Green Moong Dal Recipe AKA Mung Bean Curry

Using a regular cooking pan

1. Boil the mung bean in 3 cups of water until it is fully cooked.
2. In the meantime, mince the ginger and 2 cloves of garlic.
3. And in a separate pan, boil 2 cups of water (or use hot boiling water from the kettle). Then add minced ginger garlic, cumin powder, ground coriander, turmeric powder, chili powder, coarse/ground black pepper, chopped tomatoes, and salt.
4. Let the spiced water simmer for about 2-3 minutes and mash the tomatoes while it's simmering. Then add the cooked mung bean to it. Stir well and continue cooking at low heat.

Using a stovetop pressure cooker

1. Pour hot boiling water from the kettle into your pressure cooker. Then add minced ginger garlic, cumin powder, ground coriander, turmeric powder, chili powder, coarse/ground black pepper, chopped tomatoes, and salt. Turn the heat to high, and let the water reboil then let it simmer for about 2 minutes.
2. Next, place the mung bean into spiced water, give it a stir, and put the cooker lid on. Set your cooker according to its manual and cook the moong bean with pressure for 20-25 minutes.
3. Once it is done, turn the heat off, let it cool down, and open it according to its manual.

Using instant pot

1. Pour hot water (from the kettle or boiling water tap) into your instant pot bowl. Add minced ginger garlic, cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, Kashmiri red chili powder, ground black pepper, chopped tomatoes, and salt. Stir until all is mixed.
2. Put the instant pot lid on and secure it. Turn your instant pot on, choose the pressure cook button, and set the timer to 20 minutes, then press start.
3. When the cooking is finished, you can either let the steam out by pressing the valve or you leave it to be released naturally. Then you take the lid off when it is safe to do so.

Making tadka/ tarka:

1. Heat the oil in a frying pan and place the whole cumin seeds and black mustard seeds in it.
2. Slice or mince 1 clove of garlic and add it to the seeds. You can add whole dry chilies as well if you like. Fry until the seeds sizzle and the garlic turns golden brown.
3. Then carefully add the oil and spices to the mung bean mixture. Stir well and cook further at moderately low heat for about 4-5 minutes.
4. If you cook the bean in a pressure cooker, you don’t need to cook under pressure after adding the tarka. Just cook it without its lid or use the cover of a regular pan. And if you use instant pot, use the saute program after adding the tadka to your moong dal.