Vegan green gram curry is a very tasty, nutritious and a unique flavoured curry. It is filled with the richness of coconut milk, goodness of green gram along with a wonderful combination of spices that makes the curry very delicious. This vegan green gram curry goes best with steamed rice. It could also be served with dosa, appam, chapathi etc.,
Our Sundays are usually very relaxed, lazy and cozy that we like to spend completely at home. The day typically starts late followed by a hearty and simple brunch, lazing around watching some TV series or playing carrom or just chit-chatting. I don’t generally cook big meals unless we both really want to have one or we have a special occasion. So, it is always rice or roti with a curry or rasam or sambar or a one-pot meal with some salad or stir-fried veggies to go along. Well yes, I don’t spend much time in the kitchen on Sundays, unlike the other days. Weekdays are more of cooking, trying recipes, testing and re-testing them, for the blog.
How are your Sundays usually?
As always it was one of those lazy Sundays and I wanted to quickly cook something for our brunch when I realized that I had some sprouted green gram. I usually soak legumes every other day and sprout them to include in our salads. So, this helped me quickly make this vegan green gram curry using coconut milk that I had bought to try pannacotta (which unfortunately hasn’t turned out to be perfect yet!)
I think we all experiment with different combinations of spices, right? It is such a joy to play around in your kitchen with ingredients and come up with something new and interesting, isn’t it?
This vegan green gram curry is something I tried with a different set of ingredients which I typically don’t for curries. No, this green gram curry is not any specific version or a version specific to any region in India. This is rather my own version of vegan green gram curry that I happened to try out the other day and absolutely loved it. I have now cooked this about 3-4 times already in two weeks. Trust me, this vegan green gram curry is so unique and tastes much different from your usual curries!
What makes this vegan green gram curry unique?
Vegan green gram curry is filled with the richness of coconut milk, the goodness of green gram and this wonderful combination of spices that add a charm to the dish.
The whole spices- cumin seeds, fennel seeds, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and nutmeg powder, coriander seeds powder (dhania) bring out wonderful flavours and take the curry to a whole new level. I would highly suggest you follow the recipe exactly with the specified spices to get the perfect taste. No other masala powders, please!
You can use sprouted green gram or plain green gram here. I have done it both the ways. This time I unintentionally got them sprouted as I soaked the green gram for a longer duration. So, it is totally okay to use as per your wish.
Points to remember while making the Coconut Milk Green Gram Curry
This recipe calls for the use of coconut milk. Being the main ingredient here, coconut milk cannot be substituted with any other vegan milk or dairy milk in this recipe.
So, the most common question is about the curdling of coconut milk. You can avoid the curdling of coconut milk by keeping the heat in low while cooking the curry. Before adding the coconut milk, bring the heat to low and then simmer the mixture in LOW heat for a few minutes. It is absolutely not required to boil the mixture, which could cause the coconut milk to curdle.
Also, do not cover the pan with a lid while simmering and leave it unattended. Letting the curry simmer without the lid and stirring it often will also avoid the chances of curdling.
So, with all that said, shall we get into the recipe right away?
I hope you give this recipe a try and enjoy it as much as I enjoyed preparing it and writing it down for you all. I would love to hear your feedback on this. When you try it, kindly post your valuable comments below or share it with me personally on Instagram / Facebook, or post it by tagging me. You may also pin this on Pinterest.
Method to make Coconut Green Gram Curry with Step-by-Step Pictures
1. If you are using dry green gram, soak it in hot water for 1-2 hours. 1.5 cups dry green gram will yield almost 4 cups of soaked green gram. Then, drain and pressure cook with 2-2.5 cups water for 2 whistles. Do not overcook the green gram and make it mushy.
If you are using canned green gram, this step can be skipped. Use about 4 cups for the recipe.
2. In a deep bottomed pan, heat coconut oil. Once it turns hot, add cumin seeds and fennel seeds. Let them splutter.
Next add in cinnamon stick, cloves, green cardamom, 1/2 tsp nutmeg powder. Saute in low heat such that the flavors are released well.
