Curried Baby Turnips (tops & all)

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Curried Baby Turnips, is the first in a series of six recipes inspired by Vegetables From Down The Road.  Curried Baby Turnips (tops & all)The baby turnips from our neighboring farm were so fresh that I decided to use them tops and all.  This is a classic Indian dish which is usually made with cilantro.  Here I substituted the tender, fresh turnip tops for the cilantro.

INGREDIENTS:

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  • 2 bunches of baby turnips (each bunch had 5 turnips)
  • 3 peppers (use whatever variety you have on hand–here I used a Fresno, a sweet orange pepper and a fiery hot green scotch bonnet pepper.)  Mixing up the type of peppers results in a more complex flavor.
  • 2 inches of ginger root
  • 2 inches of turmeric root (if you cannot find fresh turmeric, use 1/2 tsp. of powder instead)
  • 8 ounces of frozen peas
  • 1 Tbsp. tomato paste
  • 1 tsp. cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp. black mustard seeds
  • 1/2 tsp. nigella seeds
  • 1 tsp. chili flakes (optional if you want to make the dish more spicy)
  • 1 tsp. smoked paprika
  • 2 tsp. garam masala (I make my own, but you can purchase it at an Indian grocery store or a spice market)
  • 2 Tbsp. grape seed oil
  • salt and pepper to taste

PREP:

Curried Baby Turnips Prep

  • Trim off the turnip bottoms and tops.  Leave the skins on.  Cut the turnips in half and then slice them into thin moon shapes.
  • Roughly chop the turnip tops.
  • Finely dice the chilies and ginger.

COOK:

  • Coat a large stainless steel skillet with grape seed oil and place on medium heat.
  • Add the turnips, chilies and ginger.
  • Add salt and pepper to taste.
  • Sprinkle on the cumin, black mustard and nigella seeds.  Add the optional chili flakes.
  • Using a micro plane or mini grater, grate the fresh turmeric at this point.  If you are using powdered turmeric, it will be added later in the recipe.  If you add it now, it will burn.
  • Saute the turnips until they are translucent and the added seeds begin to pop.  You will be able to hear them popping.
  • Turn the heat to medium-low.
  • Add the tomato paste and smoked paprika.  If you are using powdered turmeric, add it at this point.  Continue to saute for another 2 minutes.
  • Add the chopped turnip tops and saute until they wilt.  This should take 2 or 3 minutes.
  • Add the peas and sprinkle on the garam masala.
  • Add additional salt and pepper as needed.
  • Toss everything together.
  • Turn off the heat and cover with the lid.

Leave the turnips on the stove without removing the lid for about 10-20 minutes or until you are ready to serve.  This process is called “DUM” in Hindi.  It allows all the flavors to marry and become one harmonious flavor. This is a very important step in traditional Indian cooking.

As a side note.  At the end of February 2019, I found out that I have high blood sugar.  For the past 4 months, I have been following a ketogenic lifestyle along with intermittent fasting.  I have been successful in controlling my blood sugar and I also lost 30 pounds.  I will write more about this in a separate post.  This recipe just happens to fit a keto lifestyle.  Turnips are a great substitute for potatoes on a keto program.  Try this recipe because it is delicious.  Let me know how it turns out in the comment section.

11 thoughts on “Curried Baby Turnips (tops & all)”

      2. Just checked out your blog. I traveled a lot on a budget when I was in my twenties. I have many fond memories from my travels. I still don’t like to be a tourist. I like to get to know a place and meet people along the way.

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  2. I’ll be interested to learn more about your dietary and lifestyle changes to manage your high blood sugar. That’s something that is hereditary in my family and has been a concern for me as well, especially having recently gone through a health scare myself. I’ve tried intermittent fasting in the past and personally struggled to stick with it, but I know it has worked for many people. Your turnip recipe looks so delicious, I love turnip greens and it’s nice to see a recipe that uses the entire vegetable!

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    Reply

    1. Sorry to hear that you went through a recent health scare. My health situation began after the trauma of my mom suddenly passing away. In the future, I will be posting about my lifestyle changes. Its a long story so I will make an initial post and then start posting delicious recipes that I have created to help manage my own blood sugar. I will start a new tab called “HEALING RECIPES”. Creating these recipes helped me emotionally and physically. I want to do this to help other people and also for my patients. Many of my existing recipes already fall in line with a Keto program.

      As far as the intermittent fasting, there are many ways to do it. I do not know which way you tried. What works for me is eating 2 highly nutritious meals in an 8 hour period and then not eating anything for 16 hours. I will also post more about this in the future. I will be 59 years old this month. I was shocked at how easily this worked to bring my blood sugar and body fat down. I now can fit into my clothes from when I was 25. There are a few clothes from my twenties that I never threw away because I loved them so much. Now they fit.

      I looked at your about page. I love your photo. You look like a whimsical, happy person. I could not find your name on your about page.

      By the way, I also love knitting. My mom taught me how to knit when I was five.

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      Reply

      1. I’m so sorry for your loss. I saw her photo on your welcome page and she was certainly a beautiful woman. It sounds like you are processing the trauma in the best possible way and it’s admirable that you are empowering your patients (and blog readers) to take the healing path through food and lifestyle as well. Food is medicine. I look forward to learning more about your healing journey. It must feel great to fit back into clothes that you wore in your twenties. 🙂

        Thank you for checking out my blog bio, too. You can call me Jackie, and I’m definitely goofy in real life so that photo is an accurate portrayal. 🙂 I’m glad to meet another blogger who shares several of my interests!

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