Twelve Delicious Radish Recipes to Warm You Up This Winter
Mooli, or radish, stands as a classic winter vegetable. It offers a sharp, distinctive flavor and provides excellent digestive benefits. Packed with fiber, vitamin C, and antioxidants, this humble root helps keep the body warm. It also strengthens your immune system during the colder season.
The best part? Both the radish and its tender leaves burst with flavor and nutrition. You can easily adapt them into dishes suitable for breakfast, lunch, snacks, or dinner.
Ayurvedic Wisdom on Mooli
Ayurveda recognizes mooli as a warming and digestive root. This makes it perfect for winter consumption. According to Ayurvedic principles, mooli helps maintain body warmth. It balances Kapha dosha, supports respiratory health, and improves overall metabolism.
Here are twelve fantastic mooli dishes you can try to stay cozy and healthy this winter.
1. Mooli Paratha
This dish ranks among the most popular mooli recipes. You grate the radish and mix it with spices. Then, you stuff this mixture into whole wheat flour dough. Roll it out into parathas and cook them on a hot griddle. Enjoy these parathas best with fresh curd and tangy pickles.
2. Mooli Dal
This comforting dal pairs wonderfully with steamed rice and pickle. To prepare it, cook mooli along with toor dal in a pressure cooker. Finish it with a flavorful tempering of onion and tomato.
3. Mooli Patta Aur Aloo Bhujiya
This popular side dish complements rice, dal, or roti perfectly. You need tender mooli leaves, garlic, potatoes, mustard oil, and a blend of spices to make it.
4. Mooli Thepla
Making these theplas is simple. Just add grated mooli to your regular thepla dough. Roll out the dough and cook it on a lightly greased griddle. Serve them hot with a cup of chai and some pickles.
5. Mooli ka Achar
This is a delightful seasonal pickle. Soak mooli chunks in hot mustard oil along with spices like fenugreek, mustard seeds, red chilli powder, fennel powder, hing, and salt. Fill a jar with this mixture and keep it under the sun for a couple of days. It goes well with paratha, rice and dal, or even crispy pakodas.
6. Mooli Pakoda
Grate the mooli and finely chop its leaves. Blanch them in salt water for about two minutes. Then, add them to a besan batter seasoned with spices and sooji. Deep fry until golden brown and enjoy with chutney and chai.
7. Mooli Sambar
This dish offers an immunity-boosting treat. Prepare your regular sambar with toor dal, sambar masala, curry leaves, onion, mustard seeds, and tamarind puree. Add chunks of mooli while cooking. It introduces a pop of white color and loads of nutrition.
8. Mooli Ka Soup
To make this warming soup, simply sauté onion and mooli in a tempering of butter and oil along with some garlic. Add vegetable stock, salt, pepper, and a corn flour slurry. Bring it to a boil, and your soothing soup is ready.
9. Mooli Kadhi
This recipe gives a healthy twist to the classic kadhi. Replace the regular pyaz pakora with mooli ki pakodi. You can even make the pakodi using the leaves. Add them to the regular kadhi made with besan, curd, and panch phoran.
10. Mooli Saag
Prepare this dish with tender mooli leaves cooked in a tempering of ghee, green chillies, and garlic. Include some chunks of mooli as well. Cook it in its own moisture and season with salt, pepper, sugar, and turmeric. It pairs beautifully with steamed rice.
11. Mooli Aur Akhrot ki Chutney
This is a Kashmiri delight. Grate the mooli and mix it with crushed walnuts using a mortar and pestle. Add green chillies to the mix. Combine everything with curd and season with salt. Enjoy this chutney with roti or rice.
12. Mooli Rasam
This soothing South Indian drink combines tomatoes and mooli cooked together in stock. Top it with rasam masala and a tempering of mustard seeds, curry leaves, and dried red chillies. It is best enjoyed with crispy papad.
