Mung Bean Sprouts | How to Sprout Green Gram

moong sprouts in a white bowl placed on dark gray slate board.

4.94 from 30 votes

Mung Bean Sprouts | How to Sprout Green Gram

Delicious, nutritious mung beans are a breeze to sprout at home. Not only do they taste better than store bought, sprouting moong from scratch is much more economical than you might think! Here I share two simple and quick methods for making mung sprouts yourself, no sprout maker needed.

Prep Time2

Cook Time0

Total Time2

Course: Snacks

Cuisine: World

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Servings: cups

Calories: 31kcal

Author: Dassana Amit

Ingredients

½ cup mung beans
1.5 cups water for soaking - filtered or boiled and cooled

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Rinsing and soaking Mung beans

Take the moong beans on a plate or tray. Pick and clean the beans to remove any husks or stones.
Rinse the beans in clean water, three to four times using a mesh strainer or colander.
Place the rinsed mung beans In a bowl. Add water to cover the moong beans in the bowl.
Cover the bowl with a lid and soak the beans overnight or for 8 hours.
The next day the moong beans will swell. Drain the water either from the bowl or by using a colander to strain.
Thoroughly rinse the beans with clean filtered water, or water that has been boiled and cooled. This step is essential to avoid the risk of contaminating the sprouts.

Method one

This first method is for how to sprout beans in a bowl or large container.
Place the soaked beans back into a new clean bowl. Cover again with a lid (not tight fitting or air-tight) at room temperature for 1 to 2 days in a dark place.
Check after a day and you will see the the beans begin to sprout. After 2 days you will see beautiful sprouts from the moong beans.
Depending on the weather, temperature conditions and the quality of mung beans, the sprouting may happen in a day or may take more time. For long tender sprouts, keep for 2 to 3 days.
Do not touch the sprouting beans with your hands or with any spoon or fork to avoid contamination.

Method two

The second method is to sprout the mung beans using a muslin, kitchen cotton towel or cloth.
Wet a muslin, cheese cloth, clean cotton cloth or kitchen cotton napkin with clean filtered water, and squeeze the excess water from it. Open the cloth fully.
After rinsing and draining the soaked beans thoroughly, place them in the center on this damp cloth.
Tie the ends and tighten into a bundle, and place in a clean bowl.
Keep loosely covered in a container for 1 or 2 days. Be sure the lid on the container is not too loose and not tight.
To check on the sprouting beans, do not open the cloth bundle.
After the first day, examine the outside of the kitchen towel. You will see tiny little sprouts or longer sprouts growing out of the cloth fabric, especially if you have used a thin material like muslin or a cheesecloth.
For more longer sprouts, you can keep it for one more day.

Storage

Once completely sprouted the beans stay fresh in the fridge for 1 or 2 more days.
Remove the sprouted beans from the bowl or from the muslin with a clean spoon and place in an air-tight steel container. Store in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator for 1 to 2 days.

How to use

You could use the moong beans to make your favorite recipe. You could even have these raw in salads or slightly steam and have it plain or just with about anything, even toasted bread.
Before using the sprouts, always rinse them in clean water or hot water. Add the sprouts raw in salads, or slightly steam and enjoy them plain or just with about anything
If you plan to eat the sprouts raw, rinse them in hot water before including them in any raw recipe or dish.
I make some recipes with the sprouts like this Mixed Sprouts Curry (where I include only mung sprouts) or this delicious Moong Sprouts Chaat and a healthy Moong Sprouts Salad.

Video

Notes

Which method to choose

Both methods that I have mentioned above work for me. Choose whichever method that you like best.

For the second method it is important that you keep the cloth moist. If after a day or two the moisture in the kitchen napkin starts to dry up, you can lightly sprinkle some filtered water on it.

Keeping a check on the sprouts

Even though they take about one to two days to fully sprout, always check the moong after twelve hours and later after the first day. For the bowl method, you can just open the lid and see. Do not open the cloth bundle if using the second method.

Examine the outside of the towel after the first day. You should see little sprouts coming out of the cloth, especially if you have used a thin fabric like cheesecloth or a muslin.

Ensure that you do not touch the sprouting beans with your hands or with any spoon or fork to avoid contamination.

To avoid contamination

Use boiled and cooled water or filtered water to soak the beans. Remember the water should be drained very well before keeping the beans to sprout.

There can be a bacterial growth or fungus can form if there is even a bit of water left in the bowl when you use the first method.

Formation of fungus or any other microorganism will make the sprouts have a stinky smell and they will be slimy to touch. If the beans have an off odor or look slimy, simply trash them.

Use clean bowls, spoons, lid and kitchen napkins while making the sprouts. Ensure that your mung beans are in their shelf life and are not aged or old. If possible use organic mung beans.

Nutrition