Kashmiri Radish Lotus Stem - Nadru Muj
This Kashmiri Radish Lotus Stem - Nadru Muj recipe is a staple in Kashmiri pandit households. This delicious side dish features beautiful daikon radishes and lotus stems sautéed and pressure cooked in a few spices. Simple and stunning.
Equipment
- 1 Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- 2 medium lotus stems (1179 grams), 4 cups chopped
- 1/2 Daikon radish (504 grams) (1 and 3/4 cups chopped)
- 4 tbsp oil of choice
- 1/4 tsp asafoetida (heeng)
- 1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
- 1 whole black cardamom pod (kali elaichi)
- 1 whole dried red chili pepper
- 2 whole cloves (laung)
- 2 tbsp kashmiri chili powder
- 2 and 1/4 cups water (divided)
- 1 tsp ground cumin (jeera powder)
- 1 tsp ground ginger (sonth)
- 1 tbsp ground fennel (saunf powder)
- 2 and 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 3 green chilies, whole (serrano peppers) (optional)
Instructions
Prep
- Rinse the lotus stem, and pat dry. Peel it and gently remove the skin. Place the lotus stem on a chopping board and cut it in circles about 2 inches thick. Set aside.
- For the daikon radish trim the Daikon stem and root ends and discard the leaves. Furthermore, wash the Daikon under the sink and give it a good scrub, and use a vegetable peeler to shave the outside. Discard the excess shavings. Then chop them to 2-inch circles/rounds.
Cook in Pressure Cooker Stove Top
- On medium heat, add oil in a deep bottom pressure cooker. Add in asafoetida. In about 30 seconds add in the chopped lotus stem and chopped radish. Stir and let it sauté for 2 to 3 minutes. Add in cumin seeds, whole black cardamom pod, whole dried red chili pepper, and cloves. Let it sauté for another minute and stir.
- Add in Kashmiri Red Chili powder and stir well. Then in about 30 seconds add in 1/4 cup water. This step prevents the Kashmiri red chili from burning. Next, add in ground cumin, ground ginger, ground fennel and stir. Add in 2 cups water and salt. Mix well. Turn the heat to high until the water boils.
- Close the pressure cooker lid and turn give it about 2 pressures. You can either quick release the pressure or let the pressure release naturally once done. When the pressure is release open the lid carefully and top off with lemon juice, garam masala, and 3 whole green chilies.
Instant Pot Version
- Select sauté on instant pot. Add in asafoetida. In about 30 seconds add in the chopped lotus stem and chopped radish. Stir and let it sauté for 2 to 3 minutes. Further, add in cumin seeds, whole black cardamom pod, whole dried red chili pepper, and cloves. Furthermore, let it sauté for another minute and stir.
- Add in Kashmiri Red Chili powder and stir well. Then in about 30 seconds add in 1/4 cup water. This step prevents the Kashmiri red chili from burning. Next, add in ground cumin, ground ginger, ground fennel and stir. Further add in 2 cups water and salt. Mix well until the liquid comes to a boil.
- Press cancel, close the lid and select high pressure/manual for 4 minutes. You can either quick release the pressure or let the pressure release naturally once done. When the pressure is release open the lid carefully and top off with lemon juice, garam masala, and 3 whole green chilies.
Notes
Kashmiri's typically use mustard oil but you can use oil of choice.
This dish is a 3.5 in terms of spice levels, with 1 being low and 5 being high. You can eliminate the green chilies and reduce or increase the Kashmiri chili powder per taste.