Noolkol or knol knol or kohlrabi is an underrated vegetable, which can be used to make stir-fries, sambar, kootu, fritters, chutneys, curries, salads, and even pickles. It retains its crispness and is easily flavoured with various ingredients.
Noolkol is not a root vegetable and merely resembles a turnip. It is full of water, simple to prepare, filling, and incredibly tasty. It has that typical sweet but still peppery, pungent flavour. One might compare the stems to broccoli, and the entire vegetable can be consumed. Dietary fibre, carotenoids, and Vitamins A, C, and K are abundant in kohlrabi. It contains a significant number of the B-complex vitamin groups. Additionally, it has a lot of antioxidants that guard against prostate and colon cancer. It belongs to the Brassica plant family, which includes kale, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and mustard greens.
The vegetable is a great source of Vitamin C, an antioxidant that defends the human body from free radical damage and aids in the production of collagen, the healing of wounds, the absorption of iron, and immune system function. Glucosinolates and isothiocyanates, potent plant substances that are primarily found in cruciferous vegetables, are present in kohlrabi. It also offers potassium, magnesium, manganese, folate, and fibre. In actuality, it can satisfy up to 95% of our daily Vitamin C needs and meets 17% of our requirements for dietary fibre.
Kohlrabi is known as monj-hakh in Kashmir, where monj refers to the round portion and hakh to the leafy portion, or knol khol in Hindi. It is also referred to as ganth gobhi. While it is known by the popular names noolkol or knol khol in Telugu, Tamil, navil kosu in Kannada, and su hao in Bengali, Mahashtrians refer to it as navalkol. Noolkol, often known as kohlrabi, is a fantastic provider of many nutrients. The food can be constantly gathered until the stems reach a height of two to three inches above the earth. Since it grows in proximity to the soil, the outer skin of the vegetable needs to be thoroughly cleaned. Noolkol should always feel firm to the touch and not floppy. The crunchy bulb can be eaten raw, but the leaves and stems taste better when stir-fried in a small quantity of oil. For persons with pitta issues, kohlrabi consumption is advised by Ayurveda.
Here’s a recipe that uses this nutritious vegetable to churn out a rare Noolkol Pachadi. Noolkol is grated, cooked with onions and other ingredients before being mashed into a rough mash to make the delectable pickle known as Noolkol Pachadi. Thengai paal arisi upma, which is rice grits and lentils cooked in coconut milk, goes really well with this pickle.
Ingredients:
1. 1 lemon
2. 1 tbsp mustard seeds
3. ½ tbsp fenugreek seeds
4. 3 red chillies
5. A pinch of asafoetida
6. 4 tbsps sesame oil
7. Salt
8. 1 turmeric (virali manjal)
Method:
1. Dry roast mustard, fenugreek seeds, and red chillies in a pan. Set aside for cooling.
2. Then, grind to a powder along with virali manjal.
3. Heat sesame oil in a pan. Once hot, add the grated noolkol/kohlrabi and sauté.
4. Once the water has evaporated, add asafoetida, salt and the roasted powder and turn off the flame.
5. Once it cools down add lemon juice, transfer to a glass bottle and store in the refrigerator.