Soaking overnight before cooking is the right way to handle beans, grains, nuts and seeds and the perfect start to homemade sprouts!
Do you feel bloated and heavy after eating a meal made with beans, grains, nuts and seeds? Did you soak them overnight before cooking them? Aha! Gotcha! As I spend more time researching and learning about food, I come to understand that the old ways of eating was the right way. Our ancestors leading all the way up to our grandmothers would consider it blasphemous to cook lentils without soaking them first. And while they may not have very many reasons besides ‘it reduces cooking time’ or ‘that’s how it was always done’, here are the actual reasons why you must ALWAYS soak your ‘seeds’.
Understanding the ‘Why’
It may seem like it’s easier and more ‘instant’ to cook dried beans, lentils, seeds and nuts directly without soaking them, but trust me, you’re doing it wrong and only hurting yourself!
We can’t process complex nutrition
Beans, grains, lentils and nuts are essentially seeds, each one designed to give life to a whole new plant! These seeds contain an immense amount of nutrition locked and coded specifically to be unlocked as the seed grows into a plant. The human gut is not equipped to digest such complex nutrition, and the by-product of that is the adverse production of hydrogen – a.k.a ‘fart-attack’.
It actually ages you!
The body also uses up a lot of enzymes to digest them and contributes to early aging. Eat them right to put the brakes on the aging process.
Phytic Acid sucks!
It literally ‘sucks’ guys! Sucks the nutrition in our food from being absorbed into the blood stream. Soaking for atleast 8-24 hours breaks down the phytic acid and ensures that you get all the nutrition you are signing up for.
Knowing the ‘How’
Now that you have begun to understand why you should soak your ‘seeds’, let’s get to the part about actually doing it right.
Step 1: Pick your seeds
Take some ‘seeds’ – the popular choice (mine and everybody’s) is Moong (Mung) beans. Close second would be Black Chickpeas (Kala Channa). This time, I also did Black-eyed peas and Chickpeas. If this is the first time you are making sprouts at home, start with 1/4 cup. Although with mung beans, the yield was much higher than with others. So, nifty too!
Step 2: Drown them
Rinse and submerge in water overnight. Optionally, add a tsp of acid (lemon juice, whey or apple cider vinegar). Helps break down the acids much faster and inhibit growth of harmful bacteria.
Step 3: And that’s it!
Rinse and drain out the soaking liquid. You may do this several times during a 24 hour soak, but it’s not really necessary. If you’re just going to cook them straightaway, pressure cooking is the fastest way to cook soaked beans, lentils and other seeds. Once you’ve drained the soaking liquid, add more water and cook!
Here’s a pressure cooker that almost all Indian homes keep for life. I use a Hard Anodized version of this and believe me guys, with proper care and use, it can last you a lifetime and cut cooking costs+time incredibly! Comment below if you’re curious about the workings of a pressure cooker and I’ll write a separate post on it!
Step 4: Homemade Sprouts
Skip the previous step if you want to take this one step further! To sprout the soaked seeds, drain, rinse and place in a clean glass jar. Cover the mouth with cheesecloth/muslin and hold it in place with a rubber band. Invert on a wire rack and place in a cool, dark place in your home. Pick a place that doesn’t get much traffic, you really don’t want them in the way. The best way to sprout is to forget about them from time to time.
Tip: Don’t want to deal with the hassle of maintaining muslin/cheesecloth? Order these Sprout-Ease lids (set of 3) – fits most wide-mouthed jars! And they’re each a different size, for different sized ‘seeds’! Easy peasy indeed! Thanks Sharmilla for bringing this awesome product to my notice!!!
Step 5: Rinse and repeat
Every 12 hours, rinse, drain, cover, invert and repeat. I do the rinse cycle once in the morning and once after dinner. Keep doing this until they sprout tails long enough for your preference.
Tip: The day before you plan to eat your homemade sprouts, leave them by the windowsill to catch a little sunlight. This little burst of sunshine treatment would help the sprouts develop chlorophyll and carotene.
The only thing left to do is eat your homemade sprouts, done right! Top your salads, soups, add to smoothies, stir-fry, make them into curries/stews – enjoy your dose of proteins and minerals, done right!
Note: Black-eyed peas, Chickpeas and other lentils with a thick husk tend to spoil quickly, so do not plan to keep these in long-term storage. If you want to store them, you’ll need to de-husk them before storage. You can do this by drowning them, and squeezing the husk out. Once they float up, you can drain, dry and store. But honestly, too much work! I’d rather just eat them up quickly!
When you make these (which I really think you SHOULD!), be sure to SHARE YOUR PHOTOS with me through Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. I’d love to see what you cook from here and will share it with pride on my social media feeds.
