Muga Saaru Upkari ( Mung Bean Soup) ; Meatless Monday

Today is Dr. Martin Luther King's Birthday. He believed in looking beyond himself. He worked for the betterment of black people . I decided to do something altruistic today too and bring to you a warm, hearty, protien-rich gluten-free, vegan soup and some information to face the flu season.

Did you know that January is Soup Month?? Well, I didn't know either, until recently! It does make sense though: not only is it winter and cold, it also happens to be flu season! Kids go back to school after the Christmas holidays and come home sick!! Is it any surprise that we seek comfort foods like soup??

Where I come from, soup is also used as a side with rice. So you could mix the soup with the rice and eat. Well, it would then be rice-bean soup! ;) Just kidding!  The soup-like sides that we make are called Saaru- Upkari in konkani. If I were to literally translate it then the word " saaru" means gravy and " upkari" means " sauté". So it could technically translate into a sauté with gravy. In reality is a soup. We make saaru-upkari of almost all kinds of beans. The bean of choice is cooked with 4-5 times water until tender. It is then tempered with either garlic and red chillies or red chilli powder or mustard, curry leaves, asofoetida and red chillies or chilli powder. Believe me when I say that it is delicious and a true comfort food. It can be eaten with rice as a side or as is like a soup with some bread. This makes for a filling weeknight dinner; both to cook and to eat!

Servings: 2-3

Ingredients:

Dry Mung beans: 1 cup
Water: 4 cups to soak and 3 cuks to cook.
Salt: to taste

For tempering:

Coconut oil: 1/2 tsp ( any cooking oil may be used).
Mustard seeds: 1 tsp
Curry leaves: 1 sprig
Asofoetida powder: a pinch ( if using solution: 3-4 drops)
Red chilli powder: 1/4 tsp ( can be adjusted as per individual spice level).

Method:

Soak the dry mung beans in water for 4-5 hours or overnight. Drain the water, add fresh water ( 3 cups) and cook in the pressure cooker on medium flame until you hear 2-3 whistles. If you do not have a pressure cooker, you can cook it on the stove top on medium flame until the beans reaches the desired tenderness. The mung beans should be well-cooked but not over cooked. Open the pressure cooker only after all the pressure has been released. Add salt and mix well.

Tempering:

Heat coconut oil in a frying pan/skillet on medium heat.Add mustard seeds. Once the mustard seeds splutter, add curry leaves and asofoetida powder. Turn off the flame and add chilli powder.

Add this mixture to the pot with the cooked mung beans. Mix well.

Serve hot as a side with rice of your choice or serve in a bowl as a soup with some crackers!

Enjoy !

I am bringing this to Throwback Thursday#22, Fiesta Friday # 103 and Saucy Saturdays. Angie's Fiesta Friday is being co-hosted by two of the very talented blogger friends, Sonal @ simplyvegetarian777 and Petra @ Food Eat Love.

Cooking made easy:

I usually plan my meals the previous day and put the desired amount of dry beans in water either at night before I go to bed or early morning before I leave for work. But in case you forget or suddenly have an urge to make mung bean soup for dinner, just soak the mung beans in hot water for an hour , keeping the pot closed and cook it in the pressure cooker.

This soup can also be made in a slow cooker.

Tip for healthy living:

Taking a leaf from Dr. Martin Luther King's book, I am going to do something altruistic and share with you some myths regarding the flu that is prevalent during the winter.These are not my views.This was shared by Christian Pickard from Bankers Healthcare Group.

I would however emphasize that the best way to keep cold and flu at bay is by observing good hand hygiene! Wash your hands every time you touch something that you think is unclean. When you are outside do not touch your eyes, nose or mouth. Imagine that you are wearing a face-mask!

Food for thought:

Life's most persistent and urgent question is " What are you doing for others??" Dr. Martin Luther King

Please do share your thoughts. Your opinion matters!

Tambde bea saaru-upkari ( Creamy Red kidney bean soup) ; Su's healthy living first anniversary special!

Today marks one year of my foray into the world of blogging. Today was the day I hopped onto blogger bandwagon and wrote my first little post: about me and the disclaimer. I did not post the first recipe until 27 th January, 2014. What a journey it has been! Although I still consider myself a novice blogger/ new blogger, I have come a long way from where I began. It has been a journey of continual learning. I have met so many wonderful people which includes fellow bloggers, followers and other food enthusiasts along the way. It would be ungracious of me if I don't express my gratitude to atleast a few of them who have stood by my side, encouraged me and helped me evolve.This list is by no means complete:  First and foremost,I would like to thank my Mother, who taught me to cook at the tender age of 8. She is also my lone champion. She supports me unconditionally in all my endeavors! Next, I have to thank the foodie group on facebook,Chef at large ( CAL as we fondly call it), it's members and administrators for their support. It was CAL that pushed me onto the road of blogging. I am thankful for that push. Next, I would like to thank all my friends and family members who inspired and encouraged me all the way. I definitely have to express my gratitude to Vanessa Potrass and her team at Meatless Monday, who have supported my work and even published one of my favorite recipes in their Earthbound farms Breakfast e-cookbook. That was definitely an honor for me. Angie at the Novice Gardner deserves a special mention. Thanks to her continued hard work hosting Fiesta Friday, we get to interact with all these wonderful food bloggers. And guess what?? This week Fiesta Friday hosted by Angie@the Novice Gardner is also celebrating their first anniversary! Is that coincidence or what! Angie is hosting a massive block party to celebrate this milestone!

