Sprouted mixed beans and lentils curry (Nori Nem Vrat Vadhu / Vadoo)

The recipe I am about to share with you today is my favourite lentils and beans recipe hands down. Not only is it a very simple recipe, but it's a ridiculously tasty one as well with very few ingredients. Many people make this recipe for the Hindu festival of Nori Nem which takes place in the Hindu calendar month of Shravan - generally in July or August (dependent on the moon). 

Nori Nem in itself originates from quite the story of the victory of a mongoose over a snake and it is a fasting festival (vrat means fast) that has been observed by Hindu women for hundreds of years to protect their children and pray for their wellbeing. So every year, this delicious recipe of sprouted mixed beans and lentils curry (vadhu/vadoo) is made and enjoyed to break the fast.

(serves 4 generously)

Ingredients:

190g dry muth beans (moth beans)

20g black-eyed beans (black-eyed peas)

20g whole masoor dal (brown lentils)

360g whole green mung (moong) beans 

500mls boiling hot water

1 litre cold water

After sprouting:

1.5 litres cold water

950g sprouted beans and lentils from above (this is the vadoo/vadhu)

235g chickpeas (from a tin can, already cooked, washed and drained)

0.25tsp papad khar (sanchoro aka black salt, Himalyan rock salt (powdered) or pink salt)

1 tbsp salt

11 big green chillies (whole, washed)

Method:

1. Place the muth beans, the black-eyed beans, the whole masoor dal and the whole green moong beans into a large dish and pour over the 500mls boiling hot water and 1 litre cold water.

2. Cover the dish with a lid and let the beans and lentils soak in a warm place for at least 12 to 14 hours over night.

3. In the morning, wash the soaked beans and lentils thoroughly in a colander a few times as there will be a foam formed on top of the soaked beans.

4. Once washed, leave them in the colander and cover the colander with a lid. Place the colander onto a plate, ideally a steel plate, and put them in a warm place and leave them to sprout for at least 24 hours.

5. Once sprouted, wash them thoroughly a few times again so that they are ready to cook.

6. In a pressure cooker, pour in 1.5 litres cold water from the tap and place on the hob. Turn on the heat to a high heat.

7. Weigh out 950g of the sprouted beans and lentils (vadoo) and any remaining vadoo can be put into a food bag and can be frozen for next time. (They can also be used in salads.)

8. Place 950g vadoo into the pressure cooker with the water. Also add in the chickpeas, the salt and the papad khar (sanchoro) and mix well.

9. Finally, add in the whole green chillies and close the pressure cooker. Leave the heat on a high heat to cover the base of the pressure cooker but make sure the flames do not go up the sides of the cooker.

10. You will know that the vadoo is done when the pressure cooker sounds 3 whistles. Alternatively, cook it for 20 minutes and check the vadoo is cooked once there is no pressure left in the pressure cooker. 

(To release the pressure from the pressure cooker, take the pressure cooker off the heat after 20 minutes of cooking the vadoo on high heat and move it to another cold hob plate. Wait for 10 minutes or until the pressure cooker has stopped hissing to ensure that the pressure has been properly released. Only then, open it!)

IMPORTANT: DO NOT OPEN THE PRESSURE COOKER IMMEDIATELY UNTIL ALL THE PRESSURE HAS BEEN RELEASED. THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS AND MANY SERIOUS INJURIES HAVE RESULTED FROM OPENING THE PRESSURE COOKER TOO SOON. 

PLEASE BE CAREFUL!!!

11. Once the vadoo is cooked (you can check this by tasting it and making sure that it is very soft when you chew it), it is ready to serve. Traditionally, it is eaten with a flatbread made of sorghum flour (juwar no lot no rolto) but you can eat this with rice or chapatis.

So there you have it! Delicious vadoo / vadhu (sprouted mixed beans and lentils curry).

'Til next time ... enjoy!

Bon appetit! xx