The Sprouting

The Sprouting

Gosh! That sounds like a Night Shyamalan movie. Don't worry, it isn't. The process, though, of sprouting beans is just as tedious as watching one of Shyamalan’s movies hence the name seems quite apt. (Shyamalan fans are going to slaughter me :P ) Go on, sprout 'em. :) 

These days sprouted field beans, or for that matter any kind of sprouted beans, can easily be found in a grocery store or a supermarket. There are some places, though, that do not have the luxury of such ready products. This post is especially for those of you who have to, or want to, make sprouts at home. The procedure for sprouting any beans/dals remains the same. The time frame will vary depending on the type and the quality of the beans/dal so when you decide to do this ensure you check on the beans/dals every 6 to 8 hours. Once you are satisfied with the shoot sprouting from the beans/dal, it is ready to be taken to the next level (cooked). Big varieties of beans need to be skinned once they sprout but dals like Moth Beans/Matki or Green Gram/Moong need not be skinned. You may directly cook them once they sprout to your satisfaction. I will soon be posting a recipe of Spicy Field Beans, what we Bawas know as ‘Tittori’ hence this initial post about sprouting Field Beans.


The Sprouting procedure:

Day 1:

1. Wash the field beans twice and soak the field beans for 30-32 hours.
   
   

Day 2:

1. Drain out the water and put the soaked fiend beans into a colander standing over an empty vessel.
   
   
   
   
2. Take a damp muslin cloth and cover the drained field beans with it.
   
   

 Day 3 & 4:

1. Leave the field beans covered with the damp muslin cloth for a minimum of 48 hours, until the skin on the field beans begin to split and the field beans has a sprout/shoot of at least 1 inch in length. (IMPORTANT: Please check the muslin cloth every 4-6 hours and dampen it every time it feels dry.)
   
   
   
   
2. Depending on the quality of the field beans they will sprout anywhere within the time frame of 48 to 60 hours.
3. After the field beans sprout, skin each bean (remove the loose skin from each field bean). Discard the skin covering and use the beans as needed.
   
   

Chef Notes:

1. The muslin cloth that you cover the field beans with should be really damp and yet not dripping with water.
2. Very IMPORTANT: Intermittently, as and when the muslin cloth gets dry, during the time that you leave the field beans covered with the cloth, please ensure that you keep dampening the muslin cloth. That is very essential for the sprouting procedure. 
3. If a thin muslin cloth gets dry very quickly, feel free to use a double layer of muslin cloth to keep the beans/dals damp. 
4. You may share the direct blog-link of the recipe/s but do NOT publish my recipes and my photographs on any blog-site or website without my explicit consent or attempt to pass off my recipe/s as your own. You will be held accountable for plagiarism.