Turai-Mooli-Shimla Mirch Ki Sabzi (Indian Savory)

Smokey Green Mixed Vegetable

This mixed vegetable is slightly different and comes straight from the memory lane of my granny’s cooking.

In rainy season when the kitchen garden used to yield succulent radish, soft and long ridged gourd and lush green capsicum my granny would go early in the morning to pluck each of the item and get some potatoes from store(We Kumaoni add potato to almost every vegetable) and make a mixed vegetable from these ingredients. Wood fired stove (Chulha) used to add the smokiness which used to bring the dish to just another height. It was so normal for us and even now for many villagers cooking on Chulha to get the smoky flavor in the savories or desserts, but when I see the cookery program and see the gung-ho about getting the smoky flavor in the dishes I feel it so ironical. I tried to recreate the same flavor using the coarse smoking technique by using a burning wood piece, to my surprise I came quite close to the original flavor. This savory can be paired with any type of Indian bread, steamed rice and dal, toasted bread. I love to make it little liquidy by adding curd and pair it with Indian bread (Roti) made of Finger millet(Red millet) and dollop of butter.

Except potatoes rest all vegetables are lean vegetables, full of dietary fibers, water content and other nutrients. Since none of the above vegetables have high calorific contents and all of them have medicinal value also thus it makes this savory very healthy. Radish, ridged gourd is used in raw form (juice) for curing jaundice, ridged gourd have curative effect in piles/constipation. The list is quite long thus I would say that for healthy eating this savory is very good for all and especially for those having heart condition/stomach ailments/jaundice/diabetes.

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: 15-20minutes

Servings: 6 Large Servings (400 gm approx.)

Nutritional Value: (Approximate)

Energy: 121 k Cal

Carbohydrates: 54gm

Calcium: 43 mg

Fats: 0.1 mg

Cholesterol: 0 mg

Iron: 0.34mg

Potassium: 233 mg

Protein: 10gm

Zinc: 0.28mg

Phosphorous: 40 mg

Fibers: 4gm

Sugars: 1.8 gm

Most of the carbs come from potatoes and radish, gourd bring most of the vegetable water.

Ingredients For Making Smokey Mixed Green Vegtable:

• 500 gm Ridged Gourd
• 100 gm Radish (white)
• 100 gm Capsicum
• 100 gm Potatoe
• 1 Teaspoon Cumin seeds
• 1/2Teaspoon Mustard seeds
• 1-2 Green/Red Chilies
• 2 ml Mustard oil
• 1/2Tea spoon Turmeric
• 1 Teaspoon Amchur powder (Dry raw mango powder)
• 1/2Teaspoon Red Chili Powder (Optional)
• Salt to taste

Direction For Making Smokey Green Mixed Vegetable:

• Lightly peel ridged gourd and cut them to small pieces.
• Scrape the radish for the fibrous roots and dirt. Cut them to small pieces.
• Remove the seeds of capsicum and cut them to small pieces.
• Peel and cut potatoes to small pieces.
• Slit the green/Red chilies and de-seed them.
• In a wok take 2 ml mustard oil and heat it. Lower the heat and add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Once the seeds have spluttered add slit green/red chilies.
• Immediately add potatoes stir and cover. Cook for 2-3 minutes with once or twice stirring in between.
• Add Radish and mix nicely and cover. Cook for 2-3 minutes with once or twice stirring in between.
• Add Ridged gourd and mix.
• Add
• Salt
• Turmeric powder
• Chili powder
• Mix and cook for 2-3 minutes with occasional stirring.
• Add capsicum and mix. Sprinkle 5-10 ml. water and cover. Cook with occasional stirring till potatoes become soft but not mushy. The capsicum should be cooked but crunchy.
• Add Amchur powder (dry raw mango powder) and mix nicely.

Cooked Vegetable Ready Smoke 

• Take out in a serving bowl, place a burning wooden stick emitting smoke(Without flame)  on the cooked vegetable and cover. Let the smoke seep in the vegetable for 5 min. Remove the wooden stick and garnish with fresh coriander leafs.
• Serve with roti, Dal-Chawal, Bread.

Green Mixed Vegetable

Tips:

• While cooking the vegetable if you feel at any stage that vegetables are sticking to the bottom of wok, sprinkle little water, mix and cover then cook.
• Cooking should be done on low heat only.
• The vegetables should be cooked yet crunchy, mushy and overcooked vegetables spoil the overall texture of vegetable.
• Indian savories have turmeric as quitessential spice, this not only gives a nice yellow color but adds medicinal value also as turmeric has antioxidants and anticarcinogenic property.

Suggested Variations:

• Mustard oil can be replaced withany other cooking oil of choice.
• Amount of potatoes can be reduced or altogether omitted.
• Once the vegetable is cooked instead of amchur powder, mixture of 200 gm thick curd (Yoghurt) +2 teaspoon whole wheat flour, can be added and given just one boil. This will add the much loved sourness alongwith creaminess to the vegetable and it will have little gravy in it.