1 cup whole mung beans (picked and washed)
2 cups water
¾ cup jaggery or palm sugar (available from Asian/Indian stores)
½ cup coconut milk
2-3 cardamom pods, peeled and seeds crushed.
1 tablespoon coconut oil or ghee (if you're lacto-ovo)
BATTER:
½ cup rice flour
a pinch of salt
enough cool water to make a thin batter.
Oil for deep frying
In a medium to heavy saucepan, put in the mung beans and the water and put to boil. Once boiling, put the lid on and let simmer and cook until all the water is absorbed. Test for doneness by pressing a bean between thumb and forefinger. It should be tender but not mushy.
In the meantime, combine the cut-up palm vegan sugar or jaggery with the water in a heavy non-stick pan. Boil until a 1-thread syrup is formed (quite thin).
Add the cooked mung, coconut milk, powdered cardamom, and coconut oil. You can add more jaggery at this stage if you like a sweeter taste. Stir and keep cooking on medium heat until the mixture is dry and dark caramelized looking (maybe 5 min) You can keep cooking it for a few more minutes to intensify the flavor, just make sure it does not catch or burn.
Take off the heat and once cool, shape into small lemon-sized balls.
Batter: Whisk all ingredients till smooth and thin. Dip each ball in the prepared batter and deep-fry on medium heat.
Enjoy your protein/carbo/sweet fix! Crisp outside, sweet and soft inside!
This is a very flexible recipe and you can literally change the proportions of the ingredients to your liking.