Name: Instant Pot Mung Beans
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: 1 cup Mung beans; 3 cup Water ((more if needed)); 1 cup Onion ((chopped)); 1 tsp Serrano pepper ((chopped, to taste))); 1 tbsp Garlic ((minced or paste)); 1 tbsp Ghee ((or oil for vegan)); 1 tsp Mustard seeds; 1 count Bay leaf; 1/8 tsp Asafoetida powder ((hing, skip for gluten-free)); 1 count Whole Red Chili; 1/4 tsp Turmeric powder; 1 tsp Red chili powder ((to taste)); 1 tsp Salt ((to taste)); 1 tsp Garam masala powder ((to taste)); Lime juice ((few drops)); Cilantro ((chopped))

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Mung beans curry is a vegan and gluten-free Indian dish made with whole mung beans. It is best served with Indian bread or rice. Check out how to make mung beans in an instant pot without soaking them.

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Whole mung bean, also known as sabut moong is a legume which is nutritious, high in fiber and rich in protein. It is commonly used to make sprouts.

This is a quick and easy recipe to make whole mung bean curry in instant pot. It is a one pot Indian vegan and gluten-free dish. It is best served hot with rice or roti and is perfect for meal planning as it can be stored in the fridge and freezer.

Ingredients

This whole mung bean curry is made with only a few basic pantry ingredients and Indian spices. The main ingredient is the dry whole mung bean. It is a legume and commonly used to make sprouts. There is no need to soak the mung beans to make this curry from scratch in the instant pot.

Few Indian spices like whole red chili, bay leaf, mustard seeds, and some powder spices like turmeric powder, red chili powder, and garam masala gives this dish its flavor.

I have used some onions and garlic, however ginger is not needed. While serving some lime juice and cilantro can be added to enhance its flavor.

Instructions

Instant pot mung beans are cooked without soaking. Just rinse the whole mung beans in water 2-3 times and then discard the water. Turn on the instant pot on saute mode on the normal setting.

Once the instant pot is hot, add ghee, or oil to make it vegan. Add the mustard seeds and allow them to crackle. Add hing, and whole spices like whole red chili and bay leaf. To make it gluten-free, you can skip the hing.

Add the chopped garlic followed by chopped onions, and continue to saute until the onions are translucent. Add all the powder spices - turmeric powder, red chili powder, garam masala, salt, and water.

Deglaze the pot with a spatula so that there is nothing stuck at the bottom of the pot. This will avoid getting a 'burn' message. While cooking, the mung beans to water ratio of 1:3 works well for instant pot. If you want, you can add more water after it gets pressure cooked.

After mixing in the whole green moong beans, pressure cook it on high-pressure mode for 12 minutes with the pressure knob in the sealing position.

The instant pot will take some time to come to pressure and then count down 12 minutes. Allow the pressure to release naturally until the silver pin drops. If you are in a hurry, you can perform a manual pressure release after 10 minutes of natural pressure release by moving the pressure release valve to the venting position.

Open the lid, and give the curry a good stir. Adjust the consistency of water and add more salt if needed. Garnish with chopped cilantro and lemon juice while serving. Adding a few drops of lime juice enhances the flavor, so do try it out.

Variations

This whole mung bean curry is a vegan and gluten-free dish. You can adjust the recipe to adapt to your liking.

Spicy - adjust the quantity of red chili powder, garam masala, and serrano pepper to make it more spicy.

Sweet - some people like to add a hint of sweetness to mung by adding a little bit of sugar, especially if you are making the Gujarati style 'mag'.

Soaking - there is really no need to soak the mung beans before cooking, however, if you prefer, you can soak them for 6-8 hours and then pressure cook them for 6 minutes.

Serving suggestions

Whole green mung beans are best served hot with Indian bread chapati, basmati rice, jeera rice, or pulao. Adding a few drops of lime juice and some chopped cilantro enhances the flavor of the curry.

It is also served along with Indian platter called thali which includes vegetable curries, appetizers, sides, Indian bread, rice, and a dessert.

Storage

Just like other beans, mung beans can be made ahead of time for meal planning. Mung bean curry can be stored in the fridge in an air-tight container for about a week. Before serving, simply reheat it in a saucepan, microwave, or in the instant pot on the saute mode.

It can be also be stored in the freezer in a freezer-safe container for a month. When you plan on eating it, just pop the container in the fridge overnight. Alternatively, you can defrost it in the microwave and then reheat it.