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Why soaking is important before cooking pulses?

Is it dangerous to eat pulses without soaking?

LET'S DISCUSS:

Due to our busy lifestyle most of us look for the quickest method of cooking food. But due to this, we are not cooking our food properly, especially legumes/ whole pulses, etc. Hence we face a lot of issues whenever we are consuming Chana, Rajma, Lobiya, Soybean, etc.

Pulses are an excellent source of Protein, Iron, Folic acid, Dietary fiber, B vitamins, and many more nourishing nutrients.

Beans and lentils are nutritional powerhouses. 

They are delicious to eat, but they have a bad reputation of being gaseous and hard-to-digest.

Many people experience a sharp increase in gas when they eat lentils & Beans.

The root cause lies in the outer covering of pulses, which contains anti-nutrients such as lectins and phytic acids(compounds that can interfere with digestion and absorption of nutrients

Actually Seeds use these anti-nutrients as insecticides to protect themselves from the radiation of the sun, insects, and invasions from fungi, viruses, and bacteria. Also, this protective covering allows these foods to be stored for long periods without turning them rancid or going bad.

One important tip to prevent these pulses from causing gas is to soak them overnight before cooking:

Soaking not only deactivates the harmful nutrients but also activates all the goodness of the seeds and increases its nutritional value multifold

In addition, the process of soaking breaks down the difficult-to-digest carbohydrates and proteins into simpler components . So they are more readily available for absorption.

Q: Then what is the best method for soaking pulses?

A:  Pour the pulses into a pot and cover them with a few centimeters of warm water. Add a couple of tablespoons of acid, such as lemon juice or apple cider vinegar (2 tablespoons for each 1 cup legumes). 

Soak for 8 to 12 hours. 

After soaking most of the seeds will almost double in size. Throw the excess water that is leftover and rinse with fresh water. 

But ensure that you have drained off the water in which you soaked, because of high levels of anti-nutrients present in it.

Soaking in sodium bicarbonate solution(Meetha Soda) is also more effective to reduce anti-nutrients than soaking in water alone. This method of soaking is traditional and is still popular in some of the households. And it has its own benefits.

Forgot to soak overnight? 

Try a Quick Soak: Pour boiling water on pulses and leave them to sit for 3 hours, then rinse, drain and proceed with your recipe.

A second tip to prevent gas formation from lentils:

 Try avoiding canned lentils that are high in sodium.

Use fresh open pulses.

Highly effective Home Remedy for the trapped gas:

Fennel is an age-old solution for trapped wind. Chewing a teaspoon of the fennel seeds is a popular natural remedy.

Sprouted lentils are quite easier to digest.

BYE TO DIGESTION ISSUES!

You can watch the video of this topic by clicking on the link below: