Khatta Moong (Gujarati Khatta Mag)
Khatta moong is a straightforward and nutritious Gujarati dish prepared with whole green moong dal, tangy yogurt, besan, and a selection of spices. In Gujarati, it is known as khatta mag, where 'khatta' refers to sourness.
Ingredients
- 1 cup Whole green moong dal (Green gram dal)
- 2 cups Water to cook moong beans
- ½ teaspoon Salt to add while cooking beans
- 1 ½ cups plain yogurt Must be sour
- 2 ½ cups Water
- 1 tablespoon Besan (gram flour)
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon Red chili powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Sugar optional or adjust as per the sourness of your yogurt
- 2-3 tablespoons Ghee (clarified butter)
- 1 teaspoon Mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds
- 3 Cloves
- 1 inch Cinnamon stick
- 8-10 Curry leaves
- ½ inch Ginger
- 2 Green chilies crushed ginger and green chili together
- 2 tablespoons Cilantro or coriander leaves chopped finely
Instructions
- Wash/rinse the whole green moong dal 2-3 times or until the water is clear (not cloudy) anymore. Take it to an instant pot insert along with salt and water. Add around 1 inch of water to the instant pot liner. Place a rack in it and place this moong bean insert on top of the rack.
- Cover the instant pot with a lid and keep the valve in a sealing position. Pressure cook on manual (high pressure) for 10 minutes.Stove top pressure cooker: 1 whistle on high + 10 minutes on medium-low.
- Let the pressure go down by itself (NPR – natural pressure release). Once the pin drops open the lid and remove the moong bean insert and check it should be cooked to soft.
- Take sour yogurt in a bowl, and add besan, remaining salt, sugar, red chili powder, and turmeric powder. Whisk it until it is smooth and there are no lumps of besan left.
- Add water and make a thin batter. If there are any lumps, then you can use a hand blender to make it smooth.
- Heat the ghee in a pan on medium heat. Once hot add mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add cumin seeds and let them sizzle a bit.
- Add cinnamon and cloves and fry for 30 seconds.
- Add curry leaves and ginger, chili paste. Saute for 30-40 seconds or until the raw smell of ginger goes away.
- Add yogurt mixture and stir immediately to avoid curdling. Let it come to a simmer and continue simmering for 3-4 minutes. During this time, it will thicken and the raw taste of besan will go away.
- Now add boiled moong along with its water if any. Mix and simmer for another 5 minutes.
- Lastly, garnish with chopped cilantro and serve khatta moong with rice or roti.
Notes
Garlic: If you like then you can crush 2 cloves of garlic along with ginger and green chilies. At home, we don’t prefer garlic in khatta mag.
How to make yogurt sour? If using store-bought yogurt then remove the required amount in a bowl and keep it on a countertop for 5-6 hours or less (depending on the climate where you live) and let it get sour.
Avoid curdling yogurt:
- Make sure the yogurt is at room temperature.
- When you add cold/chilled yogurt in hot tempering, it will surely curdle because of the sudden temperature change.
- Add the yogurt mixture with one hand and stir right away with another hand. Do both tasks together to avoid the chances of curdling.
- Keep the heat on medium-low.
- Do stir until it starts simmering. Once it starts simmering, it won’t curdle.
Nutrition
Calories: 329kcalCarbohydrates: 42gProtein: 16gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 31mgSodium: 1308mgPotassium: 836mgFiber: 10gSugar: 10gVitamin A: 322IUVitamin C: 46mgCalcium: 209mgIron: 4mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!