Moogacha bhaat (Moogambhaat) with Kalan

What do you do when something you have planned goes wrong? You create a dish of your own:)I had originally planned on making moong usal as my entry for “M”. But, I encountered two problems. I estimated that the moong will sprout within 24 hrs. This didn’t happen. They took two whole days to sprout. Secondly, while cooking them I pressure cooked them for 3 whistles. When I opened the utensil, I was disappointed to see that they had lost their green color and turned into a pulp. The most I could make using them would be moong juice or moong kheer:(I fretted and cursed myself for my stupidity. I thought and thought and created a dish of my own.

A few days back, my friend A had mentioned that Konkanis make a dish called “Moogambat”. I heard it as “Moogambhaat”. She had just told me the name of the dish and told me it’s a moong curry. I thought that it is a rice item made using moong curry. My friend later clarified that Moogambat is a ambat (sour) moong curry. This week, I had nothing remaining for my lunch. I was terribly hungry. I took a peek in the fridge and found some left-over rice and the flop moong. That’s when the idea struck me. Here’s what I did:

Ingredients
1.1 cup rice
2.1 tsp cumin seeds
3.Pinch of asafetida
4.3 green chillies, chopped fine
5.2 garlic cloves, chopped
6.1 cup sprouted moong
7.Salt
8.¼ tsp turmeric powder
9.¼ tsp red chilli powder
10.½ tsp garam masala powder
11.½ cup water

Method
1.Cook the rice and the moong separately. Let the rice cool. Drain the water from the moong and preserve. Let’s refer to this as “Moong water”.
2.Heat oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds. After they splutter, add asafetida, green chillies, and garlic. Saute for some time. You can also add one sliced onion at this point.
3.Add the cooked moong. Mix well. Add salt, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, and garam masala. Mix and add ½ cup water.
4.Bring the gravy to a boil.
5.Add rice chunks to the gravy. Add small chunks and mix well.
6.Cook for 4-5 minutes. Moongambhaat is ready. Serve hot with Kalan.

Kalan is a spicy-tangy curry/soup made from moong water. I do not know the origin of this delicious curry, I only remember that it has been my favorite since childhood. My granny used to make this often when I used to visit her in the May vacation. I and my aunt used to fight over the garlic pieces floating in the curry.
Over the years, Mom regularly made this at home whenever she made mugachi usal. Yesterday, I jotted down the recipe while chatting with Mom. She as usual rushed through all the ingredients, whereas I kept telling her to dictate slowly:) This tasty curry should be devoured hot. It’s a great remedy for cold.

Kalan

Ingredients
1.1 cup moong water from step 1 in making rice.
2.1 cup buttermilk
3.2 green chillies, chopped fine
4.1 garlic clove, chopped
5.Salt and sugar to taste
6.1 tsp ghee

Method
1.Take the moong water. Let it cool completely.
2.Add buttermilk, salt, and sugar to the moong water. Mix well.
3.Pour this mixture in a pan and bring it to a boil. Remember to stir it continuously.
4.Heat ghee in another pan. Add cumin seeds. Once they splutter, add the green chillies and garlic. Saute for some time. Pour this mixture in the boiling curry.
5.Serve hot.

P had never tasted this soup before. Inadvertently, he had a mild cold. He simply loved the soup. The combo of Moogambhaat with Kalan tastes amazing. You can serve Kalan with plain rice too.
This goes as my entry for M to Nupur in the wonderful A-Z series.