Moth Usal (Turkish Bean Curry)

No, we're not serving moths at the Evolution Kitchen. That just happens to be one of the spellings of a popular Asian Indian bean. It's also spelled "muth" and "mat", so it makes sense that it is pronounced like none of its spellings; it is pronounced "moat". These beans are also called Turkish gram. As you can see here, they are quite small and look like little candies:

My wife recently returned from the Indian market with a bag of these. I quickly looked them up and found numerous recipes. The first one I tried was not so good. The second recipe was very vague and had many details left out. So I basically filled in the gaps it and it turned out wonderful! It is a very simple recipe with very few ingredients. Here is my rendition of Moth Usal.

Moth Usal (Turkish Bean Curry)

Ingredients

1 t black mustard seeds

1 c moth beans, soaked overnight

2 T canola oil

pinch of asafoetida

pinch of turmeric

1 t chili powder

1½ c water

1 T shredded coconut

½ t salt

Steps

1. Heat the oil in a pressure cooker over medium-high heat. When hot, add the mustard seeds and asafoetida. Let them splutter a few seconds, then dump in the drained beans. Stir to mix well. Add the turmeric and chili powder. Pour in the water and mix well.

2. Lock the lid in place and bring to high pressure. Lower temperature and maintain high pressure for 10-12 minutes.

3. Release the pressure naturally for 10 minutes, then quick release any remaining pressure. Add the coconut and salt, stir to mix well. Garnish with parsley or cilantro and tomato wedges. Serve hot.