Since we lost our garden to the “Temple of Doom”, I finally convinced my husband to let us try joining a CSA. Actually, no I can’t take the credit–my friend did, when she told him about a reasonably priced one that delivered to our doorstep. So the next few posts (and periodically thereafter), will be about some of the random stuff in our weekly box and what I did with them. Last week, we got: a bunch of kholrabi, 2 bunches of radish, a bunch of spinach and one of chard, and lots of sweet potatoes (as well as a lot of yummy fruit).

Upon seeing the kholrabi, my first question, of course, was what the heck is that. (it’s a cruciferous vegetable that looks like a tomatillo and tastes like brussels sprouts). My second was “what do I do with it?” We had a few friends over for dinner Saturday night, and I treated them to the fruits of our CSA box…and my google searching. In those searches, I happened upon an Indian recipe for Kholrabi. Really, you ask? yup…apparently Kholrabi grows in the north, near Delhi, and they use it!

So, I present to you a slightly modified version of fellow food blogger “India on my plate’s” Kholrabi Bharta! (thanks, my friends and I thought it was tasty!)

Kholrabi Bharta

Serves 4

ingredients:

• 4 kohlrabi, peeled and quartered (i forgot to peel…peel it, otherwise you contend with thick skin).
  
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 Tablespoon ginger, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon Garam Masala
• 1/4 teaspoon asofedita
  
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon chilli powder
  
• ½ teaspoon turmeric
• 1-2 tomatoes, diced
  
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons coriander, roughly chopped

the method:

Place quartered kohlrabi in a pot with 1 cup of water and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. The kohlrabi should be tender and easily pierced with a knife (like testing potatoes for mashed potatoes). Drain and set aside.

Fry the garam masala, turmeric, and cumin for a minute. Add the onion and garlic and sauté for 3-5 minutes or until lightly golden. Add the garlic, chile, spices and tomato. Cook for 1 minute. Add the kohlrabi and mash the mixture, but not too much (you still want some pieces). Cook until the ingredients are well mixed and the kohlrabi is hot. Adjust seasoning if need be. Garnish with fresh coriander and serve. (i served it with Radish (Mooli) Parathas, my next post, and black daal.