A few days ago I sprouted some mung beans and chanced upon the idea of a sprouts chutney. It was very tasty but thick and heavy. As I stared at the chutney wondering what to do with it, I thought ‘dumplings’!
I made small chutney balls, baked and added them to morukozhambu. Since the dumplings were spicy by themselves, the mild coconut yogurt curry was perfect. That way I saved up on a lot of unnecessary / unhealthy calories from frying the dumplings. The best part of this recipe is that you can use as little oil as possible. It can easily be reduced from 1 tsp to 1/2 tsp. You can put the sprouts balls in the oven while the curry is cooking to save time.
In the traditional South Indian recipe, vegetables are added and in the traditional north indian recipe, fried dumplings are added. This falls somewhere in between. I rolled the paste into balls and put them in my small toaster oven that has a bake setting. It’s perfect for small batches when I don’t want to heat the big home oven all the way through.
They turned out nice, firm and well browned. Perfect for dunking into curry!
Add them to the curry after they have cooled through. Since they are firm, they stay put.
The dumplings are going to be a bit heavy and will not float on top like light fried ones. Of course, you can fry them if you want. There are many ways to make the curry and this is what ~I~ do. This recipe is from a friend’s mom, I think. I can’t seem to remember where I got it from. It’s been in my recipe book for years.
Sprouts Dumplings in Yogurt-Coconut Curry
Ingredients:
- - For the Yogurt Coconut Curry
- channa dal - 1 tsp
- toor dal - 1 tsp
- oil/ghee - 1 tsp
- ginger - 1/2 inch piece
- cumin seeds - 1 tsp
- coriander seeds - 1 tbsp
- grated coconut - 4 tbsp
- green chillies - 2 or 1, depending on taste
- yogurt - 2 cups
- turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
- mustard seeds - 1 tsp
- curry leaves - 5
- asafoetida - a pinch
- dried red chillies - 2
- salt - to taste
- -
- - For the Sprouts Dumplings
- ghee - 1 tsp
- Mung sprouts - 1/2 cup
- Channa Dal - 2 tbsp
- Urad Dal - 1 tbsp
- dried red chillies - 4, broken into half
- curry leaves - 5
- turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
- garlic - 2, cloves
- grated ginger - 1/4 tsp
- asafoetida - 1/4 tsp
- mustard seeds - 1 tsp
- cumin seeds - 1 tsp
- salt - to taste
Instructions:
- Heat ghee in a pan. When hot, add the channa and urad dal. Fry until lightly brown and then add mustard and cumin seeds.
- Add asafoetida and turmeric. Add the rest of the ingredients and saute for a minute. Cover and cook on medium heat for 5-7 minutes until the sprouts are soft. This is important to eliminate the raw taste.
- Remove from heat and let it sit until cooled completely.
- Put the mixture into a blender and blend until smooth. Some water can be added along the way if required, one tbsp at a time, but remember the consistency should be like clay – when made into a ball it should hold shape.
- Make small balls and arrange it on a baking tray. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 deg F for 15 min or until browned.
- Soak both the toor and channa dal for 15 minutes.
- Drain the water and grind along with ginger, coconut, green chillies, cumin and coriander seeds into a fine paste.
- In another bowl, mix up the turmeric powder and yogurt. Add the ground paste to the yogurt and mix.
- Heat oil in a deep pan. Once the oil is hot, add mustard seeds and when they pop add the asafoetida, curry leaves and dry red chillies. Saute for 30 seconds and turn down the heat to low. Add the yogurt mixture and 1/2 cup of water. Simmer on low for about 5 minutes stirring inbetween to make sure the curry does not break or curdle.
- Add the sprouts dumplings and turn off the heat.
- Serve with steamed rice.
I love the pot you’ve served it in!!
Thanks! A friend made it. Will tell her
If you ever decide to start cooking lessons as your part-time job/hobby, guess who’s going to be your first student! Love your touches of innovations!
haha sure! This time we’ll keep off the wine