Mung Beans

I've returned to mung beans. No photos yet; you'll remember these: small green beans when dry, they almost double in size when soaked. They have an earthy flavor, grittier than black beans but not grstly. I made them before, and they were delicious.

These were coked with a little ginger and cumin. I'm embarrassed to say, my root vegetables and INdian spices are lacking.

Well, this time around I made a little too much, and realize I wasn't going to have enough vindaloo sauce to stir chicken with. So, I tried substituting them for beans with chicken burritos. They worked! Not great, but decent. SO, instead of chicken in a vindaloo sauce with mung and rice, I had chicken rubbed with chili peper, salsa, mung beans, and cheese.

Sharp cheddar doesn't like mung beans. If I were to do it again I might try something softer and milder, Monterey Jack maybe, or a white colby.

Paled with an India Pale Ale, of course!

Mung Beans with Vindaloo Sauce

I took a shortcut today. I heated p the uncut mung beans from the other night in water for about twenty minutes, then pured in a helping of the Vindaloo sauce I had left over from chicken the other night. Ten or fifteen minutes later, I poured this into a blender and blended for about two minutes. The result was great - lots of flavor, both the earthy tones of the mung beans and the spicy flavor of the Vindaloo sauce. The only thing I might do differently in the future would be to cook the beans, process them, and then cook in the sauce a bit.

Served with rice, and my new pork chop staple: Thick pork chops, stuffed with goat cheese. In a small bowl, blend the goat cheese with basil and Andalusian paprika, along with pepper to taste. After stuffing the chop, smear the remaining cheese mixture on the sides, along with a pinch of salt and pepper on each side; also, roll the edges of each shop in black pepper, or at least the fatty side. Broil 5 -8 minutes per side. Served with a cold, perky Chardonnay.