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Monji Achar – Kohlrabi Pickles in Mustard Oil

You will need a clean and sanitized glass or ceramic jar to make the pickle in. Mason Jars work really well.

Ingredients

  • 6 medium Kohlrabi with greens
  • 2 Tbs Brown Mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp Ajwain/ Bishop's weed
  • 4 tbs Cayenne/Kashmiri Chilli powder/ chilli powder
  • 1 1/2 C Mustard Oil
  • 3 tsp Salt
  • 1/4 th tsp Asafetida

Instructions

  1. Wash and pat dry the Kohlrabi along with the greens.
  2. Separate the greens from the Kohlrabi and cut them into halves.
  3. Use a salad spinner to completely dry out any remaining moisture from the leaves, then as an additional precaution, spread them on a paper towel for a couple of hours to dry up further.
  4. once the greens are dry, wrap them in a fresh paper towel and store them inside the vegetable compartment, until needed.
  5. Peel and cut the kohlrabi into medium sized cubes. Spread them onto a paper towel or a kitchen cloth and leave them in the sun for a few hours, until the moisture dries up a bit and the edges look slightly shriveled.
  6. Remember- we are not sun drying them. We are using the heat from the sun to partially remove the moisture from the kohlrabi.
  7. Coarsely grind the mustard seeds and ajwain using a spice grinder. You don't need a fine powder of these spices, so just give them one whiz in the machine.
  8. Take a wide bowl and put this mix and the salt and other spices and oil into it. Mix well . Add in the kohlrabi and the greens, mix really well.
  9. Using a clean dry spoon fill the kohlrabi spice mix into a clean jar. Once you fill the jar, press it down with the spoon, to allow the oil to float on top.
  10. Cover and close the lid and leave in the sun for a few days to ferment and develop flavor. Once the Pickle acquires the required and preferred tang, store in the refrigerator to maintain the crunchiness.

Recipe Notes

1. We are keeping the greens separately inside the fridge as leaving them out will dry them out completely and they will turn yellow.
2. It takes almost a whole day for the kohlrabi to lose some of its moisture. If you are keeping it in the sun, a few hours might be enough depending on heat and atmospheric moisture on the day.