3. Now add in the finely chopped onions, saute until they turn translucent. Next add the finely chopped tomatoes, season with some salt and saute until they get cooked well but not mushy.
4. Once the tomatoes are well cooked, add in spicy red chilly powder, turmeric powder, and dhania (coriander seeds) powder. Saute for a few minutes until the flavors are released well. Now, add in the cooked green gram along with water (if any). Mix everything well.
Let this simmer for 5 minutes.
5. At this stage, lower the heat and add coconut milk. Mix thoroughly and let this simmer on low heat for 3-4 minutes. Keep stirring in between to avoid the coconut milk from curdling and the curry getting stuck to the bottom of the pan.
Add some water if it is turning out to be thick. Once the curry is almost done, add the remaining 1/2 tsp nutmeg powder and Kashmiri red chilly powder. Mix well, simmer for a minute and turn off the heat.
Buy from Amazon
Recipes that might interest you:
Green Gram Sabji North Karnataka Style
Disclaimer: This post contains an affiliate link to Amazon Affiliate Program. It means that I would earn a small commission from Amazon if you purchase the product using the link above, at no additional cost for you. Please note that I only recommend products that I personally use and like.
** Standard Measurement: 1 cup= 250mL
Green Gram Coconut Milk Curry
Ingredients
- 1/2 cups green gram / mung bean
- 1 tbsp coconut oil - (preferably)
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 1 inch cinnamon stick
- 4 nos. cloves
- 3-4 nos. green cardamom
- 1/2 tsp + 1/2 tsp nutmeg powder
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 1/2 tsp dhania powder / coriander seeds powder
- 1 tsp spicy red chilly powder
- 1 tsp kashmiri red chilly powder - (for the colour)
- 2 medium onions - , finely chopped
- 2 medium tomatoes - , finely chopped
- 3-4 sprigs fresh coriander leaves - , finely chopped
- 1 cup coconut milk - , I used canned
- salt - to taste
Instructions
- If you are using dry green gram, soak this in hot water for 4-5 hours. 1.5 cups dry green gram will yield almost 4 cups of soaked green gram. Then, drain and pressure cook with 2-2.5 cups water for 2 whistles. Do not overcook the green gram and make it mushy.If you are using canned green gram, this step can be skipped. Use about 4 cups for the recipe.
- In a deep bottomed pan, heat coconut oil. Once it turns hot, add cumin seeds and fennel seeds. Let them splutter.
- Next add in cinnamon stick, cloves, green cardamom, 1/2 tsp nutmeg powder. Saute in low heat such that the flavours are released well.
- Now add in the finely chopped onions, saute until they turn translucent. Next add the finely chopped tomatoes, season with some salt and saute until they get cooked well but not mushy.
- Once the tomatoes are well cooked, add in turmeric powder, spicy red chilly powder and dhania (coriander seeds) powder. Saute for a few minutes until the flavours are released well.
- Now, add in the cooked green gram along with water (if any). Mix everything well. Let this simmer for 5 minutes.
- At this stage, lower the heat and add coconut milk. Mix thoroughly and let this simmer in low heat for 3-4 minutes. Keep stirring in between to avoid the coconut milk from curdling and curry getting stuck to the bottom of the pan.
- Add some water if it is turning out to be thick. Once the curry is almost done, add the remaining 1/2 tsp nutmeg powder and kashmiri red chilly powder. Mix well, simmer for a minute and turn off the heat. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with rice, dosa, appam, chapathi.
Notes
- Adding some nutmeg powder at the end enhances the flavour than adding everything at once for tempering.
- Kashmiri red chilly powder is used to give a nice colour to the curry. You can skip it and use 1.5 tsp spicy red chilly powder.
- Adjust the quantity of spices as per taste.
- You can use plain green gram or sprouted green gram.