Kosambari
Kosambari is the small salad that opens a South Indian meal, and it is usually finished with a handful of freshly scraped coconut. This version leaves the coconut out and leans on soaked raw moong for its bite. The beans go in uncooked, softened only by a few hours in water, which keeps every bite crisp. Lemon and a dry-popped mustard tempering carry the seasoning, so no salt is needed to make it taste complete.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Mung beans, soaked 3 hours and drained
- 1 Cucumber, finely diced
- 1 Carrot, grated
- 1 Indian green chile, minced
- 1 tsp Ginger, grated
- 2 tbsp Lemon juice
- 3 tbsp Cilantro, chopped
- 1/2 tsp Brown mustard seed
- 10 Curry leaves
- 1 pinch Asafoetida
Method
- Soak the mung beans in cool water for at least 3 hours, until a bean bends without snapping. This is the whole trick of the dish: soaking softens the raw legume enough to eat and to digest, so it stays crunchy without ever touching heat.
- Drain the beans well and put them in a bowl with the cucumber, grated carrot, green chile, and ginger.
- Warm a small dry pan over medium heat. Add the mustard seeds and toast until they turn gray and start to pop, about 1 minute. Toss in the curry leaves and asafoetida, add 1 teaspoon (5 ml) water to stop the cooking, and swirl for a few seconds until the leaves crackle.
- Scrape the tempering over the salad. Add the lemon juice and cilantro and toss.
- Taste and add lemon a few drops at a time until the salad tastes sharp and finished. The acid is doing the work salt usually would, so let it. Serve right away, while the beans are at their crispest.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 130 calories, 7 g protein, 6 g fiber, 20 mg sodium. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement. How these are computed.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt. How this is computed.
