A happy accident last week. I ordered mung beans from Hummingbird Wholesale in Eugene, OR, but didn't specify “whole”. I received split mung beans. I didn't even know split mung beans existed. Well, they do. And they're delicious.

Split mung beans are mung beans that have been stripped of their hull and then cleaned and split. They are small, yellow, and are quick cooking like split yellow or split green peas (though I still soak them to make them fully digestible).

After browsing the web and finding inspirational recipes (such as Punjabi Dhaland Southwestern Yellow Split Pea Soup), here's how I made our delicious Split Mung Bean Soup. We ate it with sprouted spelt bread.

Makes 16 cups – 10 servings (1-1/2 cups per serving)

2-1/2 cups split mung beans

8 cups clean water, plus an additional 8 cups clean water

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

3/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon dried ginger

3 tablespoons unrefined coconut oil (or butter or ghee)

3 cloves fresh garlic, diced or sliced

1 onion, diced

1 medium tomato, diced

3 teaspoons sea salt, or to taste

Soak the beans in 8 cups of water overnight. In the morning, drain and rinse.

In a 6 to 8 quart stockpot, put the beans and 8 cups of fresh water. Move the pot to the stovetop. Add turmeric, cumin and ginger and bring to a simmer. When it first comes to a boil, it can foam up quite high and quite quickly, so be prepared to stir down the foam and turn down the heat. Cover and let simmer for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, put coconut oil, garlic and onion in a skillet and saute until soft. Add to soup after it has simmered for 15 to 20 minutes.