Mag nu Saak/Shaak is a traditional Gujarati recipe made with moong beans, tomato and garlic. It is a warming recipe that is best prepared on colder days and pairs so well Jaggery Rice (Gur Wale Chawal) or round and soft gujarati rotlis. This traditional curry is also known as Lasanwala Mag. Included is a recipe for Instant Pot Mag nu Saak that does not require pre-cooking the moong beans.
Mag Nu Saak | Easy Mung Bean Gujarati Curry | Green Moong Curry
Traditionally, Gujarati curries may have garlic but rarely use onion in the base of the curry. The base of these moong bean curry is a finger-licking mix of curry leaves, tomato and garlic. The saak or curry is runny, more like a dal consistency and so can also be called mag nu rasavalu saak.
My Mum likes making mag with gor rice or jaggery rice. The deep-spicy garlic moong bean goes so well with the sweet rice.
Cooking Mag/Mung/Moong on Wednesdays
In Gujarat, as a custom, mug or mug ni dal is prepared on Wednesdays. We love to cook Khatta Mung too.
Chana Dal is cooked on Thursdays.
Black (kala) chana is cooked on Fridays. Have you tried our Rasadar Kala Chana Nu Saak?
Saturdays, whole Urad.
This Mung bean daal is:
Vegan
High in plant-based protein
Naturally gluten-free
Does not require pre-soaking of lentils
Uses a few pantry ingredients
Uses inexpensive and easy to find ingredients
Easy to make-ahead
Freezer-friendly
Can be enjoyed with rice or gujarati chapati.
Ingredients for Gujarati Moong Bean Curry/Mag nu Saak:
Moong beans - also called Mag or Mug. They can be found dried in supermarkets or Asian grocery stores.
Garlic - fresh cloves are best. This recipe also works by completely omitting the garlic if you want.
Tomatoes - tinned or fresh. Tinned gives a thicker gravy. The tinned tomatoes should be blended so that they are smooth. Use pasatta to save time.
Ginger and Chilli paste - use fresh green chillies and ginger where possible
Spice Mix - 4 basic masala - red chilli powder, turmeric, ground cumin and coriander and garam masala
Curry leaves - fresh, frozen or dried
Mustard Seeds - for tempering
Hing - also known as asafoetida, used in very small amounts, it aids digestion. Hing should not be eaten raw!
How to make Mag nu Shaak
I hae included different methods, stove top Indian pressure cooker, stovetop in a pan and Instant Pot.
Pressure Cooker Indian style
If you have a pressure cooker, you don't need to pre-soak the moong and this consumes less time and energy during cooking.
A pressure cooker is a must-have appliance in every household in India and every Indian around the world.
The pressure cooker is used to cook the moong beans and the remaining cooking is done on the stove in a pan or kadai.
1. Clean, wash and soak beans in clean water for at least 1 hour.
2. They will plump up a little.
3. Place it in the pressure cooker with water and cook for 6-7 whistle.
4. Let the cooker cool down naturally.
5. Heat oil in a heavy-based pan or kadai.
6. Add mustard seeds.
7. When they crackle, add hing and curry leaves.
8. Add tomatoes with crushed ginger, garlic and chillies.
9. Now add all the spices powders.
10. Mix well and cook until oil separates from the gravy.
11. Now add boiled moong beans, if very thick add some water to thin it out.
12. Season it with the salt.
13. Bring it to boil on medium heat.
14. Simmer the curry about 10-12 minutes.
Instant Pot Mag nu Saak
You can also make Gujarati Mag nu Saak in the Instant Pot without pre-cooking the mung beans.
To do this, you need an Instant Pot, electric pressure cooker or stovetop pressure cooker.
Soak the mung beans for 3-4 hours in warm water.
Select saute on normal heat and add oil to the inner pot. Add mustard seeds and hing and wait until they splutter.
Next, add the tomatoes, garlic, green chilli and ginger paste and saute until the mixture reduces and oil appears on the surface.
