Beans black mung seeds

Black mung (black mash, mai) / Vigna mungo

An annual plant, a species of the genus Vigna of the legume family, according to morphological characteristics, is a close relative of mung bean. Urd is grown as a food and fodder (grain, green mass, hay) plant.

Urdu is native to Central Asia and India. It was in India that this plant was domesticated 3-4 thousand years ago. Urd was first described by C. Linnaeus in 1767. Currently, black mung bean is grown in South and Southeast Asia, tropical regions of Africa, Madagascar. The main producer of Urdu is India, where the grown mung bean is consumed domestically. Myanmar and Thailand also have huge cultivated areas of this crop - they are the main exporters of black mung bean.

Urd is a tropical heat-loving crop, the optimal average daily temperature for this plant is 25-35 ° C, the annual rainfall is 600-1000 mm. Urd does not like waterlogging, does not tolerate frost, is drought-resistant, prefers lowlands, although it can climb to a height of up to 1800 meters above sea level.

Cultivated Urd is a low herbaceous annual plant, with straight or hanging stems 20-90 centimeters long. Nitrogen-fixing bacteria live on the tap root, supplying the plant with nitrogen compounds in exchange for nutrients. The leaves are trifoliate, covered with pile, on long cuttings. The leaf plates that make up the leaf are sharp-oval, 5-10 centimeters long and 5-7 centimeters wide. The flowers are large bright yellow, collected in inflorescences of 10-20 pieces.

Bean fruit: narrow, cylindrical, sticking up, 4-7 centimeters long and 0.6 centimeters wide, covered with hard villi. The bean contains 4-10 rounded or cut-off seeds with a rib (the rib is longer than mung bean seeds). Seed diameter 4 mm. The seed color of Urdu is usually black, but there are varieties with green seeds.

The chemical composition of black mung bean seeds is characterized by the content of a large amount of highly digestible protein (20-25%), carbohydrates, potassium, calcium, iron, vitamin B1, B2 and PP.

Dried black mung bean seeds, whole young beans, and sprouts have culinary applications. Urd is one of the main legumes in India and Pakistan. Dried seeds are boiled and used in various recipes for first and second courses, side dishes and snacks. Urd goes well with rice, from these products (adding spices) you can cook an excellent vegetarian pilaf. Dal is a traditional Indian dish made from Urd.

Black mung bean seeds are ground into flour, which is added to bread during baking. To increase its nutritional value. In particular, such flour can be used to make papadam, a traditional Indian flatbread.

Young green pods and even leaves are cooked and used as green vegetables.

Like mash, urd practically does not cause flatulence.

Black mung bean has been used in Ayurvedic medicine due to its medicinal properties. It eliminates disorders of the digestive system, removes toxins from the body, lowers blood sugar levels, improves the functioning of the cardiovascular and nervous systems.

Moistened ground powder from the seeds is used externally as a compress for abscesses on the skin.