Knol Khol (Kohlrabi) Thuvayal

One of the benefits of being an adult is that one gets to do what one wants. I apply this logic to my eating habits. So, while my upbringing made me eat all vegetables without as much as twitching my nose, there are vegetables that I promptly forgot about when I set up my "own" kitchen almost 10 years ago. This year, it seems like I am trying out new vegetables with a vengeance. I also discovered thuvayals sometime this year. More like rediscovered really. And I also figured that the easiest way for me to "like" a vegetable that I didn't see eye to eye with for the past 3 decades is to make a thuvayal (or thogayal) with it.

Kohlrabi has started making its appearance in markets here. Knol khol in Tamil and Gaanth Gobi in Hindi, I had no reason to ever like this vegetable. I think I had this aversion to all vegetables that look like this: Tinda and Chayote Squash being part of the same family for this purpose. I bought 3 of these last week because they were so fresh and they were really calling out to me. Amma suggested that I make it like this. But I wasn't sure if I was ready to come really face to face with this vegetable yet. A standard karumadhu does nothing to mask the taste of any vegetable that features in it. She also suggested putting into a kurma. I had not the patience to chop that many vegetables. She then went on to ask me why I bought them if I didn't want to eat them at all. (How could I explain to her that I was just keeping my resolve? I've never resolved to do much, and on the rare occasions that I have, I've not kept the resolve for long.) Anyway, I ended up making this thuvayal.

1 cup Kohlrabi, peeled and diced
2 tsp Oil
3-4 Red Chillies
2 tsp Urad Dal
1/2 tbsp Tamarind paste
Salt to taste

For the tempering:
1 tsp Oil
1/2 tsp Mustard Seeds
1/2 tsp Urad Dal
1/4 tsp Asafoetida
7-8 Curry Leaves

Heat one teaspoon of oil in a pan and add the diced vegetable. Saute for a couple of minutes and cover and cook for 5-7 minutes. Keep aside.

In a small pan, heat the other teaspoon of oil and add the urad dal. When it turns slightly brown, add the red chillies and fry for a minute. Grind this along with the tamarind paste, salt, and sauteed vegetable.

In a frying ladle, heat the oil for the tempering. Add the urad dal and mustard. When the mustard splutters, add the asafoetida and curry leaves. Add this to the ground paste.

As we come near the finish line, see what my fellow marathoners are up to: Siri, Srivalli, Ranji, PJ, Curry Leaf, Medha, Priya, Bhawna, Raaji, Ruchii, Anu, Kamala, Roopa, Divya Kudua, Rekha, Divya M, Lakshmi, Lakshmi Venkatesh , Sripriya, Viji, Kamalika, Pavani, Karuna and Roochi.