One of my top tips for health is to do a detox day once a week, eating only delicious mung bean soup and steamed green vegetables for all meals. Mung soup is highly nutritious and naturally detoxifies the body by cleansing the liver, gall bladder and vascular system of any ama (undigested toxins). You’ll be able to find the ingredients included in the recipe below at most health food shops or Indian food stores.
Ingredients
Serves 5
- 400g mung beans
- 2 litres water
- 1 tsp. turmeric powder
- 1⁄4 tsp. asafoetida
- finely chopped root ginger
- 2-3 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp. cumin seeds
- 1 tsp. coriander seeds
- rock salt
- other spices to taste
Method
Wash the mung beans thoroughly and then soak them overnight (or for at least 4 hours) before cooking. In a pan heat ghee or sesame oil (both are heat-stable) and add the turmeric powder and asafoetida (this reduces the gas-forming properties of beans).
Sauté for a few seconds, then add the soaked beans and fresh water. Leave to bubble for 30-40 minutes, adding more water if necessary. Continue to cook until all the beans are soft and broken up.
Once the beans are cooked, heat some ghee or sesame oil in a frying pan, add 2-3 cloves of chopped garlic (if you wish) and sauté lightly for a minute until soft but still aromatic. Then add the root ginger, cumin and coriander seeds and briefly sauté again.
(Note: You can experiment with different flavours each time you make your soup for variety. Add other herbs or spices of your choice, such as cardamom, black pepper, black cumin or a mild curry powder, but make sure to avoid chillies).
Add the sautéed spices plus some rock salt to the mung beans and continue to simmer for a further two minutes. Adding these spices at the end of the cooking process helps retain more of their flavour and therapeutic value. Salt should also only be added at this stage – doing so at the beginning will make the beans tougher and harder to cook.
Serve the soup hot with finely chopped coriander leaves or other fresh herbs. If you prefer a creamy consistency, simply blend the soup with one teaspoon of ghee or an omega 3/6/9 oil.
