Tamarind, greens, and mung beans with turmeric oil

Name: Tamarind, greens, and mung beans with turmeric oil
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 1 h 20 min
Total time: 1 h 50 min
Cuisine: Asian, Indian
Ingredients: 7 tbsp/105ml olive oil; 2 large onions, halved and thinly sliced (15 oz/420g); 10 garlic cloves, 5 minced and 5 thinly sliced; 2 small serrano chiles, finely chopped, seeds and all (2½ tbsp/25g); 2 tsp cumin seeds, roughly crushed with a mortar and pestle; 1 tsp mild curry powder; 1 tbsp tomato paste; mounded ½ cup/120g dried green mung beans, soaked in plenty of cold water for at least 1 hour, then drained; 2 lb 2 oz/1kg Swiss chard, stalks reserved for another use and leaves roughly torn (1 lb 1 oz/480g); 1 tsp sugar; 3 tbsp tamarind paste; 2 cups/40g cilantro, roughly chopped, plus a handful of extra leaves to serve; ½ tsp ground turmeric; ½ tsp chile flakes(optional); ½ lemon; ½ cup/130g Greek yogurt; salt and black pepper

7 steps

Prep:30minCook:1h 20min

Soaking time: 1 hour + Thanks to Bahera Agahi for the inspiration for this dish, a lady well versed in the art of Persian cooking. When asked for a recipe, Bahera chuckled and said, “I measure by hand and cook by eye and this is how a dish is made.” Noor watched Bahera cook that day, with a mental note to bring this dish to life at the test kitchen. Serve with fluffy white rice, for a complete meal.

Updated at: Thu, 17 Aug 2023 04:00:27 GMT

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Ingredients

4 servings

105mlolive oil

420gonions

large, halved and thinly sliced

10garlic cloves

5 minced and 5 thinly sliced

25gserrano chiles

small, finely chopped, seeds and all

2 tspcumin seeds

roughly crushed with a mortar and pestle

1 tspmild curry powder

1 Tbsptomato paste

½ cupdried green mung beans

mounded, soaked in plenty of cold water for at least 1 hour, then drained

2 lbSwiss chard

stalks reserved for another use and leaves roughly torn

1 tspsugar

3 Tbsptamarind paste

40gcilantro

roughly chopped, plus a handful of extra leaves to serve

½ tspground turmeric

½ tspchile flakes

optional

0.5lemon

½ cupGreek yogurt

salt

black pepper

Instructions

Step 1

1. Heat 4 tablespoons of oil in a large sauté pan, for which you have a lid, on medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook for 15–18 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened and deeply browned. Transfer a third of the onions to a bowl and set aside. To the pan, add the minced garlic, chiles, spices, and tomato paste and cook for another 1 minute. Add the drained mung beans and 3⅓ cups/800ml of water and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to medium, cover with the lid, and let simmer gently, stirring occasionally, for about 30–35 minutes, or until the mung beans have softened but still retain their shape.

Step 2

2. Add the Swiss chard, sugar, 1 teaspoon of salt, and a good grind of pepper, then replace the lid and cook for another 10 minutes. Remove the lid and cook for 10 minutes more, or until the chard has softened and the liquid has thickened. Stir in the tamarind and cilantro and keep warm until ready to serve.

Step 3

3. Toward the last 10 minutes of cooking, put the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil and the sliced garlic into a small frying pan and place it on medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the garlic is lightly golden, about 12 minutes. Add the turmeric and chile flakes, if using, and remove from the heat.

Step 4

4. Transfer the mung bean mixture to a large shallow bowl and squeeze the lemon half over the top. Top with spoonfuls of the yogurt, followed by the reserved onions, then spoon on the crispy garlic and its oil. Lastly, garnish with the handful of cilantro leaves and serve warm.

Step 5

Make it your own:

Step 6

– Swap out the chard for spinach or other leafy greens.

Step 7

– Veganize it: leave out the yogurt or use a non-dairy alternative.