Turnips were our featured vegetable last Winter and into Spring. We had not used them a great deal in the past, so wanted to explore their use. We added several new dishes, and especially several new turnip dishes from India.

This is a Punjabi turnip dish, easy to make, with an onion-tomato sauce. It takes no effort at all apart from some peeling, slicing and dicing. A perfect dish for an afternoon snack or a quick meal with some chapatis.

Similar dishes include Turnips with Quince Molasses, Turnips with Mustard Greens in a Creamy Sauce, and Kashmiri Turnips in Yoghurt.

Browse all of our Turnip recipes and all of our Kashmir dishes. All of our Indian recipes are here, and our Indian Essentials are here. Or explore our Early Spring recipes.

Punjabi Turnip Curry | Punjabi Shalgum Masala

ingredients

250g turnips, peeled and cut into cubes

1 onion, chopped finely

1 large tomato, chopped or pureed

2 green chillies

1 cm piece ginger

2 Tblspn ghee

0.25 tspn Indian red chilli powder

0.25 tspn turmeric powder

sea salt to taste

0.5 tspn garam masala

1 Tblspn coriander leaves, chopped

method

Grind the onion, ginger and green chillies to a course paste.

Heat the ghee in a kadhai or heavy pan and fry the onion paste until it is golden brown in colour. Add the salt to taste, chilli powder and turmeric powder. Cook for a couple of minutes and then add the chopped or pureed tomatoes. Sprinkle with a little water and cook until everything is well mixed.

Add the turnips and saute for 2 – 3 minutes, then add 1.5 cups of water. Cover the kadhai and cook for 5 mins or until the turnips are tender.

Lift the lid, sprinkle with the garam masala and cover again. Leave for 5 minutes for the flavours to infuse. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with chapatis.

Enjoy!

recipe notes and alternatives

Half a tspn of jaggery can be added to this dish to counteract the slightly bitter taste of turnips. A little cumin powder and coriander powder can be added with the spices.

A note on the tomatoes. I use a spice grinder if I want to make a puree for a dish, or a food processor to chop it really finely but still leaving some texture. Just pulse the food processor until you achieve the texture that you want.