Mung Beans with Cottage Cheese

I have a weakness when it comes to cookbooks. Not only do I own a bookshelf worth of cookbooks, I am continually taking note of interesting recipes I find on the internet and I often borrow cookbooks from the library. Recently, I borrowed a copy of From Bengal to Punjab, by Smita Chandra. Though the book is not restricted to vegetarian recipes, it does contain some interesting and unique vegetarian friendly recipes, such as Mung Beans with Cottage Cheese (Moong Dal Paneerwali). As usual, I've adapted the recipe somewhat to suit my tastes. In particular, I added the onions earlier, rather than browning them at the end to use as a garnish, and I included some jalapeno peppers. Feel free to use paneer cheese in place of the cottage cheese. I served this dish with Mushroom Methi Curry and Basmati Onion Rice, but it could just as easily be served with any grain dish, along with a vegetable dish of your choice. The author of the cookbook suggests mashing the beans along with some cooked potatoes and frying the mixture into croquettes, or use as a stuffing for tomatoes.

Mung Beans with Cottage Cheese

1 cup of whole mung beans
4 cups of water
2 tablespoons of ghee, or a combination of butter and oil
1/2 teaspoon of asafoetida powder
1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
1 small piece of cinnamon
1/2 inch piece of fresh ginger, grated or finely chopped
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 hot chillies or jalapenos, finely diced
1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon of ground turmeric
1 - 1 1/2 cups of cottage cheese, crumbled
3/4 cups of coconut
3/4 teaspoon of garam masala
juice from one small lemon
1 teaspoon of sea salt

Wash the beans well and soak overnight in 4 cups of water. Drain, reserving the soaking liquid.

In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat until hot. Add the asafoetida, cumin seeds, and cinnamon. Stir and immediately add the ginger, onion and hot chillies. Stir and fry until the onions begin to brown. Add the cayenne, turmeric, mung beans and about 1 cup of the soaking water. Stir, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to moderately low, cover and cook for about 30 minutes, or until the liquid is absorbed and the beans are soft. More soaking water can be added if necessary. No liquid should remain at the end of the cooking time. If liquid remains, uncover the pot and boil it away.

In a small bowl, combine the cottage cheese and coconut. Stir in the garam masala, lemon juice and salt. Transfer this mixture to the cooked beans and gently stir to combine.

If you want to garnish with browned onions, don't add them during the beginning of the cooking time. Instead, fry the thinly sliced onion in a tablespoon or so of oil over medium heat until well browned (about 10 - 12 minutes). Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towel. Top the completed dish with the browned onions.