Add the masala and salt. Mix well. Add the soaked mung beans and water, the water should be approx. 1-2 inchs above the mung beans.
Close the lid and ensure valve is on seal. Pressure cook on high for 12 minutes. If you have soaked overnight, then 8 minutes should be sufficient. (Note that these times depend on how fresh and the quality of the mung beans)
Allow NPR (natural pressure release). Add some water if required to achieve the right consistency of the gravy.
Serve this mug nu shaak with Tindora Nu Shaak or Cabbage Curry in a Gujarati thali.
Goes well with Sev Tameta Nu Shaak too.
Storage
If you have leftovers, you can store the daal in a sealed tupperware container and place in the fridge for up to 5 days.
You can also freeze mag and it defrosts really well. When reheating, you can even do another quick temper or vaghar to really spruce up the mag.
You can use leftover mag nu saak in making Daal Paratha.
More beans recipes
Rajma Masala (red kidney beans curry)
Vaal nu Shaak (Gujarati Lima Bean Curry)
Low-fat Black Beans and Sweet Potato Quesadilla
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Mag nu Saak – Easy Mung Bean Gujarati Curry
Equipment
- Stovetop pressure cooker/Instant pot
- Bowl
- Blender
- Pan/kadai
- Big spoon
Ingredients
- 250 gram Moong beans dried
- 150 gram Tomatoes tinned - you can use fresh
- 4 cloves Garlic
- 4 Green chillies
- 1 inch Ginger
- Salt to taste
- 7-8 Curry leaves
- 1 teaspoon Chilli powder red
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon Coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon Cumin powder
- ¼ teaspoon Garam masala
- 3 tablespoon oil
- ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
- 2 tablespoon Coriander/Cilantro fresh
Instructions
- Rinse moong 2-3 times. If soaking, keep it covered and leave it aside for 4-5 hours.
- Pressure cook with adding 2-3 cups of water.
- I cook mine on a medium heat with 6-7 whistles or till soft. (roughly takes 12-15 minutes)
- Grind chillies, garlic and ginger in a grinder with tomatoes.
- Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan, add mustard seeds, when crackle add curry leaves.
- Fry for few seconds and add tomato mixture.
- Lower the heat, add red chilli , tumeric, garam masala, cumin, and coriander powder and salt.
- Cook masala till oil is visible on the side of the pan.
- Now add boiled moong, mix very well.
- Add ½ – 1 cup of water. Cook it for 10-12 minutes,stir in between.
- Add little water if moong dal is too thick. then cook further 1-2 minutes.
- Turn off heat.
- Ready to serve, garnish with fresh chopped coriander and serve with hot steamy rice, roti and papad.
Notes
Nutrition
PLEASE NOTE: Nutritional values are estimated by a computer and may vary based on ingredients and portion sizes. For personalised dietary advice, please consult a qualified healthcare professional.
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Annoymous says
Question: How could you prepare this without using a pressure cooker or instant pot? This is for family members who suffer with gout, and stove top preparation without the use of a pressure cooker will help reduce the purine in the mung beans.
Hayley Dhanecha says
Hello
For stove top method- soak the beans for at least 8 hours or overnight. Rinse throughly in clean water, and boil in a pan with plenty of water until the mung beans are soft.It can take upto 30-35 minutes to cook. You can skim off the white froth as it cooks.
Hope this helps.
Hayley
K Dixit says
This recipe is incredibly delicious and is in constant rotation in our house!
Hayley says
That's so wonderful to hear. If you make it again please send through picture of the finished dish 🙂
Anonymous says
My mom told me that it is to save your self from Rahu.
jcookingodyssey says
Thank you 🙂
Sayantani Mahapatra Mudi says
often make green masur and this one is another tempting recipe to try. looks wonderful.
Mina Joshi says
No clue about the Wednesday for mug. Love mug and poratha. And yes, adding the garlic makes it really tasty. Lately, I have been using passata instead of tomatoes and it's helped make the gravy really thick.