Split Peas and Lentils? (The Kitchn)
Quick Finger Millet Wheat Dosa (notjustspice)
The Benefits of Soaking Nuts and Seeds (Food Matters)