🇳🇵 Nepal and 🇮🇳 India · hills of Nepal; Sikkim and Darjeeling
Gundruk soupNepali fermented greens soup
A tangy Nepali soup of gundruk, fermented and dried mustard, radish or cauliflower leaves, cooked with garlic, tomato, chilli and sometimes soybeans or potatoes.
Origin and history
Gundruk is a fermented, sun-dried leaf preserve of the Nepali hills, also made in Sikkim and Darjeeling, where farmers ferment surplus mustard greens to keep them through the lean months. The sources do not date the soup, but gundruk ko jhol is a long-standing everyday dish in Nepali homes and the diaspora, served beside rice, dal and dhindo.
Make it at home
- Makes
- 4 servings
- Total time
- 50 min
- Hands-on
- 25 min
Ingredients
- 40 g1 1/2 oz (about 1 loose cup) dried gundruk, soaked in warm water for 30 to 60 minutes, squeezed and chopped
- 2 tbsp mustard oil, heated until it smokes, then cooled slightly (or any neutral oil)
- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds or cumin seeds, optional
- 2 dried red chillies, broken
- 1 red onion, finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 tsp grated fresh ginger
- 2 tomatoes, chopped
- 1 green chilli, chopped
- 1 large potato, boiled and mashed (skip for a clearer broth)
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 tsp red chilli powder, for colour
- 50 g1/4 cup dried or boiled soybeans (bhatmas), optional, soaked and boiled until soft
- 800 ml3 1/3 cups water
- salt and fresh coriander, to taste, to garnish
Method
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1. Soak the gundruk in warm water for 30 to 60 minutes, rinse, squeeze out the water and chop finely.
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2. Heat the mustard oil in a pot until it is smoking hot, then take it off the heat for a moment so it loses its raw bite. Add the chillies (and mustard or cumin seeds) for a few seconds.
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3. Add the onion, garlic, ginger and green chilli and fry for 4 minutes, until soft. Add the tomatoes and cook for 4 minutes more until they break down.
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4. Add the gundruk and stir for 2 minutes so it takes up the oil.
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5. Add the turmeric, chilli powder and salt, and the mashed potato and soybeans if using; cook until the raw smell of the turmeric goes, about 2 minutes.
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6. Pour in the water, bring to a rolling boil, then simmer for 10 to 15 minutes until the gundruk is soft but still chewy.
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7. Garnish with coriander and serve hot, with rice, or as a soup next to dal bhat.
Notes
- Gundruk is leafy greens (mustard, radish or cauliflower leaves) wilted, pounded or crushed, packed tight in a jar to ferment for a few days, and then sun-dried; it keeps for months and gives the soup its sourness. Jhol is the Nepali word for a thin soup or broth.
- Gundruk ko jhol is a staple of Nepali-speaking communities in Nepal, Darjeeling, Sikkim and the diaspora, usually eaten with rice. Darjeeling cooks fry mustard seeds and red chillies first; others use a tomato base only.
- A little lime or lemon juice at the end sharpens the soup if your gundruk is mild.
- Gundruk is sold in Asian and Nepali grocers; sinki (fermented radish taproot) is a related ingredient, and the soup is often made with either. Without any, there is no substitute: sauerkraut changes the soup into a different dish.
- Make-ahead: the soup keeps 3 days chilled and tastes better the next day.
Adapted from A Beloved Recipe for Fermented Gundruk ko Jhol from the Nepali Diaspora, Goya and Come alive with gundruk, Down To Earth.
At the festivals
No festival we list has printed it on a menu yet.