Sweet, tart and spicy, this coleslaw recipe or kosumalli is typically served in Brahmin weddings. The traditional recipe uses cucumber. Seeing how plentiful carrots are in fall, I decided to let carrots upstage cucumbers. Serves well in picnics, potlucks or family dinners with moong beans providing protein. Green chili is the main spice.
| Ingredients 1 carrot, medium sized 1 english cucumber or seedless cucumber 1 small tomato, optional 1 tsp chopped fresh cilantro ½ cup yellow moong dal, washed and soaked in 1 cup water |
Serves 4
Pots n pans |
Dressing
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp coconut oil
¾ tsp urad dal
½ tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp yellow split pea
1 tsp chopped fresh cilantro
1 hot green chili pepper (or more if you like heat like me)
Salt to taste
Method
1. Peel and coarsely grate carrots and cucumber. Chop tomatoes if using. Set aside in serving bowl.
2. Thinly slice green chili(SOS: if you are seeding the chili to reduce heat, very important to wear gloves. Be super careful not to get your hands on the seed. That’s a recipe for disaster. I’m speaking from experience. Years ago, I used my bare hands to clean out the seeds of jalapeno pepper for making salsa. That was brave, but extremely foolish! I was up all night with my hands dipped in cold water that I had to keep changing to soothe the heat burn)
3. Drain water from soaked yellow moong beans. Heat ½ tsp oil in saucepan. Add yellow moong beans, lightly sauté till cooked al dente, add to salad. (SOS You’ll find many recipes sautéing moong beans together with the seasoning. I separated the process which you’ll see in step 4 as I like my salad to have that surprise crunch every now and then-if you prefer a softer salad, then you can do step 4 followed by step 3 in the same pan)
4. Heat ½ tsp oil. Add mustard seeds, when they splutter, add urad dal, yellow split pea. Toss till lightly golden. Add hot chili pepper, toss once and transfer to serving bowl.
5. Season with salt and lemon juice. Garnish with cilantro leaves.
6. Serve with crackers or just by itself.
Fun facts
I was surprised to find very few green chili peppers in the grocery store. They had turned red in the store and the grocery clerk had to go running to find me another box. But to no avail – the new box of peppers had also ripened to a red, leaving me no choice but to get my hands in the box to pick out a few green peppers. The 2 bottom boxes show an abundance of red chili peppers in my grocery store with just a sprinkling of the green ones!
Health Benefits
There is some evidence that the capsaicin in chili peppers can assist in reducing belly fat. In a 12-week study of eighty overweight subjects published in the January 2009 issue of “The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition,” researchers found that treatment with 6 mg of capsaicin a day resulted in abdominal fat loss. They added that the treatment appeared to be safe and well tolerated.
charuyoga 