Monday, August 20, 2012

Om-ing and Ah-ing

mung

Whosoever knows this one syllable obtains all that he desires ॐ 

There was an adorable semi retired Indian couple that used to supply insanely good pakoras and samosas to the deli I used to work at.
Each monday they would drop off a batch of each, warm from the oven.
And each monday I used to receive the best hug in the world from the lovely lady, Tara.


Now that my boss has decided to sell the shop and have babies (how dare she), I find myself yearning for those lovely little weekly visits. No matter how busy we were, Tara would always make sure to grab a hold of each one of our faces, kiss our cheek and pull us into one of the most warming hugs in the world, all the while calling us "her beautiful darlings" and muttering prayers into our ears. I swear she had this amazing magnetic energy - I am convinced her hugs are powerful to the soul.

One day she made a special batch of mung bean dahl for us, mentioning she had recited some Hindu prayers into the mixture as she stirred. The next day I had a huge assignment to do, so for lunch I downed a bowl of her dahl and set to work...

Awkwardly, my project bombed (my tutor saying it belonged on Brisbane River, which I decided to take as a compliment because unlike her I like Brisbane River) but in no way do I blame the dahl, just my poor time management and general lack of enthusiasm for building staircases.

Moral of the story? Haters gonna hate, so eat mung beans, and take any free hugs offered your way because they will make you feel good.


dintable

Mung Bean and Sweet Potato Fritters
Makes about 8

1 1/2 cups split mung beans
1 big sweet potato, chopped into small chunks
4 cloves of garlic
1 red (spanish) onion, chopped into small chunks
1 large handful of coriander
1/2 a teaspoon of cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon garam masala
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 tablespoon chilli flakes
sea salt

Cut up the sweet potato and red onion into small chunks and place on a baking tray. Grab the garlic cloves, rub a little olive oil into them and wrap them up into a little aluminium foil package and place with the potato and onion on the tray. Glug some olive oil, salt and pepper over and place in a moderate oven to bake for about an hour. Remove when the potato and onion are soft and set aside to cool.

To prepare the mung beans I tend to follow the packet instructions, which usually go along the lines of a slow simmer in a pot of water for about 1hr until soft, but still keeping their shape. Then drain thoroughly to remove excess water.

In a food processor, place the sweet potato, red onion, coriander, mungbeans, roasted garlic (removed from skin), cinnamon, ginger, gram masala, cumin, chilli flakes and sea salt. Whiz up until combined, but still a bit chunky.

Grab a large spoonful of the mixture, roll it into a pattie sized ball and roll in plate of spelt flour. Place the pattie on another plate and repeat until all the mixture is used up, then place the patties into a fridge for at least half an hour.

Fry the patties off in a little bit of oil in a pan until crispy on the outside and soft in the middle. Serve in burger buns with the lot, or on a salad with tahini and a raita-esque yoghurt, cucumber, mint sauce. 

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