Noodle Bhel

'N of Indian Vegetables' sure was a tough one for me. I don't know why but somehow I just went blank on veggies starting with 'N'. Finally, I remembered this recipe called 'Noodle Bhel', which I had come across in a newspaper 2 yrs back. I never really got to reading the recipe in detail and so with just an idea of the main ingredients, I made my own recipe. This simple dish is deliciously mouthwatering, can be altered to one's taste and liking easily, and can be served as a salad or a snack.

Ingredients:(There is no strict measure for ingredients in this recipe so use as per your liking)
Sprouted green mung beans
Maggi noodles (masala flavor) 1 packet
Chopped onions
Chopped red capsicum
Chopped cabbage
Grape tomatoes halved
Tamarind chutney (I used the readymade tamarind-date chutney by Swad)
Chaat masala
A little bit of cayenne pepper
Salt to taste
Olive oil

Method:
The first thing required to make this bhel is sprouted green mung beans. It generally takes 1-2 days the way I do it. First wash the mung beans and then soak them for about 4-5 hrs. Then drain of all the water and spread the beans on a cloth or tissue towel till they are completely dried. Then line a plastic bowl with tissue paper, place the mung beans in it, cover it with the tissue and keep it in the oven to sprout.
Once the beans are ready, the bhel is a snap to make.Take the sprouted mung beans in a bowl. You can either use them directly or sautee them in a little bit of oil to get rid of the raw taste. I used raw beans and it looks like this...

Now, break the noodles. Reserve the masala included in the packet for later.In a pan, heat a little bit of oil and fry the noodles till they turn a little crispy and brown.They will look like this...

Add these noodles to the mung beans. Next, sautée the onions, capsicum and cabbage in a little bit of olive oil and add them to the beans. Cooking the veggies is optional. They can be added just like that.Then add the halved grape tomatoes.Sprinkle the reserved maggi masala powder, chaat masala, cayenne pepper and salt over the salad. Pour the tamarind chutney and toss the bhel. And thats it...Noodle Bhel is ready to serve!
The best part of this bhel is that the ingredients can be added or skipped according to one's liking and this is a delicious way to make kids gulp down their veggies. This is how the final product looks...Enjoy!