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Showing posts with label radish. Show all posts
Showing posts with label radish. Show all posts

Monday, December 28, 2015

Coconut Cucumber And Radish Raita

During the winter months when tons of radish floods the local markets, most folks find a way to include this wonderful vegetable into their everyday menu. Be it the North Indian Muli ka paratha or the spicy stir fried version in South India, every state has its own special radish dish. Folks in Odisha like to add it to their Kanji ( a light soup ), have it crushed and mixed with lime juice as a salad and also as a glorious raita with coconut added to mellow down the strong radish flavour. I have simply modified this recipe by adding some cucumber and also a hint of mustard. The end result is a very light and refreshing recipe that is the perfect complement to any meal ( especially ones that feature a rich gravy dish ).

Read on -


















Preparation Time - 10 mins

Ingredients -


  • 1 cup grated radish
  • 1 cup grated cucumber
  • 1/2 cup freshly grated coconut
  • 1 1/2 cup yogurt
  • 2/3 tsp mustard seeds
  • 2 sprig curry leaves
  • 2 dry red chilis
  • 1 tsp mustard paste ( use less if you are not used to the pungency or use yellow instead of black mustard )
  • salt to taste
  • 1 1/2 tsp oil


Preparation - Take the yogurt in a mixing bowl. Add salt and mustard paste. Beat it lightly to break the lumps.

Squeeze out water from the radish and cucumber. Add to the mixing bowl along with the coconut.

Cooking - Heat oil in a tempering pan. Add the mustard seeds, broken red chili and curry leaves. Once it starts spluttering, pour it over the contents of the mixing bowl.

Mix well. Add a little water if you want a thinner consistency.

Serve immediately or chill for 15 mins before serving.

Note - Consume on the same day.

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Mooli ka Parantha ( Radish Paratha )

This North Indian specialty hardly needs an introduction. Flavorsome mooli paranthas accompanied with an achar are mostly consumed in the winter months.

While most folks usually cook the grated mooli with a whole lot of masalas before using it as a filling, I prefer to incorporate it directly into the dough. It is healthier and definitely lower in calories. Adding a little yogurt in this case also helps to mellow down the pungency of the radish (but do remember to squeeze out all the water before you add yogurt else the dough will turn soggy). Read on for the easy recipe -





Preparation Time - 20 mins

Ingredients -


  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 3/4 cup grated mooli (radish)
  • a fistful od finely shredded radish leaves (optional)
  • 1 tbsp hung curd
  • 1/3 tsp chili powder (or finely chopped green chilis)
  • a pinch of turmeric
  • a pinch of roasted cumin powder
  • a pinch of garam masala
  • 2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
  • salt to taste
  • ghee/oil for cooking the paranthas



Preparation - Add salt to the grated radish and keep aside for 30 mins. Then squeeze out all the water from the radish.

Take in a mixing bowl and add the rest of the ingredients except for the ghee. Mix everything into a dough. If it happens to be too sticky/wet , dust some more flour.

Divide the dough into 4-5 portions and shape each into a thick disc.

Dust a working surface with flour and roll out the disc into a thick circle.

Cooking - Heat a pan/tawa. Put the rolled out circle on it.

Wait for 20-30 seconds before flipping it over. Drizzle ghee from the sides and press down lightly with a spatula. Flip it over once again and add some more ghee on the sides.

Cook on both sides on a medium flame till small brown spots appear. Remove from pan/tawa and keep aside.

Repeat for the remaining discs.

Serve hot with pickle.


Sunday, August 17, 2014

Mula Besara ( Radish in a mustard-yogurt gravy )

Radish is one of those vegetables which is a must include for a weight loss diet.  It is low on carbs, high on roughage/fiber and loaded with water. It is low GI food which helps manage sugar levels more efficiently in diabetics and its high vitamin C, folic acid and anthocyanins make it an anti-carcinogenic. It also happens to be a wonder food for disinfecting, detoxifying and nourishing all the organs involved in the digestive system.

This vegetable is consumed in most Odia households in the form of khatta, raita, salad, bhaja and besara. All of these recipes are simple, doable and low in calories. Though my husband is not very fond of this vegetable, I quite enjoy it and make it when I am cooking a meal for myself. Today's recipe is a simple mula besara or radish cooked in a gravy of mustard-yogurt-garlic. I have tweaked the recipe a bit.

Read on -



















Preparation Time - 15 mins

Ingredients -


  • 1 1/2 cup radish ( peeled and cubed )
  • 2 tsp mustard seeds
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1-2 green chili
  • 3 tbsp thick yogurt
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric
  • 1 1/2  tsp mustard oil
  • salt to taste
  • freshly grated coconut for garnishing

Preparation - Grind the mustard, garlic and green chili into a fine paste. Dissolve in 1/2 cup water. Strain to remove all the black bits (skin). [ I was a bit clumsy while doing this and some of the un-strained paste fell into my mixing bowl. Hence you can see some black specks in the final dish]

Take all the ingredients in a mixing bowl. Add the strained mustard paste. Mix well.

Cooking - Heat a wok. Add the contents of the mixing bowl . Cover and cook till the radish is just cooked.
(I prefer to leave it a bit crunchy/chewy)

If there is still lot of liquid remaining, remove the radish and then reduce the sauce till it is thick. Pour this thickened sauce over the radish and sprinkle freshly grated coconut.

Serve at room temperature with white rice.


