Monday, December 30, 2013

Kohlrabi / Gaanth Gobi, Kashmiri style

This is a recipe for Kohlrabi or Gaanth Gobi made the Kashmiri way. We do not make ganth gobi this way usually, actually every time ganth gobi is made it is only me who eats it. My husband detests this vegetable completely and refuses to even take some in his plate. It is funny how sometimes on my insistence he lets me serve some vegetable and then to show that he had some he moves it around in the plate and then throws it in the trash can. It is during moments like these that I get a feeling of having gone back in time and glimpsed his childhood.  
When we were in the US, my husband's colleague once made kohlrabi / ganth gobi this way and I really liked it. So, he gave me his mother's recipe. The recipe did not have exact measurements and I sort of approximated it and hence this can be called my version of Kashmiri style Kohlrabi / Ganth Gobi sabzi.  
 
Ingredients (serves 2)
Kohlrabi / Ganth gobi - 4 to 5
Cumin / Jeera seeds - 1/2 tsp
Black cardamom / Badi elaichi - 1
Green cardamom / Chhoti elaichi - 1
Asafoetida / Hing pwd - 1/4 tsp
Clove - 2
Coriander / Dhaniya pwd - 2.5 tsp
Fennel / Saunf pwd - 1 tsp
Dry ginger / Sonth pwd - 1tsp
Red chilli / Lal mirchi pwd - 1 tsp
Oil - 5 tbsp
Salt as per taste
Sugar - 1/2 tsp (optional)
Peel the kohlrabi / ganth gobi and cut it into half and then slice into thick semi circle pieces. If there are tender leaves, wash and roughly chop and keep aside.
Heat 3 tablespoon oil in a pan and saute the ganth gobi in it. The original recipe calls for deep frying the ganth gobi pieces till golden. I cannot bring myself to deep fry vegetables so sauteed them instead. When done, scoop the ganth gobi out, draining the oil as much as possible and keep aside. Add the rest of the oil into the same pan and add the cumin seeds, black and green cardamom, cloves and hing and saute it for a few seconds. Add in 1/4 cup water and stir. Once the water is hot add the powders - red chilli, coriander, fennel and dry ginger, and mix. Stir this mixture till the water evaporates and then add 2 cups of water and let it boil. Add salt and the fried ganth gobi pieces and stir. Cover the pan and let the ganth gobi cook till just soft and add the sugar and stir. You can avoid the sugar but I believe the sugar brings together all the tastes. At this time the gravy should look red or dark red. There should be a little gravy which is thinnish.

Take it off the heat and it is ready to serve with rice.
 

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