Mung Beans Cooked with Coconut and Spices

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Fried onion

1. 1
   Heat the oil in a medium pot over medium heat.

   ⚙ Pan-fryingStovePot
2. 2
   Add the onion and fry 5 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onion is soft and translucent and starts to turn golden at the edges. If it browns too fast, lower the heat.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Add by cooking time: what needs long (onion, carrot, meat) goes in first, and what burns fast (garlic, dry spices) goes in last, only until fragrant.
3. 3
   Add the garlic and ginger and fry 2 minutes, just until fragrant. Don't let the garlic brown.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Garlic burns quickly and turns bitter. Add it only after the onion has softened, over medium heat, and add the next ingredient as soon as it smells fragrant.

To assemble

1. 4
   Sprinkle in the turmeric, cumin, cilantro and chili pepper and stir for 30 seconds to a minute, until fragrant.
2. 5
   Add the tomatoes and cook 5 minutes, stirring, until the tomatoes softens.

   Stove
3. 6
   Add the legumes, water and coconut milk and bring to a boil.

   Stove
4. 7
   Turn down the heat and simmer with the lid slightly open 30–35 minutes, until the legumes is tender.

   ⚙ SimmeringStove

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
5. 8
   Season with salt and the lemon juice, taste and adjust.

   💡The lemon goes in at the end: acid at the start of cooking slows down the softening of the legumes. Adjust the salt at the end, after the soup has reduced.
6. 9
   Sprinkle the cilantro on top.
7. 10
   Serve hot with white rice.