Lotus root and Turnip curry

7:37 PM




The first time I entered a Japanese super market I was truly shocked, shocked with the min availability of familiar vegetables, shocked with the many many colourful fruits that I wanted to touch and smell and bake with buit the biggest shock came in the form of price. Never in my life I saw potatoes being sold on piece basis, that too at a hopping price of 50 yen for a regular size one.

But with time that initial shock made way for a certain excitement. To try new veggies, make familiar curries with them or prepare something new that we liked in the restaurants. They say when in Rome, do as the Romans do but I preferred to change it a little bit and tried Indianising many of these Japanese vegetables. This kamal kakdi or lotus root was one of them that I was excited to buy. Though these are pretty common in certain parts of India but I never got any chance to taste or cook with them.  The recipe that I had in mind was gogji nadir, a very simple turnip and lotus root curry from Kashmir. I first saw it at one of my most favourite blogs, mad tea party, and had this bookmarked a long long time back. But at the same time I was sure the father son duo at home would never like such a simple curry so I just had to twist the recipe a little bit. 

The result was really soul soothing. Its one of those dishes that you can call soul food or comfort food. Very aromatic and light but never fails to satisfy all your taste buds.

Little R loved this dish mainly because of its texture. He is at an age where everything unique has an appeal. He loved the holes in the lotus roots and insisted to have it frequently. Given the easy availability and nutritional values of this vegetable am happy to oblige.

Here is the simple recipe.
Lotus root and Turnip Curry


Ingredients:
Lotus roots: 3 medium size  (sliced 3 cups)
white turnip: 4 pieces
onion: ½ of a big one (½ cup finely chopped)
ginger paste: 11/2 tsp
coriander powder: 11/2 tsp
yogurt: ¼ cup
hing: ¼ tsp
whole cloves: 3-4
green chilies: 3-4
mustard oil: 2 tbsp
salt

Method:
Wash the lotus roots under running water. Here they were very clean but due to the holes in it dirt might get clogged. So be careful and was it thoroughly. Peel the skin lightly and slice in medium thick slice, ¼”. Wash again if you see dirt and keep submerged in water or they will turn black.
Similarly cut off the top green part and the root part little bit. Wash under running water. Cut in half and then thickly slice the turnip (I used the white variety).
In a small bowl mix the ginger paste and coriander powder with 2 tbsp water. Keep aside.
Heat ½ tsp oil in a pan and add the lotus roots. Sprinkle little salt and fry on medium for 3-4 minutes. Keep stirring to fry it uniformly. take out ad keep aside. Do the same with the turnips as well. But fry it for a couple of minutes only.
Heat the rest of the oil and add chopped green chilies and cloves when they start to splutter add the hing. Stir and add the chopped onion. Fry on medium with a pinch of salt unless they become translucent (5-6 minutes).
Mix in the spice paste and cook on low till a nice roasted aroma of spices wafts out (another couple of minutes).
Beat the yogurt with a fork till smooth. Lower the flame and carefully add to the pan. Mix in gently cook for another 2-3 minutes or till oil starts to separate at the side. Add the fried lotus roots ix in and then add  11/2 cups of water. Taste and adjust the salt and tighten the lid. Cook on medium flame for upto 2 whistles. let the steam dissipate in itself. Open the lid and then add the turnips. Cook for 5-7 minutes till the turnips soften ad start to disintegrate.

Serve hot with steamed rice.

Here is two other versions of Lotus root curry
Anita's Gogji Nadir
Dolly's Lotus root with potatoes.

Share This Story

Tags:

You Might Also Like

20 comments

  1. AkilaApril 7, 2013 at 8:09 PM

    Never used lotus roots... Will try this

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownApril 7, 2013 at 8:17 PM

    Curry looks fantastic! Do visit/follow my blog at-http://www.rita-bose-cooking.com/

    ReplyDelete
  3. cookingwithsapanaApril 7, 2013 at 11:38 PM

    looks yummy .lovely clicks!

