Tag Archives: turnips

Food, Kashmir

Spicy Turnips and Greens

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Trying to make it feel like winter by cooking winter vegetables 🙂 It’s 70 degree outside in the dead of winter and all my flowers and plants outside are totally confused.DSC_1865

The turnip leaves are flourishing in my garden which made this dish a delight to make. My mom would make turnips when it was snowing outside in Kashmir and we would eat it with white rice and yoghurt.

This was lunch today served with brown rice and organic goat’s milk yoghurt. The spices bring together this dish beautifully.

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Turnips and Greens

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

Ingredients:

  • Turnips ( 3 large)
  • Turnip Green ( 1 bunch)
  • 1 tomato
  • 2 green chilies
  • Garlic cloves – 5
  • 1 small onion
  • 1 tsp Cumin Seeds
  • 1 pinch asafetida
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1tsp ground ginger powder
  • 1/2 tsp Cayenne powder
  • 1tsp fennel powder
  • 1 tsp coriander powder
  • 1/2 tsp black cumin seeds
  • 1 tablespoon clarified butter
  • Salt to taste

Putting it together

  • Peel the turnips, cut into quarters and sprinkle with sea salt and put aside for about 20 mins. Rinse off and the turnips are ready to be cooked.
  • Clean and wash 2 bunches of greens and remove the stems.
  • Please 4-5 cloves of garlic and chop 1 round plump tomato.
  • In a pan use a tablespoon of mustard oil and heat until sizzling.
  • Add garlic, 2 green chilies, 1 chopped small onion and 1 tsp of cumin seeds.
  • Fry for about 30 secs and add a pinch of hing ( asafetida). This is an optional spice.
  • Add the turnip pieces and fry for about 3 mins or so, add tomatoes, 1/2 tsp cayenne ( or less),1 heaping tsp of turmeric, 1 tsp of ground coriander, 1 tsp of ground fennel, 1 tsp of ground ginger and salt to taste.
  • Fry the spices for a couple of mins and then add the greens. Add a cup of water. I use a pressure cooker to cook everything at this point for about 4-5 whistles. If using a regular pot , let it cook on medium heat until the turnips are tender.
  • Add black cumin seed during the last minute of cooking.

Serve hot with rice and enjoy.

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Taking this to Fietsa Friday and Real Food Fridays

Food, Kashmir, side dishes

Red Beans with Turnips – Razmah Gogji Kashmiri Cuisine

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Razmah Gogji ( Turnips and beans)

Kashmiri food is a culinary dance that plays on all the senses.  The flavors and a spices incorporates the rich diversity of the people of Kashmir.

Red Beans with Turnips - Kashmiri Cuisine
Red Beans with Turnips – Kashmiri Cuisine

Kashmiri’s are hearty meat eaters but the history and the cuisine is immersed the cross cultural influences of earthy foods, farm and hillside vegetables and spiritualism through food. This dish is simple. Turnips and beans may seem like unusual companions but they result in an amazing offering.

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My dad sent me an old cookbook a few years back and I ventured into experimenting this dish. Do try it. It is food for the soul and senses.

Here is what you need:

  • 2 cups of dry red beans ( soaked overnight)
  • 5 turnips ( peeled and cut into quarters)
  • 1 tablespoon crushed garlic
  • 3 whole red chilies
  • 1 tsp red chilli powder
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1/2 tsp black cumin seeds
  • 2 inch cinnamon stick
  • 2 tablespoon ginger powder
  • 2 tablespoon fennel powder
  • a pinch of asafetida ( hing)
  • Mustard or olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste.

I use a pressure cooked to make this dish but you can use a heavy bottomed pan. The beans need to be cooked with the turmeric until firm but not too soft. Fry the turnips in a shallow pan with oil until browned and drain on a paper towel.

Use the same pan and add garlic, cumin, cinnamon, red chillies, fennel and ginger powder. Fry in the oil, add a splash of water to soften and then put this mixture in the beans ( again, I am using a pressure cooker).  Add the turnips, whole chilies and the asafetida ( this is optional). Let it pressure cook for about 5 minutes until the turnips have softened. Same idea if you are using a heavy pan to let this cook.

Serve with white or brown rice and a side of good yoghurt.

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Turnips and Greens ( Gogji/shalgam and Hakh)

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Winter vegetables are so full of flavor regardless of how you make them. If you live in and area close to and organic farmers market that has vegetables then you are in luck. Local organic markets now have home delivery which makes life much easier.

Turnips and GreensTurnips are used in dishes all over the world. This particular dish has it’s flavors from the Kashmir region although I never has turnips with greens made this way there.

Regardless, this is a perfect dish on a cold winter day served with rice or quinoa.

For the green (Hakh)I used Chinese Broccoli leaves which seems the closest to the original to me. Otherwise use Kohlrabi greens. The leaves should have think stems which gives you an idea to buy the right one.

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Here is what you need

Turnips ( 3 large)

Chinese Broccoli leaves or kohlrabi leaves ( 2 bunches)

1 tomato

2 green chilies

Garlic cloves – 5

1 small onion

spices: cumin seeds, asafetida, turmeric, coriander powder, ground fennel, ground ginger powder, cayenne, salt and black cumin seeds

Peel the turnips, cut into quarters and sprinkle with sea salt and put aside for about 20 mins. Rinse off and the turnips are ready to be cooked.

Clean and wash 2 bunches of greens and remove the stems.

Please 4-5 cloves of garlic and chop 1 round plump tomato.

In a pan use a tablespoon of mustard oil and heat until sizzling. Add garlic, 2 green chillies, 1 chopped small onion and 1 tsp of cumin seeds. Fry for about 30 secs and add a pinch of hing ( asafetida). This is an optional spice.

Add the turnip pieces and fry for about 3 mins or so, add tomatoes, 1/2 tsp cayenne ( or less),1 heaping tsp of turmeric, 1 tsp of ground coriander, 1/2 tsp of ground fennel, 1 tsp of ground ginger and salt to taste.

Fry the spices for a couple of mins and then add the greens. Add a cup of water. I use a pressure cooker to cook everything at this point for about 4-5 whistle. If using a regular pot , let it cook on medium heat until the turnips are tender.

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Add black cumin seed during the last minute of cooking.

Serve hot and enjoy.

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Soup

Hearty Winter Soup with Bulgur

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Bulgur is a  whole grain, naturally high in fiber, low in calories and has a chewy texture that makes it great for soups. I cook the grains separately as I would cook rice and use in tabbouleh , salads and soups. Please note that my recipe for tabbouleh ( https://foodforthesoul00.wordpress.com/2014/11/29/tabbouleh/)uses a fine grain cracked version. Here I have used the whole grain.

Bulgur
Bulgur

Veggies used are: Chopped turnips, carrots, roasted butternut squash ( or raw), onions, celery, garlic.

You also need organic vegetable broth, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1 tbsp ground coriander, 1/ tsp cayenne, salt and pepper to taste.

In olive oil, fry chopped onions and garlic until translucent,add cumin seeds and fry for 30 secs or until they pop, add the spices and fry until fragrant. Add all the veggies and the broth and cook for about 20 mins. At this point you can use a hand blender to mash some of the veggies leaving chunks still in there. You can take some soup out if you want, blend and put it back in the pot. Add cooked bulgur and cook for another 10 mins on medium heat.

2-IMG_3276Serve topped with cilantro ( because i love it) with a side of crusty bread .

1-IMG_3274Simple, hearty, healthy and delicious on a cold winter day.