Jul 21, 2007

Xploring Kohlrabi

I wanted to try Kohlrabi ever since I read about it in Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian. She has described this vegetable wonderfully. Kohlrabi, or gant-gobi as it is called in India, belongs to the cabbage family. The bottom part is turnip shaped while the top part consists of green leaves. The kohlrabi head should be peeled before cooking.

I found Kohlrabi in the organic section of Kroger and decided to explore it for Nupur's A-Z series. Peeling the head took quite some effort and I found it very difficult to cut it. P helped me in the cutting and chopping. Be very careful while cutting this vegetable as it has a hard cover.

Spicy kohlrabi stew with tomatoes


Serves:4 to 6

Ingredients


  1. 6 kohlrabi heads

  2. 2 tbsp oil

  3. 1/2 tsp whole cumin seeds

  4. Pinch of asafetida

  5. 4 dried whole red chillies

  6. 5 medium tomatoes chopped fine

  7. 1/2 cup tomato puree

  8. 1/4 tsp turmeric powder

  9. Salt to taste

  10. 1/4 tsp sugar

Method


  1. Cut off about 1/8 of each kohlrabi at the bottom end. Peel the rest and cut into chunky quarters.

  2. Heat oil in a pan over medium heat.

  3. Put in the cumin seeds and after they splutter, add the asafetida and red chillies. Stir briefly till the chillies turn dark red.

  4. Add the kohlrabi and stir 2-3 times.

  5. Add the tomatoes, turmeric powder, 1/2 cup water, salt to taste, and sugar. Stir and bring to a boil.

  6. Cover and cook on low heat for 30-35 minutes. The kohlrabi should be tender once cooked.

  7. Serve hot with rotis or rice.
Verdict: I was lucky to have been introduced to this veggie. I am going to try new recipes with it.

15 comments:

Nupur said...

Thanks for playing along and exploring a new veggie, Swapna! I have seen kohlrabi in the farmers' market so many times, but never tried it ever. Now I'll be sure to give it a try! I vaguely remember a Kashmiri friend telling me that kohlrabi is used a lot in Kashmiri pandit cuisine.
So, what did the stew taste like?

FH said...

I have explore Xplored Kohl rabi too,excellent for cooking Indian dishes!;D
Looks delish.

bha said...

Thanks for introducing me to this new vegetable...seems really interesting

Lata said...

Hey,

This is something new to me and you have such wonderful recipes out there.

Roopa said...

wow so fresh:) isn't this the nool kose we get in india i did not know the enaglish name though :0! nice entry!

Richa said...

hey, that looks delicious! chan distay bhaji, cooker madhye lavkar shijel, nahi ka? will try it.

archana said...

I think I have tasted this veggie. It is called knol kol in marathi if I am not mistaken.Tastes like cabbage :)
Nice recipe :)

Priyanka said...

Swapna,
recipe looks great. how does it taste by the way?

Manasi said...

NICE!! U know I always thot kohlrabi was 'navalkol'!! Will try something with this!!! Thanx :D

Suganya said...

Kohlrabi is an X veg for me too. Nice try Swapna!

Tee said...

Great recipe! isn't kohlarbi the same thing as 'navalkol' in marathi? Haven't tried it here, but when my mom was visiting she did say it was the sam thing.

Sharmi said...

I used to hate the smell of this when I was a kid. still didn't try it myself. don't have the guts. ur version looks different and nice.

Coffee said...

AH!! This does require exploring on my part as well.... but I havent seen it over here at all! :(

Swapna said...

The stew tasted good..as for the kohlrabi it tastes like cabbage with a hint of muli..
Thanks for the comments..sorry didn't respond to them earlier..I was down with fever

Unknown said...

Hi I tried the recipe and it came out really good. Thanks for sharing your recipe.