Rice Porridge with Coconut and Mung Beans
Comfort food is always something very healthy and nutritious for me. I have to thank my havyaka food roots for this. On a cold evening or a hot afternoon nothing can make me happier than a bowl full of rosematta rice porridge (Ganji) with some spicy Indian pickle. I was raised on rice porridges and One such rice porridge is this recipe I am sharing with you all today.
Rice porridge with fresh coconut and mung beans is really simple and easy to make but is an amazingly creamy, fragrant rice porridge which is hearty and comforting. This is a staple in my home town as mung bean is believed to be really cooling and in our summers our body needs it! Fresh Coconut is always surplus so it makes its way into everything we cook. I have used fresh coconut ground into a fine paste here but you can replace it with coconut milk/cream.
This rice porridge is traditionally served with a dollop of ghee and some spicy Indian mango pickle. You can also eat it plain with a pinch of salt. Serve it with some honey or maple syrup for a delicious breakfast!
Get creative as this is a great base for several toppings 
Dry mung beans
Soaked mung beans
Freshly ground coconut
Creamy, fragrant rice porridge
[typography font="Cantarell" size="24" size_format="px" color="#b36f98"]Ingredients:[/typography]
- White rice 1 cup
- Dry mung beans 1 cup
- Freshly ground coconut 1 cup
- A pinch of salt
Soak the dry mung beans for 5-6 hours, preferably over night. Discard the water.
Combine mung beans, rice and coconut paste/cream, add a pinch of salt and 3 cups of water in a big pot and let it cook. Rice and mung beans need to be mushy and falling apart when done. This can take quite some time. I used my faithful pressure cooker which makes my life SO much easier.
Add more water to get the required consistency and taste and adjust the salt to suit your taste.
Serve hot with sweet or spicy toppings.
11 comments :
Amanda July 22, 2011 6:57PM
So did you just take the coconut meat and grind it up? Could I buy shredded, unsweetened coconut like http://www.amazon.com/Lets-Do-Organic-Shredded-Unsweetened/dp/B000F4D5GC and use that? I can buy it in bulk and it’s inexpensive.
Chinmayie July 22, 2011 7:02PM
Hey Amanda! I used fresh coconut meat ground into a paste but i think unsweetened coconut out of a packet should be fine. I have only used fresh coconut as it’s cheap and easily available in India so I don’t know much about packaged coconut. Sorry!
kankana July 18, 2011 5:20AM
YOu know I never had rice porridge but now looking at this I am thinking of giving this a try for sure. Looks so comforting and creamy. mung Beans are of my fav and I just love it anyway
Tanvi@SinfullySpicy July 16, 2011 6:49PM
Can you believe that I never had rice porridge! I think its more of a south speciality..Ofcourse I LOVE green moong dal khichdi with nimbu achaar
Mom used to make lot of savory broken wheat (daliya) & I used to hate it as a kid..now I can eat it though:) You always have such simple & healthy recipes-I leave with a guilt all the time from here:) Have a fun Sunday
P.S.- The soaked moong dal picture is very pretty!
Anh July 16, 2011 1:50PM
Very nice and simple! In Vietnam we made a similar dish as well
Miriam @ Sometimes I Veg July 16, 2011 1:29PM
I admit that I’ve never been a rice pudding fan, and I’m not too sure what mung beans taste like. I’m going to have to put this recipe aside and see if I can bring myself the courage to try it.
Chinmayie July 16, 2011 4:18PM
I think rice porridge is an acquired taste. I grew up on it so I obviously love it! Give it a shot though… you might just like it
Angie@Angiesrecipes July 16, 2011 5:01AM
A perfect summer breakfast with some steamed buns!
Eva July 16, 2011 3:46AM
I am a huge rice pudding fan, and this one sounds delicious. I can imagine how wonderful and creamy it would taste with the coconut in there
yum!
Brooke July 15, 2011 6:36PM
This looks fantastic. I’ve got mung beans waiting in the pantry for something awesome to happen to them. Is there something I can do to sub for the fresh coconut? (I know, there is no real substitute…) But coconut is so expensive here and not very good, either.
Chinmayie July 16, 2011 5:28AM
I think you can use canned coconut cream/milk instead but I have never tried it myself. You can also simply cook mung beans and rice together and serve with some fresh cream mixed in it. It will still be tasty