Do you like sprouts? How often do you make them at home? What’s your favourite way to eat sprouts? Let me know in the comments below?
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RAJENDER says
it is also a good source of vitamin b12 ,especially for vegan ang vegetarion peaple
Anisha says
Also would like to know if soaking with warm water will have any impact.
Tina Dawson says
I don’t know Anisha – I’ve never tried sprouting something soaked in warm water, but it shouldn’t be a problem, as the water should cool down considerably before the sprouting happens… maybe try and come back and let me know? 🙂
Anisha says
Hi Tina……wanted to know if bottles need to be covered with lid during drowning step. Confirming as bottle in picture is open. Thanks
Tina Dawson says
I usually find that when I cover the lentils as they soak, they develop more ‘white scum’ on top, which is very unappetizing to look and smell. So I suggest you leave it open, the aeration will also slow down any bacterial growth….
Radhika says
Yippee! I tried it and got longest and no smell sprouts for the first time. Thanks a ton Tina. I even shared it with my friends.
Tina Dawson says
Yaaay! That sounds amazing! And thanks for the share Radhika! Appreciate it! 🙂
Sandhya Nadkarni says
What a great share Tina! And those bottles with sprouted lentils look awesome.
Tina Dawson says
Thanks so much Sandhya!
Dhils says
Thanks for the info. Tina! Good to know the ‘Why’ part too :-).
Tina Dawson says
My pleasure Dhilip! 🙂
Sheetal patel says
My mom always cooks mixed sprouted khichadi with kadhi in pressure cooker with all Indian spices so delicious my favorite dish and very healthy we eating this dish since childhood I love cooking all different healthy recepies for family
Tina Dawson says
Thanks for sharing, Sheetal!
Swarna says
Can we cook curries with sprouted moong,chickpeas ? Just asking because sprouted ones are healthier …. Family likes curries a lot but not sprouted ones.
Tina Dawson says
Sure, but don’t wait for the tails to get too long. I just added a bunch to my sambar today. They will definitely work in curries too! Good luck!
Sarah @ Champagne Tastes says
I’m literally just now typing up a recipe on how to sprout mung beans! I love this- sprouted grains are so good for you, and store-bought sprouts can be a little scary. I haven’t tried soaking chickpeas yet though– Such a great post!!!
Tina Dawson says
Ha ha! Spread the word Sarah! One can never have too many posts on healthy things to eat! Ya store bought sprouts does scare me too!
S says
I cook the legumes only this way. Change of water (the froth that floats) multiple times helps removes the gas. Off course pressure cooker is the best way to cook legumes. I have also introduced these to my baby.
Tina Dawson says
Sounds perfect, Saffron!
Raksha says
Informative post
Tina Dawson says
Thanks Raksha!
Suchi Modi says
I love black chickpea! But never made them sprouted. I am soaking them now only!
Tina Dawson says
Excellent Suchi! After they sprout, lightly steam them still soft, then do a simple tadka + grated coconut before eating!
Shalini says
We also add black cardamon and ajwain to save us from the fart attack… but glad to have read your post.. just off to soak rajma for tomorrow.
Thanks.
Tina Dawson says
Ooo thanks for that tip Shalini. We here use Asafoetida for the same reason! 🙂
Dannii says
Wow, I didn’t know it was so easy. I am going to have to try this as sprouts are delicious on salads.
Tina Dawson says
Sure thing Dannii!
Karen @ Seasonal Cravings says
First of all, I didn’t even know there were black chickpeas! I love beans of all kinds and do experience some of that bloating afterward. I can see how soaking them makes sense and could be a regular part of my weekly meal prep. I love adding beans to salads, quinoa bowls and soups to bulk up the protein a bit.
Tina Dawson says
Yup, there are black chickpeas – you’ll find them easily in Indian grocery stores (labelled: Kala Channa). Hope it helps!
Emily says
What a great post, I normally buy canned chickpeas/lentils is this bad? It’s so interesting reading about the health benefits of soaking beans/lentils etc before using!
Tina Dawson says
I hope you never have to buy canned again!
Lucy @ Supergoldenbakes says
Well, you learn something new. I’d heard that lentils could lead to bloating but I’m pleased to discover that it can be avoided as they are such nutritious little things.
Tina Dawson says
Thanks Lucy! Now spread the word!
Platter Talk says
Thanks for the information. I had no idea the reason why it’s better to soak for 24 hours and how good homemade sprouts were for me. I’ll take all the anti aging help that I can get!
Tina Dawson says
Well now you know! Thanks Dan!