It's a radish...another radish and walnut recipe..
Mooli in hindi and Daikon in Japanese , the pictures in the last post are actually not of a fruit and Bikramjit was pretty close with answers like turnip or shalgam. Radishes are not some boring white vegetables as i had seen them growing up. The cherry belle, the red rounded one appeared much later in the scene, and were much loved for the flash of color they provide to the salads. Cherry belle is easier to grow in the garden too and i have had them in the past years. But this one was a teaser for me when i saw it at the IARI sales counter where we get our organic vegetables and fruits sometimes. The round radishes are common but a green upper part was unusual so i bought it immediately thinking it would be easier to grate for mooli parathas...i never imagined i am to be surprised in a spectacular way.
This picture shows the Cherry belles and the Red flesh tricolors.
Cutting the first slice of this Red flesh tricolor was a teaser , my smile widened as i went on to cut more slices and then i had to look for it on the internet...got to know about Mantanghong radish which is even more brightly colored. This one is 'Red flesh' mild tricolor radish, check out this place for more varieties of radishes, there is one with purple black skin and white flesh called 'Hilds blauer herbst' and a black skin and white flesh called 'Black Spanish round' . Amazing.
Apart from this i have seen some giant radishes too, can you imagine a radish 3-4 Ft long and about about 10 inches in diameter? Here are some more radishes you can grow in your garden if you like.
Nutrition wise we all know radishes are tonic food for liver disorders and they have a lot of vitamin C . A trace mineral molybdenum is found in radish globes and they are a good source of potassium and folic acid too.Daikons have some copper and all radishes are rich in calcium too , the leaves have much more calcium than the roots though. Easily absorbed by the human gut as it has vitamin C to facilitate this. Like all crucifers, radishes also have cancer fighting properties. The sulfer based constituents help increase the flow of bile in the body, helping to maintain a healthy gall bladder, liver and digestive functions. Radishes are great food for constipation. One thing to take care is that the radish greens have more nutrition (about 6 times the calcium, protien, Vit C etc.) than the roots and fresh roots and leaves have more available Vit C than the cooked roots or leaves.
And now the recipe i made using the gorgeous Red flesh tricolors....
This is a spread or dip made with hung curd and radish. I had it over a home baked whole wheat bread with lots of flax seed powder in it. It was a yummy meal for me over warm slices of bread.
Whip 3/4 cup of thick fresh yogurt , fine chop or grate one tennis ball sized 'red flesh tricolor' radish , or any other variety of radish for that matter, and chop some walnuts . That is all you have to do for this creamy tangy nutty bread spread or dip . Season with salt and pepper , i added a pinch of red chilly powder too.
What lovely colors ... this variety of radish is sweeter than the more peppery varieties. So if you are using some other variety of radish, use it accordingly. The red Cherry belles are perfect for this spread too. You can grate the radish if you like finer texture and increase the amount of yogurt if the radish is more peppery.
Chopping the walnuts in small sizes would ensure it's even distribution in the spread and would give you a nutty bite in every morsel. I loved my lunch today...yes i made it today and am uploading the pictures in record time..... just too much for a lazy bug :)
A creamy consistency of this spread with chunks of radish was just perfect. I used yogurt hung for only half an hour. You can use Greek yogurt if that is available in your part of the world or use home made hung curd or just a thick curd out of a tub. I have read a lot of good things about labneh too and this spread should be great with labneh i guess...
I like my bread warm and not toasted. You can have a toasted bread for this moist spread and consume it immediately. It is a great dip for crackers and corn chips.You would know how you would like it once you taste it . One thing is sure you would like it if you like radish....for radish haters i have seen at least one who had polished off his bowl with a raita made with regular curds (the same recipe otherwise) a couple of years ago. Radish gets a makeover once it is mixed with yogurt and added with walnuts...i would not use any other nuts for his recipe. For other recipes i am not very particular about nuts ...any mixed nuts go for many of my cakes but not for this.
It has to be just the yogurt, radish and walnuts ...three ingredients in total and salt n pepper for seasoning.. red chilly powder if you like some heat.
Enjoy...
This is indeed a teaser..:)))
ReplyDeleteI would not have guessed that these were radishes in a million time..:)
Wonderful spread girl... truly tongue tickling..:)
Reva
ohhhhhhhhhhhh yessssssssssssss :) hmm well now you know i know nothing about vegetables ..
ReplyDeletebut i think they are same family :)
Bikram's
who could have guessed this to be the humble mooli????? ...i expected it to be some exotic fruit about which I haven't ever heard anything about...your title must have sent a lot of people like me on the wrong track... shows the power of suggestion :)
ReplyDeleteI love this recipe. I would never had thought to make a spread with radishes. They are so healthy, I have to give this a try. It looks wonderful!
ReplyDeleteHealthy and delicious spread dear :)
ReplyDeletehaven't seen radish with this wonderful color..
Looks really yummy and tasty..
ReplyDeleteTaste of Saras Kitchen
http://bsaraswathy.blogspot.com/
I would have never thought of this combination!!
ReplyDelete@ IHM...it is a common traditional combination in the mountain states of India...kashmir, himachal and uttarakhand...a time tested combination actually.
ReplyDeleteI am not fan of radish... but I can compromise myself just becoz of its health facts. Yumm n healthy post!
ReplyDeletethis looks great and would make a nice change for lunch
ReplyDeleteWhat a nice change of pace.It looks and sounds delicious. I hope you have a great day. Blessings...Mary
ReplyDeleteWonderful, post.Very much informative. I am really impressed with your post.
ReplyDeleteGreat post for those who does not have any knowledge and really know the taste of good food.
ReplyDeleteNice and useful information comes out through this post.I will surely try this one.
ReplyDelete