Vegetarian Recipe: Farmer’s Market Turnip Curry

Every week on the Good Food blog, we celebrate Meatless Monday by sharing a vegetarian recipe from our archives.

Neelam Batra, author of 1000 Indian Recipes, first shared this recipe with us on February 14, 2004. Keep reading for the full recipe…

Farmer’s Market Turnip Curry

Makes 4 to 6 servings

2-3 Tablespoons vegetable oil

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 Tablespoon peeled minced fresh ginger

1 tsp minced fresh ginger

1 fresh Serrano pepper, minced with seeds

1 large tomato, finely chopped

1 Tablespoon ground coriander

1/2 tsp ground turmeric

1/2 tsp salt, or to taste

1 to 1 1/2 pounds baby turnips, whole with stems and roots trimmed or larger ones cut into 1-inch pieces

1 1/2 cups water

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro, including soft stems

Heat the oil in a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat and add the cumin; they should sizzle upon contact with the hot oil. Quickly add the onion and cook, stirring, over medium heat until brown, about 7 minutes.

Add the ginger, garlic, and pepper, and stir about 1 minute. Then add the tomato and cook until all the juices evaporate, about 5 minutes. Add the coriander, turmeric and salt. Then add the turnips and cook, stirring, another 5 minutes.

Add the water, cover the pan, increase the heat to high, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the turnips are fork-tender and the sauce is medium-thick, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a serving dish, mix in the cilantro and serve.

*To make a smoother curry sauce, process or blend together the onion, ginger, and garlic and add them after the cumin seeds sizzle. Once the mixture browns, add the tomato and proceed with the recipe.