Nepali Mustard Greens Recipe – Introduction
This Nepali mustard greens recipe is a welcome addition when you want to add more real food to your menu.
The challenge for many overweight Americans is knowing how to prepare and cook real food.
Learning how to cook dark green leafy vegetables can dramatically improve your health, and help you achieve your body transformation goals to get leaner and stronger.
One of the most powerful dark leafy green vegetables on the planet is the humble mustard plant.
It would not be surprising if you never even heard of mustard greens, let alone a Nepali mustard greens recipe.
Being unfamiliar with whole real foods is a common by-product of growing up on colorfully packaged and processed convenience foods.
But, growing up in Kathmandu, the Himalayan Kingdom at that time, we mostly ate vegetarian food for two reasons, culture and cost.
We occasionally had chicken, which is considered meat, once a month, as well as goat cooked with a variety of sauces.
Mustard Greens in Kathmandu, Nepal
My father’s house had a backyard where my parents grew seasonal vegetables and there were fruit trees such as guava, plum, and grapefruit.
I saw my mother and father plant, grow, and tend our private garden, a common practice in Nepal.
Of the many vegetables, they grew, one of my favorites was mustard greens, whose brilliant green leaves create a simple and delicious side dish to have with rice for several months.
And mustard greens are not only one of my favorites, but holds a special place in the heart of many Nepalis, as you can see from this photo of mustard greens for sale in a typical Nepali market:
You just pluck/snap the outer bigger leaves and leave the smaller delicate leaves to fully develop before they are plucked, and there is yet another layer inside of it that starts growing.
This process of plucking the larger outer leaves, and letting the smaller delicate leaves mature, goes on for a few months.
This is where you can find mustard greens in Kathmandu – the fruit and vegetable market
Southern Giant Curled Mustard Greens
When I first saw Southern Giant Curled Mustard Greens in the United States, I did not recognize them, because they look very different from the variety we grew in Nepal.
But, after cooking them, I was so happy to again experience the hearty aroma, texture, and flavors of my youth in Kathmandu.
One of the most common varieties of mustard greens grown in the U.S. is Southern Giant, and you can find them in a Whole Foods market near you, or have them delivered through Amazon.
Typically, you will see the mustard greens arranged in the vegetable section near Kale, Swiss Chard, and Broccoli.
The Southern Giant curled mustard greens will look like this on the shelf:
Buy a couple of stalks and follow this simple and delicious recipe that my mother taught me in Nepal:
Nepali Mustard Greens Recipe Ingredients
- 5 big leaves (approximately 2 stalks) of mustard greens
- a tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
- salt to taste
- one half lemon to squeeze into juice
- a half teaspoon crushed dry red chili flakes
How to Cook Mustard Greens
Prep time: 5 minutes Cook time: 20 minutes
- Thoroughly wash mustard green leaves
- Cut into pieces or you can tear them into pieces
- Heat one tablespoon olive oil
- Put crushed and dried red chili flakes into hot olive oil
- When the chilis become black put in half a teaspoon of coriander powder and immediately after coriander put in the washed greens into the pan
- Add salt and squeeze the juice of 1/2 lemon
- Cook for 20 minutes on medium-high
Nepali Mustard Greens Recipe – Final Thoughts
The mustard plant is not only used for mustard seed, mustard oil, and your former favorite condiment on hot dogs.
Leafy green vegetables are a powerhouse of nutrition value and mustard greens should be treasured by you as they are in Nepal.
In this post, you will learn an authentic Nepali mustard greens recipe passed down for generations in the shadows of Mount Everest.
It might take a little time till you get accustomed to its hearty and savory taste, but once you do, you will have another leafy green vegetable recipe to get lean, build muscle, and impress your friends and family at the same time.
What’s Next
Now you know how to prepare a nutritious and delicious vegetable that can serve as a side dish to any meal.
Without vegetables, it is very difficult to finally beat obesity and change your body from fat to fit.
If there is one thing you should remember from this post, it is this – make sure to eat raw and cooked real vegetables every day.
Also, you will be more successful in achieving your body transformation goals if you follow a system that works.
- Use this free guide to lose 20 pounds in 3 months and incorporate the lifestyle changes that will get you to your ideal weight goal.
- Also, start a 12-week beginner deadlift program as soon as you can.
Between eating real food, and one of the best strength training exercises on the planet, you can dramatically change your body.
Even you will not recognize yourself.
Top 10 Related Posts:
- How to Cook Asparagus on the Stove Nepali Style
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- Just Eat Real Food Daily; The Secret to Change Your Body Fast
- Ultra-Processed Food Horror Show
Footnotes:
¹ The Last Mustard Standing After Several Hard Frosts – Green in Snow Seeds
² https://lifeofus.net/blog/2018/03/13/hariyo-saag-green-leafy-vegetables-in-nepal/
Infographic Credit: Visually
Rich is a NASM-CPT (Certified Personal Trainer),