Sprouted Bean+ Lentil Salad

Super Delicious Lentil Salad is what’s one the menu today!

Sprouted lentils combined with loads of chopped veggies, herbs and tossed together in a yummy cumin-lemon dressing is not only delicious but packed with good for your ingredients. A beautiful medley of fresh veggies, herbs that will quickly become a favorite. There’s a whole lot to love about that!

Sprouting lentils brings the dormant beans to life, that improves their bioavailability of nutrients greatly. Sprouting them is not hard at all or need any fancy equipiment, a regular bowl, warm place for them to sprout, changing water once or twice a day and life finds a way. While sprouted lentils may be the main ingredient in this recipe, they’re complimented with an array colorful chopped veggies; cucumbers, red onions, bell peppers, radishes, carrots, cilantro, mint then spiced up with a homemade dressing of cumin, lime, honey, olive oil, and a touch of hot chillies + (optional chaat masala). We can go further with the ingredients and add nuts and seeds to amp up the nutrients, the choice is yours!

Why should you make this lentil salad

• Nutrient Dense: If you’re looking to amp up your veggie intake, fiber and plant protein, this salad will do just that. Its packed with fresh, crunchy radish, cucumbers, bell peppers, onions, herbs and beans that’ll help boost your daily need of essential nutrients. 
• Flavorful Salad: the crunchy, flavorful salad and is made with a bunch of aromatics for a punch for flavor that store bought simply lack. We’re talking olive oil, lemon/lime juice, honey, ground cumin, chaat masala and hot chilies (optional but recommended).
• Eat Anytime: This salad is pretty much a complete meal, its perfect to pack for a picnic(no dairy or mayo), work lunch, light dinner and a nutritious snack or also a nice side dish. 

Ingredients

• Beans and Lentils we always start with whole dry beans and lentils. I like a combination of chickpea, green whole moong, green lentils and black eyed peas because they sprout at pretty much the same rate and time. Other good choices are dried white peas, moth beans, red chickpeas. You can find them all these beans and lentils in Indian grocery stores or online.
• Water Well need plenty of water to wash, soak and change everyday.
• Time: This recipe needs a head start of 3-4 days for the lentils and beans. In other words it is not a recipe you can make right away.
• Vegetables: 
  • Cucumbers I prefer using Persian cucumbers because they have tender, sweet flavor, however, I also like English cucumbers for having less seeds.
  • Red Onion Red onions are preferred for this salad for their contrasting color, bold, potent onion-y flavor. 
  • Bell Pepper any vibrant colored bell pepper will work beautifully.
  • Green Chillies I love some heat so I add 1-2green chillies depending on the heat level. Thai for super hot, jalapeño for a bit milder, deseed the chillies to keep it mild. If you prefer mild skip the chillies.
  • Radish I love radishes and add some in, but it’s optional. Grated carrots are also wonderful in this salad.
  • Herbs: – Use fresh cilantro, mint for a delightful herbaceous note. 
• Dressing
  • Olive Oil or Avocado oil or any good quality neutral oil will make a substituted if desired. I prefer the grassy flavor Olive oil.
  • Lemon Juice: it’s imperative to use freshly squeezed lemon juice only.
  • Spices: I love ground cumin and chaat masala to give it that typical Indian flavor, if chaat masala can’t be found bump up the cumin a bit more. For some heat some red chili powder is also recommended.
  • Honey lends a touch of natural sweetness to this dressing that helps balance out the other spice/tangy lemon/and chili heat. you don’t need a lot just about a teaspoon.
  • Salt: Be careful not to be too heavy handed with the salt. Some chaat masala brands have salt added and dried mango in the chaat masala adds a sour tang that can easily overpower the saltiness of other ingredients in this dressing. 
  • Black Pepper: freshly cracked black pepper adds so much flavor to the salad.

How to Sprout Lentils( no fancy equipment needed)

1. We start with dry beans and lentils. For this recipe we will need about a cup of dry lentils and beans of your choice. I typical combine about 2-3 tablespoons of dry chickpeas(red or white), green moong, green lentils, white peas(or black eyed peas). I made a little extra to show the different beans as a suggestion. Remember they will triple or even quadruple in size once they hydrate, sprout and steam. So each cup will end up 3-4 cups in the end.
2. Once you got the beans. Place it in a large bowl and wash them well a couple of times to rid them of dust and sometimes a the layer dry beans may have. Then soak them overnight in clean water.
3. The next day drain the water(I use the drained water to water my plants, it’s perfectly good, so no wasting water). You can place the hydrated beans and lentils on a cheese cloth or leave it in the bowl and spread them out. Cover and keep them in a warm place. I usually keep the bowl in a OFF oven or a cupboard or on your counter.
4. Before going to bed check the beans if they look dry, hydrate them by sprinkling some water or run them under the water and drain them but not water clogging them. Place it back in the warm place.
5. Next day very gently rinse the beans without agitating them. Allow them to soak for about 5 minutes and drain. Please them back inn the warm place.
6. The next day you will see some of the beans will start to sprout with little white tails sprouting out. You can repeat this process(step 5) for another day if yore not satisfied with the length of the sprouting tails or if the weather is cooler it may take a day or 2 longer.
7. For this recipe, I like to lightly steam the sprouts just enough so they’re tender yet hold their shape.
8. Troubleshooting
   • The important fact is to keep the beans hydrated but not soaking or water logged.
   • Rinse the beans and lentils everyday (every 24 hours) to refresh and hydrate. This also help keep the beans clean and reduce bacterial growth.
   • It’s important to keep the beans in a warm spot for sprouting, but not a hot spot like very close to your room heating outlet.
   • Beans and lentils should sprout within 3-4 days. Don’t worry if the beans don’t produce white tails, they’re still edible.
   • Sprouting beans and lentils is easy, I found it harder to sprout seeds. If you have problems please leave a comment so I can help you.
   • If this is your first time, I recommend a test start with one tablespoon of green lentils so you get a hang of sprouting lentils + green lentils is the easiest.