If you had asked me a year ago if I ever had any dish with radish greens, I would have most certainly said no. However, since the pandemic hit last year, I have surprised myself by making several healthy leafy vegetable recipes. The three new ones I added to my repertoire of healthy recipes are moringa leaves, mustard greens, and radish leaves. Prior to that, I only had cooked dishes with spinach, bok choy, fenugreek leaves, Malabar spinach and lettuce. Considering I’m not a big fan of salads, I try to incorporate leafy vegetables through delicious, cooked recipes. I always make sure I cook them as little as possible, to retain nutrients.
Radish Greens
While I have had several recipes with radish root, I had surprisingly never tried the greens by themselves. I used them in my Sarson Ka Saag recipe, but they blended in with the rest of the ingredients. This way, I could not quite identify the texture, flavor, or taste. With this recipe I got a real feel the greens. They are slightly more tough to cook than other leafy greens, and they are flavorful (unlike spinach or bok choy). In that respect I would say they are like mustard greens. So, now when I get radish from the store, I try to get ones where the leaves are fresh and green, not wilted. Once you have used the radish greens, use the radish roots in this delectable Kale-Pear-Turnip with Goat Cheese Salad.
Radish Greens & Bulbs
Healthy Mung-Radish Greens Dal
Mung beans are one of my favorite lentils. They are easy to cook, easy to digest, and very flavorful. I have done several mung-based recipes in Instant Pot (IP). I do not feel the need to cook mung lentils separately and them add them to the sautéed ingredients. Although you could do this, if you want them very mushy – it is just that it takes longer. I soaked the lentils for a couple of hours, to counter this problem and it worked great. Onions, ginger, and curry leaves add an interesting flavor to this dish, along with cumin and mustard seeds. Green chili peppers bring in the heat – you might want to go easy on these, if you’re cooking for kids. All in all, this is wholesome, delicious dal!
Radish greens contain even more nutrients than the root. They help provide a nutrient rich diet and contain some important minerals like iron, calcium, folic acid, vitamin C and phosphorous that are essential for many bodily functions. Mung beans are easy to digest and recommended in ayurvedic diet. They are a good source of vegetarian protein.
Check out our other lentil and vegetable-based recipes here:
- Flavorful Cabbage-Mung Curry
- Andhra Tomato Pappu – Delicious Tomato Lentil Dal
- Tomato Fenugreek Dal
- South Indian Palak Dal – Spinach & Lentils Stew
- Mamidikaya Pappu- Raw Mango Dal
- Rainbow Chard Red Lentil Stew
- Sambar-Hearty Lentil & Veggie Soup
- Opo Squash Yellow Mung Curry
- Blended Chickpeas & Cluster Bean Curry
- Cabbage Kootu: Cabbage & Lentil Stew
- Instant Pot Moringa Leaf Dal
- Hearty Sarson Panchratna Dal
Did you know that you can also eat beet leaf greens? Try our Beets (Root & Greens) Palya and Yard-to-Table Beet Leaf Thoran.
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Healthy Mung-Radish Greens Dal
Ingredients
- 4 Cups Radish Greens - Washed, rinsed, cut
- 1/2 Cup Yellow Mung - Soak for 2 hours
- 1/4 Cup Onion - (Or shallots) Fine cut
- 1/4 Cup Tomato - Fine cut
- 1 Teaspoon Ginger - Fresh, grated, or fine cut
- 1 Pepper Green Chili Pepper - Slit in half
- 1/2 Teaspoon Mustard Seeds
- 1/2 Teaspoon Cumin Seeds
- 1 Sprig Curry Leaves
- 1/4 Teaspoon Turmeric Powder
- 1/4 Teaspoon Sea Salt - Or to taste
- 1 Tablespoon Coconut Oil - Expeller pressed, organic
- 1 Cup Filtered water
Instructions
- Make sure you have all ingredients at hand before you start cooking (in addition to turmeric powder, salt and coconut oil): 1. Radish greens 2. Onion, ginger, curry leaves, green chili pepper 3. Cumin and mustard seeds 4. Tomato
- Set Instant Pot (IP) to sauté mode, add oil. When the 'hot' sign comes up, add cumin and mustard seeds, wait till they start popping. Add onion, ginger, curry leaves, chili pepper and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add salt, turmeric powder, tomato, and mix well.
- Add soaked mung lentils, cook for a minute. Add radish greens, water, mix well, set lid and set to 'steam' mode for 4 minutes.
- Allow for natural pressure release (NPR), remove lid and mix well. Dal is ready.
- Transfer to serving bowl and serve hot with steamed rice or fresh rotis.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
i am in love with this recepie , good work
Thanks! Do come back and check out our other recipes.
Hello. The instructions mention curry leaves, but they’re not listed in the ingredients.
Hi Scott, thanks so much for pointing out our omission. We have fixed it.
Noticed another thing: the ingredients list turmeric, but the instructions never say when to add it (though it’s in the video).
Ah, yet another miss. Thanks Scott! I’ve added turmeric powder to the recipe steps.
Please advise how to cook on stove top instead of instant pot. Thank you.
Hello Carol, thanks for your inquiry. Luckily, mung beans are easy to cook over a cooktop. I suggest you wash and soak the mung beans for a couple of hours. Add twice the water and cook the mung beans on a medium flame (keep watch and stir once in a while) until they feel mushy to touch. Follow the recipe until the step where uncooked mung is added. Mix in your cooked mung, let everything simmer to absorb and integrate flavors. Enjoy! Let me know how it turns out.