Bean sprouts are a common ingredient in many eastern dishes and for salads, they are the crisp, tender sprouts of various beans, produced by placing them in a little water and allowing them to germinate. They are best eaten raw and are a good salad ingredient for winter time. They can also be stir fried or sautéed but for not more than half a minute. The beans most commonly used are soya, mung, adzuki and curd beans though there are many others which can be used. Crisp-looking sprouts with the seeds still attached should be chosen and they should be used quickly as they do not store well. In Delhi, the cook of the house where we stayed soaked mung beans, wrapped them in a muslin cloth and hung them in the kitchen overnight, dampening the cloth again in the morning, using the sprouts in the evening in cooked dishes.