A delicious way to eat the seasonal Moongra, also known as radish pods. This Moongra raita is so yummy that you will polish it off in no time 🙂
I try and use as much seasonal produce (see, that is why this Moongra raita!) as I can in my everyday cooking. It is not a surprise to anyone that using seasonal produce is good for health. But more often than not, living in Bangalore, I don’t find the stuff I have grown up with. The stuff that I enjoyed eating which were seasonal.
I do try and use the local ingredients in my cooking. And one thing I have learnt is that most of the ingredients are available may be in a different form or a different name but they surely are available. Such is the story of moongra which are basically radish flowers or radish pods. Moongra looks a bit like beans and tastes like a cross between beans and radish. It has the pungency of the radish but the texture of beans.
I love moongra. Growing up I remember eating aloo moongra sabzi with just a few spices like hing, jeera and chilli and the flavours of the moongra is what made the sabzi so delectable. Last week, a friend of mine posted in one of the food groups on FB saying she found moongra in Bangalore. I knew it had to be bought and cooked with. I promptly went to buy it off and I bought it by the kilograms. I cooked so many different dishes with it . Much to my surprise, the house help said they make it regularly too. See, I told you things are available we just don’t know about it.
As I had bought many packets of moongra, I ended up making many dishes. The first thing I made out of it was Moongre ki kadhi.
Its no secret for the readers of this blog that I love kadhi and let me assure you that the kadhi made with moongre is even better than the kadhi pakora. I use the same recipe, just that I add one sliced onion and about 3/4 cup of moongre to the whole spices, roast it for a while and then add the besan and curd mix. And no pakoras are needed. Here is the recipe of my mum’s basic punjabi kadhi.
When I posted this picture on the web, another friend shared how his mom used to make Moongra raita by steaming them and I knew this is something I had to try out,. And it turns out all of us at home loved it. We had it with baigan ki sabji and rotis and finished the whole bowl between N and I, since O was at school that day. So simple yet such beautiful flavours.
And to add,
I also made Moongre sambhar suggested by my house help and it tasted fab. A bit similar to mooli sambhar but with the crunch that was so welcome. We made it on the Pongal day and ate it with Pongal and such a winner it was. Use your own sambhar recipe for this, I used one of my favorite sambhar recipe, passed down from my mother in law which uses freshly ground spices for sambhar instead of ready sambhar powder.
There is so much you can do with this tasty humble vegetable, I am going to make a south Indian style thoran with it, aloo-moongra sabzi, uses it in salad for the crunch and also in stir fries. Go get a packet and use this seasonal veggie before it goes away.
PS: all pictures clicked using cell phone so forgive the not so good quality.
Adapted from – A friend’s mom’s recipe 🙂
Cooking With Seasonal Produce : Moongra Raita (Radish Pods Raita)
Ingredients
- 1 cup curd
- 1/2 cup moongre steamed
- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
- 1/2 tsp jeera
- 1 tsp urad dal
- 1 tsp channa dal
- handful curry leaves
- 2 to 3 chillies red dry
- to taste salt
- pinch hing
- 1 tsp oil
Instructions
- Whisk the curd with a little water and salt to get a smooth texture.
- Add steamed moongre and keep aside.
- In a small pan, heat oil.
- Add a pinch of hing, followed by mustard and jeera. When they crackle, add the dals, curry leaves and chilly and roast till slightly brown.
- Add to the curd and moongra mixture, Serve chilled.
Nidhi S says
A very good recipe .. Moongra is a very healthy vegetable. I have been using moongra for pulav and things like that but from now on I should try these too. I have bought moongra from buygreenz and the other ingredients from http://qusec.in/, today I am gonna prepare it. Thanks for the recipe!!!
widicreations says
Never seen these. Thanks for bringing unique (or so to me) vegs. Thansk, Preethi
Deepa says
Hi, Just came across this post. I’d love to try moongra. I live in Bangalore too, but have never seen this. Please do let me know where you bought / buy it from? Thanks.
sinamontales says
Hi Deepa : I bought Moongra from Spar in Kormangala last year
Deepa says
Thank you so much, sinamintales! I live in Koramangala (what a coincidence)! And will certainly check in Spar for this (hope they still stock them) and try your recipes with them! I’ve never seen these or tasted these moongra pods – they sound delicious! Thanks again!
Colorful Canary says
Lovely radish pod recipe! Thanks. I featured it on my blog 🙂 http://www.colorfulcanary.com/2016/08/let-them-bolt-11-amazing-radish-pod.html
Kamala modur says
For the first time in my life,I bought a couple of bunches, cooked them in a microwave & prepared them in Maharashtrian style.I found this vegetable too fibrous & quite inedible.Maybe it was not plucked at the right time?!
Appreciate your thoughts
Dimpy Panwar says
Thanks for sharing this recipe.Can you tell me where did you buy moongra from,in bangalore? Also if you know ,please share the local name of moongra in bangalore. It would be so helpful. Also which month did you buy these in?
Karen Wagner says
Lovely variety of recipes for this humble “byproduct” of my garden. Turns out, I much prefer the pods to the root (I’m a terrible gardener) and wish I could also find the mysterious hing & jeera in my western (US) town. Bangalore is now on my travel list! Thanks Sin-a-Mon!