How to sprout moong

Sprouting is one of the oldest ways to make a bean ready to eat. You soak, you wait, and the bean begins to wake. It is mostly waiting, with a minute of work each day.

What you'll need

A handful of whole green moong (mung beans).

A bowl, and a sieve or a clean thin cloth.

Water, and a day or two.

Method

1. Rinse the moong in warm (not hot) water, then cover with plenty of water and leave overnight, or about eight hours.

2. In the morning, drain and rinse them. They will have swelled and softened. You can eat them as they are at this point, soaked.

3. To sprout, tip the drained beans into a sieve set over a bowl, or tie them in a damp cloth, bundled snugly to hold a little warmth. Leave them somewhere out of the way, not sitting in water.

4. Rinse once or twice a day so they stay damp, not wet, and try not to disturb them too often. Small white tails appear within a day; a day longer gives you longer sprouts.

5. Once the tails are the length you like, they are ready. Keep them in the fridge and use within a couple of days.

Good to know

Every kitchen is different, so the right warmth, moisture and air may take a few tries to find. Sprouting is quicker somewhere warm and humid than cool and dry. The tail is a rough guide to how the sprout sits with you: Isha's kitchen suggests a tail between about a quarter and three-quarters of an inch, and much shorter or longer is often gentler cooked than eaten raw.

Soaking and sprouting is a kind of waking-up. As the bean begins to break itself down, it sheds some of its anti-nutrients and phytic acid and gives up more of its goodness, with more fibre too, which is part of why many people find sprouts gentler on the stomach than cooked beans. In the yogic view, this living food is rich in prana, full of life.

Eat them raw in a salad, fold them into a chaat, or steam them lightly if you prefer them warm. Try a small bowl a few mornings a week, and notice how they sit with you through the morning.