If you have not yet been to Angie's Fiesta yet, you definitely should! It is super-fun. Me and her will be joining in the celebrations. A few of my fellow bloggers require to be specifically mentioned: Amrita who blogs at amritavishal127.blogspot.com & Sonal Gupta of simplyvegetarian777 for supporting me, helping me with queries; Jhuls from thenotsocreativecook, who is a champion of new bloggers, for giving me my first guest post and for nominating me for the leiberg award( which I am yet to accept due to lack of time)! Thank you for the honor.

I used to think that I was busy before! But now since the beginning of 2015, it is absolute madness. This has happened due to change in personal circumstances and me not having any help with my two little ones. Well, one has to prioritize in life , right? I have decided that this blog is supposed to be something that I have up do when I have spare time. Therefore I am going to take it easy. I have promised myself not to go crazy about all the imperfections that this blog has and needs to be fixed. there is plenty of work that needs to be done, and will be done in due course of time.

It is only apt that I post something simple, easy and healthy today. I will therefore share with you today a recipe that is common and everyday occurrence in a Konkani household since time immemorial: Saarupkari. You can also call it Saaru Upkari. " Saaru " in Konkani language means " gravy" and " upkari" means "stir-fry". The literal translation would make the dish " gravy stir-fry" or a stir fry with gravy. You would have seen several stir-fries that have been posted by me. This one is slightly different,even though the procedure of making it is simple like that of a stir-fry. This is made with beans and is thick and soupy. Yes, I would translate it as " Bean Soup", konkani style. Believe me when I tell you that making soup cannot be easier than this. This is a pretty staple side-dish in most konkani household. Depending on the bean that has been used, the nomenclature of the soup. Today, I am going to talk about red kidney bean which in Konkani is known as tambde bea. "Tambde" means "red" and "bea" means "bean". So red kidney bean soup would be called tambde bea saarupkari. All that is done for the soup is that you boil the concerned beans with excess water until it is tender enough to your liking and you get a thick gravy.We then add salt and temper it with either mustard, curry leaves , hing and chilli powder or temper it with crushed garlic and chilli powder . Yes, it's that simple!!! And you can enjoy a delicious piping hot bowl of bean soup either all by itself, with rice, or some crackers or a piece of bread.

Servings: 2

Ingredients:

Red kidney beans: 1/2 cup dried or 1 can
Water: 2 cups
Salt: as per taste
Coconut oil: 1 tsp
Garlic: 4-6 cloves
Red chilli  powder: 1/4 tsp( can increase or decrease as per preferred level of spice)

Method:

If using the dried red kidney beans soak it in water for atleast six hours or overnight.  The next day place the beans and water in the cooker. Reduce the flame to low after the first whistle and cook for 15 mins. Switch off the flame. Do not open the cooker until the steam has totally been released.

Once the steam is released, mix the beans, add salt and bring it to a boil.


If using canned beans, rinse the beans and boil it with water and salt.

Tempering:

Heat coconut oil in a skillet. Add crushed garlic cloves to the oil. Sauté until the garlic turns slightly golden brown. Turn off the flame and add chilli powder.

Pour this on top of the beans.

Serve hot with rice/ bread/crackers

Enjoy! I am bringing this hearty soup to Angie's Block party at Fiesta Friday.It is co-hosted by Hilda @ Along the Grapevine and Julianna @ Foodie on Board.

Cooking made easy:

This saarupkari/ soup can be made with any beans. I prefer the dried beans as when you boil them you get a nice thick soupy consistency sauce. The canned beans don't give you the same results, unless of course you use the fluid that comes with the beans. This fluid however very high in sodium and may have preservatives and therefore is not good for you.

For creamier beans, add a pinch of baking soda in the water while soaking the dried beans.

Tip for healthy living:

Avoid canned beans as the aluminum from the can leaches into the fluid. Also the fluid tends to be high in sodium which is not good for the body. Increased consumption of sodium can increase blood pressure, cause water retention in the body.

Food for thought:

Let us permit nature to have her way. She understands her business better than we do. Michel de Montaigne