Mung Bean Puffed Pastries Recipes

MUNG BEAN PUFFED PASTRIES

Steps:

• 1. Soak the dal in water to cover by 2 inches, and drain. Then make the filling: In a food processor or a blender, process the dal to make a coarse paste. In a spice or a coffee grinder, coarsely grind together all the whole spices (fennel to cardamom). 2. Heat 1/4 cup of the vegetable oil in a large nonstick wok or saucepan over medium-high heat and add the asafoetida, then the ground spices, and stir about 30 seconds. Mix in the chickpea flour and stir another 30 seconds.3. Add the dal paste and cook over medium heat, stirring and breaking any lumps, about 10 minutes. Add the salt and stir to mix well. Let cool and divide equally into 30 portions (about 1 tablespoon each). Make a ball of each portion and set aside. If the balls seem to fall apart, this means the filling is too dry moisten it with 1 to 2 tablespoons hot water.4. Make the dough: In a medium bowl, using clean fingers, rub together the flour, turmeric, and the remaining 1/4 cup oil until well mixed. Add enough water to make a soft and pliable dough, adding a little at a time. Place the dough on a cutting board and pound lightly with a meat mallet about 2 minutes. Turn the dough over during the 2 minutes to pound different sections. This makes the dough very elastic. Divide the dough equally into 30 portions.5. Assemble the kachauries: In a small bowl, make a paste of 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour and 1 tablespoon water and keep ready. Working with one portion of the dough at a time, with your fingers press out a 3-inch patty. Brush the top surface lightly with water and place one portion of the dal filling in the center. Lift the edges over the filling, bring them together and pinch to seal. Then gently push in the pinched edges down to make a slight depression in the center and to flatten the patty to 1-inch thick. Brush the entire kachauri lightly with the flour-water paste and set aside. Finish assembling all the kachauries. Cover with a clean, damp cotton kitchen towel and set aside.6. Heat the oil in a wok or skillet over medium-high heat until it reaches 300°F to 325°F on a frying thermometer, or when a small piece of the dough dropped into the hot oil rises to the top after 15 to 20 seconds. Reduce the heat to medium and add the kachauries, adding as many as the wok can hold at one time with out crowding, and fry slowly, turning only once after the bottom is golden-brown, about 3 to 4 minutes. When the other side is golden-brown, about 3 to 4 minutes more, remove from the wok with a slotted metal spatula and transfer to paper towels to drain. Serve immediately, or let cool and refrigerate up to 15 days.VARIATIONS: Substitute for the yellow mung beans (dhulli mung dal) equal amounts of dried split yellow peas (peeli muttar dal) or green split peas (hari muttar dal), fresh green peas, or a mixture of cashews, almonds, and pistachios.From "1,000 Indian Recipes." Copyright 2002 by Neelam Batra. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

MUNG BEAN HOPIA - FILIPINO CHINESE PASTRY

Steps:

• **One 14-oz package of dried peeled split yellow mung beans makes 35 hopia. Dough recipe is for 18 hopia. It is best to cook the entire package and freeze the unused portion**.
• MUNG BEAN PASTE FILLING.
• In medium glass bowl, soak beans in water for 4 hours at room temperature. You can soak overnight, but place bowl in fridge to prevent bean sprouting.
• After soaking, drain yellow water and rinse beans well. Transfer beans to medium saucepan, add fresh water about 1/8-inch above beans, and bring to boil. When beans start to soften, scoop out foamy water on top and reduce heat to medium. Continue cooking into a paste, stirring often to prevent burning. Use a wooden spoon to mash down the beans in the saucepan.
• When only a few intact beans remain, remove from heat and transfer paste into a microwave-proof dish or bowl. Use a potato masher to mash down the paste until very smooth. A food processor might be easier, but I haven't tried that yet.
• Sprinkle the salt over the paste and mix well. Then add the sugar gradually, adjusting to taste. When sweet enough for you, spread paste into an even layer in the same dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes to "dry" it out. The goal is for the paste to dry out enough to shape it into a ball, but not too dried out that it crumbles or burns. Set aside to cool and proceed with the doughs.
• DOUGH #1.
• In a small bowl, make a well in center of flour and add oil. Combine with fork until LOOSE, coarse crumbs form; set aside.
• DOUGH #2.
• In a separate medium bowl, make a well in center of flour. In separate small cup, first whisk oil and water together, then pour into center of flour. Combine with fork until dough takes shape. Divide into 4 parts.
• Flatten each part into a square about 1/8-inch thick. Do NOT flour work surface, as there is enough oil in the dough to prevent it from sticking.
• ASSEMBLE HOPIA.
• For each of the flattened squares, do the following: Crumble 1/4 of Dough #1 on top of Dough #2; spread crumbs evenly but leave space about 1/2-inch from the perimeter of Dough #2 so Dough #1 does not fall off the edges.
• Gently roll up square with your fingers like a jelly roll. Pinch the ends a tiny bit so none of Dough #1 falls out. Repeat process with remainder of flattened squares.
• Gently roll each jelly roll back and forth under your palms, stretching into a cylinder about 1-inch in diameter. Then place cylinders on top of paper towel and chill and rest in fridge for 30 minutes, to absorb excess oil. (Do not chill overnight; dough will harden.).
• After chilled rest time is up, preheat oven to 375°F.
• Take the chilled cylinders and cut each into 5 pieces. Flatten each piece into a very thin square a bit less than 1/8-inch thick. Place a small scoop of mung bean paste in center of square. Fold edges and pinch into a ball. Place ball pinched side down onto an UN-greased cookie sheet and flatten just slightly, but not so much that the pastry skin cracks open.
• Brush tops with beaten egg, and bake at 375°F for 20 minutes, or until BOTTOMS are slightly brown.
• Recommended: Store leftover hopia in Tupperware with piece of bread to keep the pastry soft. But if pastry hardens, microwave hopia for 30 seconds on High.

YELLOW MUNG BEAN PUDDING WITH COCONUT CREAM

Steps:

• Place the mung beans in a large container and cover with several inches of warm water; let soak for 2 hours; drain.
• Place a steamer insert into a saucepan and pour enough water to reach just below the bottom of the steamer. Cover and bring the water to a boil. Wrap the mung beans in cheesecloth and place in the steamer insert; cover the saucepan and steam the beans until tender, 25 to 30 minutes.
• Stir 3 1/2 cups water and the sugar together in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Stir 3/4 cup water and the tapioca flour together in a bowl until the flour is dissolved; pour the mixture into the boiling water and stir until the syrup becomes clear and thickened. Gently stir the mung beans into the syrup; remove from heat and divide into 4 serving bowls.
• Heat the coconut cream and salt together in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until warmed, but do not allow to boil. Spoon over the mung bean mixture to serve.