Mung bean coconut curry with kale

Thanks to mung beans and rice, it’s filled with protein and fiber. A generous portion of kale adds vitamins and nutrients.

This delicious dish can be eaten on its own for a full meal in a bowl.

Or serve it with warm flatbread to scoop it all up. (Frozen green onion pancakes from Trader Joe’s are a convenient option.)

In this post:

Here are the ingredients you will need to make this recipe.

Whole mung beans: Look for whole mung beans, not split. Also known as moong beans, they can be found near dried lentils at the grocery store. For the best prices, check out your local Indian grocery store.

Brown rice: By cooking dried brown rice along with the mung beans, you can easily cook everything in one pot. And the rice picks up all of the mouthwatering flavor.

Avocado oil: Avocado oil is my go-to, but feel free to use any neutral-flavored cooking oil you like.

Alliums: Onions and garlic are a must for their irresistible flavors and aroma.

Seasonings: Dried coriander, curry powder, ancho chili powder, salt, pepper, and cayenne.

I usually use Penzey’s sweet curry powder when making this dish, and then add generous dashes of cayenne to taste.

Bouillon: Better Than Bouillon, no chicken base is my go-to. If you’d prefer, water + bouillon can be replaced with 3 cups of vegetable broth.

Reduced fat coconut milk: Choose light canned coconut milk, not the shelf stable kind you might use in cereal.

Kale: Chopped kale adds nutrients and texture to this hearty stew. It can be replaced with a different dark, leafy green or omitted, if you’d prefer.

Cilantro: Cilantro adds a pop of bright color for garnish.

Here’s how to make this recipe at a glance. For complete ingredient amounts & instructions, keep scrolling to the recipe card below.

1. Put brown rice and mung beans into a fine mesh sieve. Sort out any broken fragments from the beans. Fully rinse the mung beans & rice and set aside.

Tip: Because of their small size, mung beans do not need to be soaked before cooking.

2. Saute onions and garlic in a pot.

3. Once the onions and garlic are translucent and fragrant, add the following spices:

• Dried coriander
• Curry powder
• Ancho chili powder

4. Then add the following:

• Water
• Bouillon
• Mung beans
• Brown rice
• Canned reduced fat coconut milk

5. Bring the pot to a simmer. Then turn the heat to medium low and cover. Cook for 40 minutes, until the mung beans are fully tender.

6. Near the end of the cooking time, add salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste. Then stir in chopped kale. Cook a couple minutes more, to allow the kale to shrink.

Tip: The heat levels in curry powder vary from one brand to the next. That’s why I recommend adding cayenne to taste near the end of the cooking time. (If you added it earlier, you wouldn’t be able to taste it while the mung beans & rice are still hard.)

You can make this mung bean curry recipe your own by varying the ingredients and amounts.

• To make a spicier curry, add a freshly chopped jalapeno with the onions and garlic.
• Curry powders vary by brand. Use a milder or hotter one, depending on your preferences.
• Water + bouillon can be replaced with 3 cups of vegetable broth.
• If you’d prefer to omit the coconut milk, replace it with 1 ¾ cups of water.
• You can replace rice with 1 cup of quartered yellow potatoes. (You may need to add slightly more water as it cooks.)
• Kale can be replaced with another dark leafy green like collard greens, spinach, turnip greens, mustard greens, or Swiss chard. Or if you’d prefer, omit the dark leafy greens completely.
• If you don’t like cilantro, simply leave it off.

This hearty stew can be enjoyed all on its own. It’s great for meal planning, or taking to work in a packed lunch. You can simply reheat and eat!

Or you can pad out your meal with any of the following:

• Air fryer cauliflower
• Roasted fennel
• Air fryer radishes
• Vegetable samosas & apple chutney
• Flatbread (tandoori roti, vegan naan, or scallion pancakes)

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge. It will keep for 3 or 4 days. Reheat in the microwave or on the stove.

Mung bean curry also freezes well. Freeze in a freezer-safe container. When you’re ready to enjoy it, move it to the refrigerator to thaw. Then reheat in the microwave or in a pot on the stove.

📖 Recipe

Mung bean coconut curry

Author: Cadry Nelson

5 from 2 votes

This flavorful stew is packed with mung beans, rice, and kale. Enjoy this one pot meal by the spoonful, or scoop it up with warm flatbread.

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour

Servings: 6 people

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Indian, Vegan

Keyword: dairy free, mung bean stew, one pot meal

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 ½ cups mung beans
• ▢ ½ cup brown rice
• ▢ 1 teaspoon avocado oil or other neutral-flavored cooking oil
• ▢ 1 medium yellow onion chopped
• ▢ 3 cloves garlic minced
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon dried coriander
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon curry powder
• ▢ ½ teaspoon ancho chili powder
• ▢ 3 cups water
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Better Than Bouillon, no chicken base
• ▢ 1 (13.5-ounce) can reduced fat coconut milk
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt plus more to taste
• ▢ Dash of pepper
• ▢ Dash of cayenne
• ▢ 3 cups chopped kale
• ▢ Cilantro optional garnish

Instructions

• ▢
  Pour mung beans and brown rice into a fine mesh sieve. Sort through them, discarding anything inedible or broken. Then fully rinse the mung beans and rice under running water. Then set them aside for later use.
• ▢
  Bring a soup pot to a medium heat with avocado oil. Add chopped onion and minced garlic. Saute for 3 to 5 minutes, until translucent and fragrant.
• ▢
  Add dried coriander, curry powder, and ancho chili powder. Stir to fully incorporate with the onions and toast the spices. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes.
• ▢
  Add water, Better Than Bouillon no chicken base, mung beans, rice, and reduced fat coconut milk, and stir to fully incorporate.
• ▢
  Bring to a simmer. Once it is simmering, turn the heat to low medium and cover. Cook for 40 minutes, stopping occasionally to stir.
• ▢
  Near the end of the cooking time, add salt, pepper, and cayenne, and stir to incorporate. Taste and add more of each, if desired.
• ▢
  Once the mung beans are fully tender, stir in chopped kale. It may look like a lot of kale, but once it hits the hot mung beans, it will quickly wilt. Cook for 2 more minutes.
• ▢
  Taste one more time for seasonings, adding more salt and/or cayenne, if desired. Scoop the mung bean coconut curry into bowls.

  If you like, serve with flatbread for scooping it up, vegetable samosas, and/or your favorite vegetable side dish.

Notes

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It will keep for 3 or 4 days. Reheat in the microwave or on the stove. 

Leftovers also freeze well. Freeze in a freezer-safe container. When you’re ready to enjoy it, move it to the refrigerator to thaw. Then reheat in the microwave or on the stove.

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Nutrition

Calories: 262kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 0.4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 416mg | Potassium: 791mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 1189IU | Vitamin C: 16mg | Calcium: 121mg | Iron: 4mg