Anna Ansari's Mung Bean & Rice Soup
Rated 5.0 stars by 1 users
Category
soup
Servings
4-6
Prep Time
20 minutes
Stove Time
40 minutes
A triumph of flavour, a harmonious union between legume and grain, and a testament to the majesty of simplicity, my take on a deceptively modest rice and bean soup, the likes of which can be found from Iran to Turkmenistan to Kazakhstan and back, begs to be enjoyed on a chilly day. Strike that: it should be enjoyed on any and every day. With some Central Asian Bread, of course.
If you don’t have mung beans, you can use whatever you enjoy or have on hand, other than black beans.
Anna Ansari
Ingredients
-
200g (7oz) dried mung or other beans (see above) soaked overnight, then drained and rinsed
- 100g (3½oz) risotto rice
- 1 bay leaf
-
2 litres (8½ cups/3½ pints) well-seasoned stock
- 3 tbsp ghee or olive oil
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 1 large carrot (140g/5oz), peeled and finely diced
- 1 large potato (250g/9oz), peeled and finely diced
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp fine sea salt
- 2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
-
Fresh coriander, chopped
-
Spring onions, chopped
-
Yogurt or Suzma
-
Central Asian Bread
Directions
Bring a large pot of water to the boil over a high heat.
Add your drained and rinsed mungbeans to the pot. Once the water returns to the boil, turn down the heat and cook for 15 minutes then remove from the heat and place in your Wonderbag to continue cooking for 2 hours.
Drain the cooked beans and discard the cooking water. Return the drained beans to your now-empty pot, along with the rice, the bay leaf, and your cooking liquid of choice. Bring to a boil then then cover and remove from the heat and allow to cook in your Wonderbag for a further 1.5 hours.
Meanwhile, in a separate saucepan, heat the oil or ghee over a medium heat. Add the onion, then reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, or until soft and translucent. Add the carrot and potato to the pan, along with all the ground coriander, and 1 teaspoon each of the ground cumin, salt, and pepper. Mix everything together and cook, stirring occasionally, for another 5–7 minutes.
Add your onion, carrot, and potato mixture to the soup pot. Stir to mix and bring to the boil then, covered, and slow cook in the Wonderbag for 1 further hour.
Taste. Season your soup with the last of the salt, pepper, and cumin, adding more of each if you like.
Serve topped with some chopped fresh coriander and/or chopped spring onions, and perhaps a dollop of yogurt or suzma; and definitely eat it with a hunk of bread.
Recipe Note
Credit:Silk Roads: A Flavour Odyssey with Recipes from Baku to Beijing by Anna Ansari. DK RED, 9 October. RRP £27
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