Mooli or Daikon Au Gratin

With my last remaining mooli from the garden I made a lovely gratin. I would usually make a gratin with potatoes but this is a lighter version of that. You can buy daikon/ mooli at Asian supermarkets and also some Tesco's have now started selling it. It makes a lovely change from potato and it went really well with the duck recipe I posted yesterday.

Daikon au Gratin (from Your Lighter Side)
(Serves 8-10)

1/2 daikon, sliced thinly

1 onion, sliced thinly

2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp chopped parsley
2 tbsp chopped chives
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp pepper
250ml double cream
100g cheddar, grated
40g Parmesan, grated

Soak sliced daikon radish in cold, salted water for 20 mins. Pat dry with paper towels.

Preheat the oven to 160C. Arrange the sliced daikon in layers in a casserole dish.

Heat a little oil in a saucepan, add the onions and cook until transparent, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic powder and pepper and stir, just until bubbling. Add the cream and stir occasionally until heated through, about 5 mins. Add in the parsley and chives. Remove from the heat and add the cheese. Stir until the cheese is melted. Pour the sauce over the daikon.

Bake, covered, for 45 mins, or until cheese is golden and bubbly. Sprinkle with the Parmesan and bake, uncovered, for another 10-20 mins until golden.

Chickpea Flour and Mooli Stir Fry

This year for the first time I have grown both radishes and mooli in the garden. The radishes are easy and delicious in salads, the mooli required a little more searching for recipes, most of the recipes I turned up were Indian and I was especially intrigued by a mooli paratha, but with the first batch I picked I didn't have enough to make paratha but instead went for a dry mooli and greens curry with chickpea flour. Especially as I've had half a bag of chickpea flour sat in my cupboard since Christmas with no real idea of what to do with it! This was perfect, although I have halved the quantity of the flour involved as a lot of it did not cook and tasted a bit grim raw. So make sure that the flour changes colour and goes darker.

Chickpea Flour and Mooli Stir Fry (from Spusht)
(Serves 2-3)

½ cup radish whites, chopped small

3 cups finely chopped radish greens (which are radish leaves, or use spinach)
2 Tbsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
⅛ tsp asafoetida
½ tsp turmeric powder
½ tsp red chili powder
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 cup chickpea flour/gram flour
salt to taste

Heat the oil in a pan on medium heat.  When hot, add the mustard seeds and wait for them to pop.  Add the asafoetida and radish whites, sauté for 2 minutes, then cover for 2 mins. Add radish greens and sauté for a minute more.  Cover for 2 more mins, stirring once in to avoid scorching.

Add the turmeric powder, chilli powder, coriander, cumin, chickpea flour and salt.  Mix well so that chickpea flour roasts well in oil to get rid of its raw flavour.  Then cover the pan and cook on low heat for another 2-3 minutes.  Serve as a side dish or with an Indian bread.