Note - One can also leave out the garlic as the radish is quite pungent in itself. The yogurt and coconut also help to reduce the pungency.

Monday, February 3, 2014

Mula Khatta

With the onset of winters, one finds a whole lot of varieties of khatta, ambila and kanji being introduced in the menu of most Odiya households. Vegetables like elephant apple, indian olives and star fruit are abundantly available in the local markets and find a place in any feast happening around this time of the year.

As I have always maintained, Oriya food transcends the need to merely satisfy the 'jivha' and focuses on the appeasement of the 'jiva'. Hardly any surprise then that this kind of diet mirrors the ancient Ayurvedic wisdom which states that one should partake sweet, sour and spicy food during the winters to balance out the 'dosas', especially the 'Vata' dosa. Since winters is considered to be the time when the digestive system is at its strongest, it calls for a heavy or high calorific diet else the body may burn its fat reserves and create a 'Vata' dosa (when the fat reserves fall below the minimum required limit ).

'Mula', 'mooli' or radish is essentially a winter vegetable. While it is quite liked in the stir-fried form (bhaja), it is also added to many oriya preparations like 'dalma', 'kanji', 'ambila' and 'ghanta'. It is also prepared into a sweet-sour preparation referred to as 'khatta'. Read on for the recipe:




Preparation Time - 25 mins

Ingredients - 1 large radish, 2 large tomatoes, 2 dry red chillis, 1 sprig curry leaves, 3-4 tbs yogurt, 1/2 tsp mustard paste, 1/4 tsp mustard seeds, 5-6 garlic flakes, 2 pinch asafoetida, 2 tsp oil, 1/5 tsp turmeric, salt to taste.

Preparation - Chop the radish into thick slices. Transfer to a pressure cooker along with 1 cup water and cook for 1 whistle (on medium). Once steam escapes. open the lid. Drain off excess water.

Chop the tomato into 4 halves each.

Cooking - Heat the oil in a wok. Add the mustard seeds, broken red chillis, curry leaves and asafoetida.
Follow with the crushed garlic flakes.Fry for 30 seconds.

Add the tomatoes along with salt and turmeric. Cook till it turns into a paste.

Lower the flame, and add the yogurt and mustard paste. Stir for 2-3 minutes.

Add 3 cups water and bring to a boil. Add the boiled radish at this stage. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Serve hot/cold with rice, dal and veggies.




Sunday, January 16, 2011

Mula Saaga





















Cooking Time Required: 30 mins
Cost of preparation: 20-25 Rupees

Ingredients: Mula saaga ( radish leaves, 200 gm ), brinjal ( small pieces, 1/2 cup ),
pumpkin ( small pieces, 1/2 cup ), saru ( colocasia, 1/2 cup ), tomatao ( 1 no., medium ),mustard paste ( 1 tsp ), dry red chillis ( 3-4 nos ), pancha-phutana ( 1/2 tsp ), garlicflakes ( 3-4 nos ), oil , salt, freshly grated coconut ( 1/3 cup ).

Preparation: Wash the mula saaga and cut into small pieces. Transfer to a pressure cooker,add salt and 3-4 cups of water. Allow to cook for 5 mins ( or 1 whistle ). Remove from fire and keep aside for steam to escape.

Drain the excess water.

Cooking: Heat 1 tsp oil in a wok. Add all the vegetables and stir fry for 2-3 mins.

Transfer the vegetables to the pressure cooker containing the boiled saaga. Add the mustard paste and salt with 1/2 cup of water.

Cook for 1-2 whistles. Remove from fire and allow steam to escape.

Heat 3 tsp oil in a wok. Add pancha-phutana and red chillis . When the chilli darkens, add the crushed garlic flakes.

Add the boiled saaga and vegetables. Cook till the excess water evaporates.
Garnish with grated coconut. Serve with rice and dal.

Note: Boiling the mula saaga and removing the water reduces the bitterness of the mula saaga. One can skip this step depending on ones preference.

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Dahi Mula ( Mooli ka Raita )

'Dahi-Mulaa' or Mooli Raita is one of the dishes prepared for Lord Jaganaath's Midday meal, also known as the 'abhada'. With a generous amount of coconut and a tinge of sweetness, it is a nice thick raita that tastes wonderful when served with anna, dali and besara. However, I enjoy it with plain rice and yellow dal or even paratha.


















Cooking time required: 10-15 mins

Ingredients:


  • Radish(mooli) ( 1 large)
  • freshly grated coconut ( 1 cup)
  • curd (3/4 th cup)
  • sugar ( 1-2 tsp)coriander seeds (1 tsp)
  • mustard seeds (1/4 tsp)
  • red chillies (1-2 nos)
  • curry leaves (5-6 nos)
  • oil (1 tsp)
  • salt to taste
  • 2-3 pinch coarsely ground pepperorns (golmaricha)


Cooking: Grate the radish, squeeze out excess water and transfer to a mixing bowl. Add the grated coconut, curd, sugar, ground peppercorn and salt. Mix well and keep aside.

Heat the oil in a pan, when smoking add the spices (red chilli, coriander seeds and mustard seeds) and a few curry leaves (curry leaf flavor should not dominate the dish). Pour the spluttering mix into the mixing bowl and mix.

Serves as a excellent side dish for any vegetarian meal (personally, i prefer not to have radish with any non-vegetarian dish. Not a very good idea to have two dominant flavors fight it out among themselves).



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