{GARDEN TO PLATE} Radish Recipes: Moong Dal with Radish Greens & Quick Radish Salad

I love to grow radishes, more for the greens, than the radishes themselves. Fresh, pungent and full of goodness, I start snipping the leaves as and when they appear (not all, but some from each radish). Use them in salads, both raw and lightly wilted. They happily go into a Sambar and also pair with veggies like potatoes or carrots. Radish greens can also be sneaked into your kid's pasta along with basil and other greens :) You can also make a simple curry using the radish and the greens. 

Radish leaves - Symmetry

Radish greens are said to be more packed in nutrition than the root itself - especially protein, calcium and iron. It is a pity most supermarkets throw them away and stock only the radish root. I treasure them for their bountiful green leaves. Radish flowers bring so much prettiness to the vegetable patch, and bring in the bees too! 

Radish flowers with seeds forming in the pods

This recipe is a dry curry with moong dal, which I must confess, is not my favourite lentil to start with. It's a slimy thing and that slime that really destroy a dish. In this subzi, I do everything possible to keep the dal dry. No slime in my curry, thank you!

I used up the radish root in a crunchy pickle or salad, call it what you like. The pungency of the radish mellows down a bit while soaking in the spices for an hour and also gives it an ever so slight fermentation, that is absolutely great for your gut health. 

Radish Greens and Moong Dal Curry

Recipe for Moong Dal with Radish Greens 

Prep Time: 1 hour, includes soaking time | Cooking Time: 20-25 mins | Serves 3-4

Eat with roti / naan / steamed rice

Ingredients:

3/4 cup split moong dal (small yellow lentils)

500 grams of radish greens* (just the leaves and tender stems)

1 tbsp ghee

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

pinch of asafoetida

3 cloves garlic

3 dried red chillies

sprig of curry leaves

1 medium onion

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp salt

juice of 1 lemon

to garnish- 1/4 cup freshly grated coconut or frozen (unsweetened)

Preparation:

Wash and soak the moong dal in plenty of water for an hour.

Wash the radish greens in 2-3 changes of water until thoroughly clean. Slice finely.

Crush and mince the garlic.

Peel, halve and finely slice the onion.

Directions:

• In a large pot (approx 3 Litre capacity), bring 1.5Litre water to a boil with a 1/2 tsp of salt. 
• Meanwhile, drain the soaked moong dal and keep it ready. Add to the boiling water. 
• Boil on high flame. Remove any scum with a slotted spoon and discard. 
• After 5-6 minutes of boiling, check on the dal, it must be nearly cooked, but with a bite to it- something like the al-dente texture of cooked pasta. 
• At this stage drain the nearly cooked dal well in a sieve and keep aside.
• Meanwhile, in a heavy bottomed pan / kadai / wok, heat the ghee. Add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds. 
• Once they splutter, add asafoetida, garlic, red chillies, curry leaves and stir around for 30 seconds. 
• Add the sliced onion and stir on medium flame for 5 minutes until translucent. 
• Add the finely sliced radish greens and stir fry on high flame. They will wilt in 2 minutes or so.
• Add the drained nearly cooked moong dal to this, along with turmeric, 1/2 tsp salt and toss well but gently, taking care not to mash up the dal. 
• Cover and steam cook for a couple of minutes allowing the dal to cook fully, but retain its shape. 
• Pour lemon juice, give it a final stir. 
• Garnish with fresh coconut and serve hot. 

*If you don't find radish greens, by all means use spinach, amaranth or any other local greens you can find. Do mind the cooking time of some greens like swiss chard or collard greens may be much longer, and may not fit this recipe well. 

Recipe for Instant Radish Pickle / Salad 

Prep time: 5-7 minutes | Inactive time: 1 hour | Cooking time: nil 

Serves 3-4 as a condiment 

Ingredients

2 small radishes 

juice of 1 lemon

1 tsp white vinegar

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp black pepper powder

1/4 tsp paachphoron powder (if available)

Directions

Scrape or peel the radish. Chop into small cubes.

Add all the remaining ingredients. Rub the spices and seasoning well into the radish using fingertips. Cover and keep aside for an hour at least. Leaving this outside for one hour gives rise to a mild fermentation, which is good for health. While serving, drain off excess liquid with slotted spoon.

This is crunchy with tons of flavour. I have kept the salt low, but you can increase by 1/2 tsp for a better flavour.

If you have the whole paachphoron spices at home, just crush them lightly with mortar pestle or in a coffee grinder and then add to the salad for a stronger punch of flavour.