Sprouted mung bean salad with arugula and grapefruit in a cilantro-mint vinaigrette

Today I decided to make a refreshing, crisp and nutritious salad, using sprouted mung beans as the leading star ingredient for this recipe. A refreshing addition, ruby red grapefruit which is in plenty this season and a nutrition-packed powerhouse citrus delight, with its tart and tangy flavour. A perfect match, followed by one of my favourite salad greens, arugula. I used the big arugula leaves, instead of baby arugula, since they have a sharper and spicier taste. All these fresh and protein-packed components married together with a cilantro or fresh coriander and mint vinaigrette, quite similar to a pesto, since I added a few pine nuts and extra virgin olive oil. I made some extra, a double duty dressing, since it’s going to be a garnish on my upcoming soup, which I will publish on my next blogpost. A spin on coriander and mint chutney. Yup, I brought out a dash of creativity on this one:-) And a wholesome dash of Indian spices, flavourings and garnish to complete this imaginative and delicious salad!
Paneer or indian cottage cheese is freely available in all Indian grocery stores. I have also used dew beans, which are brown in colour, since I had them lying in my pantry. Also called moth or matki in Indian lingo. One can use just green mung beans. I sprouted the beans at home. I did not put up any photos though, silly me. Google it and you will find plenty of websites and blogs dedicated to sprouting beans at home. To take an easier route, if you are lucky, you may find sprouted mung beans in the fresh produce section of many Indian grocery stores these days.

Servings 4

Ingredients:

1 cup dried mung beans, sprouted.
1/2 cup dew beans or moth beans
10-12 arugula leaves
1 ruby red grapefruit, peeled and cut into segments
1/2 cup grated paneer
1/2 tsp. roasted cumin powder
1/2 tsp. red chile powder
Salt to taste

For the vinaigrette:
A handful of fresh mint leaves
A handful of fresh coriander leaves
1 tbsp. pine nuts
Juice of a lemon
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt to taste

To sprout the mung and moth beans-
Wash the beans thoroughly in cold water. Soak the beans in cold water overnight or for 7-8 hours. Discard the water and place beans in a damp cheesecloth or muslin cloth. Spread them out evenly and wrap the cloth around the beans. I keep the beans on the kitchen counter for a day. They start sprouting after a day. For longer sprouts, rinse and drain the beans through the cloth and keep for another few hours.

For the vinaigrette, add all the ingredients in a small blender, and pulse or grind. The consistency is actually similar to that of a pesto.

Peel the skin of the grapefruit with a paring knife and remove the segments.

To assemble the salad-
On a platter or salad bowl, add the arugula and sprouted mung beans. Add the grapefruit segments. Add salt, if needed, cumin and red chile powders. Add a couple of spoonfuls of the vinaigrette and toss well.

Garnish with the grated paneer. The salad can be served chilled or at room temperature.