    ReplyDelete
  4. nayanaApril 8, 2013 at 1:05 AM

    So different, never ever tried using lotus roots, looks yummy.........

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sweet'n'SavouryApril 8, 2013 at 1:24 AM

    I have never myself eaten lotus roots but it sure looks pretty appetising.

    ReplyDelete
  6. sangeetaApril 8, 2013 at 1:46 AM

    This is yummy and a very frequent curry soup in my home. Just last week I met Anita at ITC and told her how I love this recipe of hers'.
    This curry tastes great with knol khol as well.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Priya SureshApril 8, 2013 at 5:15 AM

    Can guess ur reaction, even it happened to me when i entered the first time to a french farmer's market.

    Curry sounds fabulous and delicious.

    ReplyDelete
  8. prernaApril 8, 2013 at 6:43 AM

    hi sayantani,
    in kerala, they boil the sliced lotus root in water in which just salt is added. it is then dried in the sun for three days and stored. it is then deep fried. it is a special palakkad crispy. very tasty.

    ReplyDelete
  9. prernaApril 8, 2013 at 6:44 AM

    in palakkad, the lotus stem is boiled in salt water and sun dried and later deep fried. tastes heavenly

    ReplyDelete
  10. prernaApril 8, 2013 at 6:45 AM

    in palakkad, the lotus stem is boiled in salt water and sun dried and later deep fried. tastes heavenly

    ReplyDelete
  11. PremaApril 8, 2013 at 6:52 AM

    I love this curry,yummy...

    ReplyDelete
  12. Mina JoshiApril 8, 2013 at 7:33 AM

    Really attractive curry. I have never tried Lotus root but very tempted.

    ReplyDelete
  13. UnknownApril 8, 2013 at 9:25 PM

    Very unique side dish ..cute picture.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Dolly SharmaApril 9, 2013 at 6:01 AM

    Sayantani, the Curry looks so delicious and comforting. Will surely try it. Clicks are tempting as always. Good to see you adapting so well with a new country, new culture and yes the PRICE SHOCK. You just work around it and make the most with what you have, which you are are doing so well. Thanks for the kind mention. Appreciate it.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Nava KApril 9, 2013 at 7:44 AM

    This is superbly stunning. Great recipe and bookmarked for this weekend's meal.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Ambreen (Simply Sweet n Savory)April 10, 2013 at 6:11 AM

    Never tried lotus roots before, but this looks tempting! Lovely post!

    ReplyDelete
  17. NupurApril 11, 2013 at 5:56 AM

    This Curry look so awesome !! I think I am visting you after a long long time or so, your blog page has really changed. Am I not recieving your feed in my inbox or what ? :(

    Nice theme though :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. RubyApril 14, 2013 at 10:47 AM

    Looks very interesting, must try.

    rubyspalette.blogspot.in

    ReplyDelete
  19. A.L.M.April 14, 2013 at 12:57 PM

    Hi, I'm Ana from Fooduel.com. It is a site in which users vote recipes from 1 to 10.

    There is a ranking of the best recipes and a profile with your voted recipes. Each recipe has a link to the blog which belongs the recipe. This way you will get traffic to your blog.

    It's easy, fast and fun. The best Photo recipes will be here.

    You are invited to enter, add your blog and upload a recipe with a nice photo.

    You are able to see your stats:

    -Number of visits to your blog from Fooduel.com.
    -Number of votes received every day
    -Number of votes received by each category
    -Number of votes for each grade (1-10)
    -Number of votes for each recipe.

    You can watch how its works here http://www.fooduel.com/about.php

    We would love that you participate with some recipe. Looks Amazing!

    Best regards

    http://www.Fooduel.com

    ReplyDelete
  20. turmericnspiceMay 7, 2013 at 8:20 PM

    I have always wanted to try lotus root but always hesitant ...thank for the recipe , must try this

    ReplyDelete

Popular Posts