This kacha moong dal recipe is just another way of making mung dal in a simple Bengali way. With just a handful of ingredients, you can make this flavourful yellow Indian lentil that goes perfectly well with a bowl of hot rice and a wedge of lime. One of the primary reasons behind the popularity of moong dal recipes is that it is very quick to make. If you have a stovetop pressure cooker or an Instant Pot, you can easily put together this in a matter of a couple of minutes.
Here, this is a Bengali kacha munger dal recipe which is vegan, gluten-free, niramish (no-onion & no-garlic) and perfect for the whole family. So, let’s start by understanding, what is kancha mung er dal? To begin with, kancha means uncooked and moong dal is yellow split mung bean lentil dal.
Did the word ‘uncooked’ stump you? Then hang on a bit, let me explain you. And don’t worry, this moong dal recipe is completely cooked!
There are two ways of making dal recipes using mung dal. First where the raw mung dal are dry roasted in an open wok or kadhai till it turns golden-brown, allowed to cool a bit and then pressure cooked. This brings out the nutty flavour of the mung dal before it is cooked into an Indian dal recipe. Those recipes which use this technique are also known as bhaja mung dal or bhaja muger dal recipes.
Another way of making mung dal recipes is directly cooking the mung dal in a pressure cooker or Instant Pot and then tempered with spices or as we say, adding the phoron or tadka. Here, we skipped the step of dry roasting the moong dal and hence, they are known to be kacha or uncooked.
Both ways of cooking this dal are perfectly fine. All the difference it makes is bringing out a different flavour in the mung dal recipes. This is how variations are brought in the daily menu where a repetition of ingredients is very common. Especially when the daily menu requires a fixed side dish of a dal recipe. You can never have enough dal recipes up in your sleeves when you need to make dal every day, as it is usually done in the most Bengali households.
Mung Bean vs Mung Dal
While the western world has slowly taken up and adopted Mung Beans into their pantry, Indian have been consuming these legumes for thousands of years. Indian cookbooks are full of both sweet and savoury recipes using Moong Dal.
Mung Beans are the whole beans with their green skin on. It belongs to the legume family and is also known as green gram or maash. It looks something like this.
Being unhulled, it is very rich in dietary fibres apart from being an excellent source of protein, vitamins and minerals. Unlike the rest of the unpolished lentils, Mung Dal is very easy to digest. This is evident from the fact that it cooks very fast as well. It doesn’t need overnight soaking.
I have a vegetarian and gluten-free recipe for making Green Mung Beans Dal. You will see that this recipe is a light, hearty and easy dal recipe with a subtle hint of ginger, asafoetida or hing and cumin seeds.
For those who might be unaware, hing or asafoetida is a very popular Indian spice. It is extracted in the form of resin from the dried sap of a plant known as Ferula Asafoetida. Hing is known to have anti-bloating and digestive properties. However, if you do not have this ingredient in your pantry, you can totally skip it from the recipe.
Don’t pass over a good Indian recipe just because you don’t have a particular ingredient on your shelf. Indian cooking is very forgiving.
Once the Green Mung Bean is hulled and split, it becomes Mung Dal which is popularly consumed as lentils. Every household makes it on a regular basis because its quick, super nutritious and an affordable source of plant-based protein. We also use this mung dal for khichdi recipes. It is again very popular rice & lentil-based one-pot dish consumed throughout the Indian sub-continent. If in case you are looking for a Pilaf version of khichdi, known as Bhuna Khichuri, check it out here.
With this, I think I have shared quite a lot on the yellow split mung dal lentils. Below is the recipe card, where you will find the detailed list of ingredients needed for this dal recipe. I have also mentioned the possible alternates in case you don’t have a particular item in your pantry. I have answered some of the FAQs on Mung Dal at the end of the post. Scroll past the recipe card and shareable images for that.
This kacha moong dal recipe is just another way of making moong dal in a simple Bengali way. With just a handful of ingredients, you can make this flavourful yellow Indian lentil that goes perfectly well with a bowl of hot rice and a wedge of lime. One of the primary reasons behind the popularity of moong dal recipes is that it is very quick to make. If you have a stovetop pressure cooker or an Instant Pot, you can easily put together this in a matter of a couple of minutes.
- ¼ cup Moong Dal
- ¾ cup Water
- 1 Dried Bay Leaf
- ¼ tsp Panchphoron Bengali Mixed Spice, Use Fennel Seeds (Saunf) instead.
- ¼ tsp Hing or Asafoetida
- 1 tsp Fennel Seeds Powder Half it if using Fennel Seeds for tempering
- 1 tbsp Refined Sunflower Oil
- 1 tbsp Ginger paste
- 2 Green Chilies
- Salt
- 1 tsp Sugar
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Wash the Moong Dal very nicely till you get clear water. Pressure cook it with water, salt, dried bay leaf, and a drizzle of oil. Allow it to whistle 2-3 times and turn the heat off. Let the cooker depressurize itself.
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Now, heat some oil in a pan and temper it with Panphoron, green chilies and hing (asafoetida).
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As they splutter, pour the cooked dal.
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Add the sugar, fennel powder and ginger paste. Mix well.
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Now, add water as required and check for seasoning by adding salt. Let it simmer for couple of minutes before turning the heat off.
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Serve hot with rice.
Some of the most FAQs on Mung Dal & Green Mung Beans:
The unprocessed and unhulled Moong Dal which is with its green skin on is known as Mung Bean, Green Gram or Maash. Once it is hulled and split, it is known as Moong Dal or even Split Yellow Lentils
Green Moong Dal or Mung Beans are the whole beans with their green skin on. It belongs to the legume family and is also known as green gram or maash.
Moong Dal is relatively easy to make. It cooks very easily and quick. There are numerous ways of making moong dal, with each region having its own recipe of making mung dal. I have shared a Bengali style Kacha Moong er Dal recipe in this post.
Mung Bean, as well as split Moong dal, is 100% Gluten-free, along with vegan yet packed with protein.
Yes, once the green Mung Beans are hulled and split, they become lentils which are very popularly used in numerous Indian Dal recipes.
Usually, lentils are not advisable for those who have higher levels of Uric Acid in their blood. Having said this and among the rest of the lentils, Moong Dal is believed to have minimal effect. So, once in a while it is OK to consume Moong Dal. Regular consumption of lentils should be avoided. Also, refer to your Physician for more guidance regarding the same.
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