On our way back from Corbett National Park last week, I thought, let me pick up some veggies so that I don't have to worry about them once I reach home. The shop where we stopped to pick veggies I saw Pahadi Mooli. They have darkish skin and are shaped like turnips. I bought a few of those out of curiosity. The vegetable vendor told me that it's normally cooked and not eaten raw as it is quite sharp in taste. Google came to my rescue. I read through a lot of recipes and finally created my version. No claims to this recipe being authentic. It was a little time consuming as Mooli and Alu are both hand pounded. But it was worth the effort. One should pound the ginger also since I had grated ginger in the fridge, I used that only. I paired it with drumstick kadhi and rotis.
Ingredients: Pahadi Mooli 3 medium sized Alu 1 medium sized Onion 1 medium Garlic cloves 6 Ginger 1 tsp grated Tomato 1 chopped Red chili whole 2 Mustard oil 1 tbsp Cumin seeds 1 tsp Asaefotida a pinch Red chili pd 1/2 tsp Turmeric pd 1/4 tsp Coriander pd 1 tsp Salt to taste Lemon juice 1 tsp Sugar 1/2 tsp
Method
Scrub the Mooli and wash it properly.
Peel the Mooli and Alu. Roughly chop them.
Similarly, roughly chop the onion.
Now crush mooli, alu, onion and garlic cloves in Mortar and pestle.
Heat oil in a pan, add Asaefotida.
Crackle cumin seeds, add whole red chili, onion and garlic.
Saute till onions turn pink.
Now add ginger and mooli and Alu.
Saute on medium heat for 2-3 minutes.
Add the spices, salt, tomato and 1/2 cup water. Cover and cook till mooli and alu are tender.
Add some water if needed. It's supposed to have slight gravy.
Add sugar and lemon juice.
Taste and adjust seasoning.
Serve it hot with rotis and rice.