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{GARDEN TO PLATE} Radish Recipes: Moong Dal with Radish Greens and 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
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Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Indian
Servings 3 serving

Ingredients
  

For Moong Dal

  • 3/4 cup moong dal split (small yellow lentils)
  • 500 grams radish greens * (just the leaves and tender stems)
  • 1 tbsp ghee
  • 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
  • 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
  • pinch asafoetida
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 3 chillies dried red
  • sprig curry leaves
  • 1 onion medium
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 lemon juice of
  • 1/4 cup coconut to garnish - freshly grated or frozen (unsweetened)

For Radish Pickle

  • 2 radishes small
  • 1 lemon juice of
  • 1 tsp white vinegar
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp sugar
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper powder

Instructions
 

  • For moong dal:
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • For Radish Pickle: 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 paach-phoron 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.