We’re at the transition of the seasons, a period called ritusandhi in Ayurveda. It’s a time where we might be dealing with the indecision to wear a light jacket or a sweater, a scarf or a hat, but also trying to manage how our diet should change as we merge into spring. It’s a wonderful time to reset our mental and physical digestion, but sometimes our scheduling doesn’t allow for a formal or lengthy cleanse. If this describes you, know that you are not doomed! Take some time, even just 20 minutes, at the beginning of your week to plot out a few meals that will represent both seasons and be no problem for your body to process. This would include ingredients like mung beans to nourish, some root veggies to ground, some spring veggies to cleanse. Weave in some spices like ginger, turmeric and cumin to be sure you can fully assimilate and eliminate with ease. You can even use a standby recipe and make some substitutions so that you don’t have to revolutionize your cooking completely. Here’s a recipe I developed (Yes! One of my first recipes from a day dedicated to recipe development!) to get you started!
Turmeric roasted sweet potatoes with blanched Veggies and Coconut almond mung bean sauce
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1/2 cup split yellow mung beans, rinsed (soaked for a few hours if possible)
- 1 sweet potato, cubed
- 1/2 cup snap peas, ends trimmed
- 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
- 1/2 cup green beans, cut in half
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1/4 cup almond butter
- 1 inch fresh ginger, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 shallot shallot, chopped
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
- Salt to taste
Prep time: 32 min. | Total time: 32 min.
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with foil. Toss cubed sweet potatoes, sesame oil and turmeric and a pinch of salt in together in a small bowl. Place potatoes on baking sheet and bake for 12-16 minutes until browned.
- Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Add mung beans and cook until soft or approximately 30 minutes. Strain. As the mung beans cook, bring another 2-3 cups of water to boil and add carrots. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Add peas and green beans and cook another minute. Strain and rinse with cold water to stop cooking process.
- Heat coconut oil in skillet over medium heat. Add shallots, ginger and garlic and sauté 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in almond butter and coconut milk. Add cooked mung beans.
When ready to serve, place half of the potatoes and veggies on a plate. Pour half of the mung beans over each dish. Top with sesame seeds (option: dry roast sesame seeds).
The way the mung beans in this recipe are prepared was inspired by an Asian dessert that I call sesame balls (I'm sure they have an official name). The filling is a coconut mung bean paste. I used to get them at the Asian market in Rivermarket KC called Kim Long's. Shortly after they caught on to the frequency of me purchasing these things, they upped the price by 75%.