Moong Ke Cheelay, Linda Style!

I will not pretend that I know a thing about Indian cuisine. Other than the fact that the mere aroma of Indian spices sends my mouth a waterin'! And while I do love the exotic flavors, I do not love the heaviness of many of the saucy dishes. And admittedly, I have not had Indian food in probably a year. Mainly due to my weight-loss diet. However, since starting my Valeodida Diet a couple months ago, I have been on the look-out for interesting recipes that don't incorporate meat, grains, dairy or sugars. I have also been doing a lot of sprouting, which helps make a lot of things easier on my tummy. In a casual conversation with the Indian woman I sit next to at work, she asked if I ever "mash" my sprouted mung beans to make "pancakes".

What??! I had to learn more! She gave me this recipe for Moong Ke Cheelay. It fit all the criteria of my Valeodida way of eating, so I immediately set some beans to sprout in preparation for trying out this new recipe.

In true Linda fashion, I made some modifications. First off, I did not have Mung Beans on hand, and so my pancakes are made from French Green Lentils. The recipe I was given only instructed that the beans be soaked for 4 hours, whereas mine were fully sprouted. I also did not have asafoetida , which is some sort of a root herb that helps with digestion, and lends a leek-like flavor. So I substituted with some other spices. I also took my own avenue on the filling as well . .. seeing that I had only edamames on hand, along with an over abundance of cauliflower. And so my final version very loosely resembles the recipe that was given to me (in more ways than one, I'm sure). But it really was quite delicious! The filling had a bit of kick to it, which was balanced nicely by a lil' sweet. The pancakes were mild in flavor, and may have been a bit thick. I think next time, I might water down the batter a bit. And I love the fact that I can take the basic pancake idea, and make it more sweet than savory. I would like to try a version with cardamom, cinnamon, vanilla, etc.. . for breakfast!!

And now, without further ado, my take on the traditional Indian dish, Moong Ke Cheelay:  (I don't really measure -- so ingredients are to be eye-balled and incorporated using best judgement!)

pancakes
approx 1 cup sprouted French Green Lentils
freshly grated ginger
fenugreek (freshly ground)
ground cumin
garam masala
coconut milk (canned, unsweetened) and water
salt

- - mix very well in blender. keep adding liquid (I used a combination of coconut milk and water) until the proper consistency is achieved. fry the pancakes with a lil' olive oil or in a sprayed pan. my pancakes were 1/4 cup of the batter, spread thin, and cooked until golden brown on each side.

filling
fresh chopped cauliflower
fresh chopped onion
chopped edamame beans
coconut milk (canned, unsweetened)
garlic
ground cumin
dal makhani (or whatever indian spices on hand)
cayenne pepper (to taste)
something sweet (probably should have used raisins, but I can't have them so I used dash of Stevia)

-- cook this up in a saucepan. let it simmer for quite a while. it should be a very soft filling.

It all starts with sprouted French Green Lentils.
A very tasty treat.. . all on their own!

The blended batter! The green specks
are the skins of the lentils.

The filling, cooking down nicely!

A stuffed pancake. In all honestly, not much
to look at. But the combo of flavors is fantastic!

Otto enjoying a Moong Ke Cheelay pancake!
(and a few sprouted lentils on the side)