Brussels sprouts with mung dal and carrots

This is a great recipe for showcasing Brussels sprouts – a very underrated vegetable in my opinion. When they are unavailable, they can be replaced with courgettes. Having both dal and vegetables in the one pot, means that cooking a proper meal is a simpler process and serving it with rice or roti will complete the protein for best nutrition. Carrots, are also underrated and in combination with the sprouts will provide a good selection of minerals and vitamins and cooked with the bright yellow mung dal, you end up with a very attractive dish. Mung dal are one of my favourite legumes; they cook quickly and have their own distinct flavour. They don’t break down quite as much as split lentils (masoor), but are softer than chana dal. I use them a lot.

The original recipe ends up with completely softened sprouts and carrots. I like well-cooked carrots, but prefer my Brussels a bit firmer. Please see the * Note for alternative cooking. 

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 tsp oil

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/4 tsp fennel seeds

1 Indian bay leaf

a generous pinch of asafoetida

1 green chilli chopped

2 large garlic cloves, chopped OR 1 tsp garlic paste

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1 medium tomato chopped

dried fenugreeek leaves or chilli flakes

1/2 cup yellow mung dal

1 3/4 cups water

1/2 tsp salt or more to taste

1/4 cup chopped carrots

10 to 12 large Brussels sprouts, or equivalent smaller ones

Method

• Trim the sprouts removing the discoloured leaves and excess stem. Depending on their size, half, quarter them or leave them whole.
• Put a saucepan over a medium heat, add oil and heat it.
• Add mustard seeds and wait for them to sputter.
• Then mix in the asafoetida, fennel seeds and bay leaf. Cook for about half a minute
• Add the chilli and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until the garlic browns evenly. (If you’re using garlic paste, add at the next stage, otherwise it will spit all over the place.
• Throw in the carrots and Brussels sprouts*, if you like them soft cooked. (See Note) You can add some other veggies depending on availability and preference. Cook them for a minute.
• Now add the tomato, turmeric and cook for 2-3 minutes until the tomato gets mushy.
• Add the dal to the pan with salt, and water and mix well.
• Cook covered on a low heat for 20-30 minutes, until the mung dal is tender.
• Serve hot, with dried fenugreek leaves or red chilli flakes and roti/naan or rice.  I like cumin rice with it.  (Cook the rice.  Fry 1/2 tsp cumin seeds in a small pan until brown and savoury and pour over the rice.)

Note:

•  To make this gluten free, leave out the asafoetida.

• * If you like your Brussels sprouts firm, I suggest cooking the recipe as written, but adding the Brussels sprouts when the dal starts to soften, depending on whether you want them almost crunchy or merely al dente. This unfortunately is a bit hit and miss, depending on how big the sprouts are. Better to put them in too late and then add some more water if the dal is drying out, than put them in too early and overcook them.
• To refresh the dal the next day, make a new tempering: add a teaspoon of oil, to a small frying pan, heat on medium, add 1/4 tsp mustard seeds, a bay leaf and chilli flakes. Wait for the mustard seeds to sputter.  Pour this over the heated dal and serve.
   

Variations:

• Substitute 1/4 cup (31 g) chopped or grated courgette for the sprouts.
  Use mustard oil for a change of flavour. 

 

You will find many more recipes like this here.

 

Mushrooms and Brussels sprouts with creamy hemp sauce

Blender Alert

I love Brussels sprouts and it always seems a bit of a shame to use them as an addition on the side rather than star of the show. They go very well with mushrooms and mixed with this thick hemp sauce, shine in a really good combination to go with pasta.

Hemp seeds, aka hemp hearts

Hemp seeds, also known as hemp hearts, are one of the latest wonder foods, but I particularly like them for making vegan milk and a cream for cooking, because there’s no need to soak them first. Hemp is also a very low-impact crop to grow, requiring little water and no fertiliser; it doesn’t have to be grown in the tropics and processing the seeds doesn’t mean (generally) women are using caustic chemicals, often with inadequate protection, so we should certainly use it in preference to cashew nuts. To serve, linguine, or fettuccine are my choice.

Unfortunately, you really do need a blender or this sauce, although, of course, you could take the concept and use some other form of cream.

Serves 2

Ingredients

olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 medium onion, diced

200 ml water

1/2 cup hemp seeds

1/2 tsp mushroom stock powder

2 tbsp nutritional yeast

1/4 tsp salt

generous grind black pepper

2 cups Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved

6 or 8 button mushrooms, thickly sliced

fettucine or linguine – about 25mm/1” dia. stacked on end

Parmesan cheese to serve

Method

• Heat some olive oil in a saucepan over a medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and cook for a couple of minutes, until the onions become translucent. Remove from heat.
• Now add the cooked onion and garlic to a blender, together with the water, hemp hearts, stock powder (if using), nutritional yeast, salt and pepper. Blend for a minute or so to make a smooth and creamy sauce. Taste and adjust seasonings.
• Put some more oil in the saucepan, and add the Brussels sprouts and cook for a few minutes, until they start to brown on the edges.
• Meanwhile, add water to another saucepan and bring to the boil for the pasta. When it’s boiling, cook the pasta as usual.
• Now add the mushrooms to the sprouts and fry for a few more minutes, stirring frequently, until they are browned. A pinch of salt might help here.
• Lower the heat and add the prepared sauce to the vegetables and stir to combine. Gently cook the sauce until it’s thick. When the pasta is cooked, add it to the pan, saving the pasta water, into a jug. Use some of this water to rinse out the blender and add to the pan.
• Cook the sauce a little longer: if it seems too thick, add more of the pasta water.

Serve immediately with extra hemp seeds and/or Parmesan or vegan "Parmesan" cheese.

Notes:

• The pasta sauce will thicken quickly once heated. Keep a close eye on it. If it is too thick, add extra pasta water to loosen it up.

Variations:

• You could use other vegetables, such as asparagus, green beans, mange-tout peas, etc instead of the Brussels sprouts. But the latter are particularly good!

• One alternative I would recommend is broccoli, but cut it into very small florets, the same size as half a sprout, otherwise the sauce won’t coat everything evenly.
• Substitute dried mushrooms for fresh, if these are unavailable.