Wild stinging nettle leaves blanched then cooked with garlic and mustard oil into an earthy green curry — a highly nutritious medicinal wild green of the Uttarakhand forests.
Ingredients
400g fresh stinging nettle leaves (sisunak / bicchu booti — wear rubber gloves when handling raw; the sting disappears completely on blanching; use only young tender top leaves)
OR substitute with spinach or amaranth
2 tbsp mustard oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
4 garlic cloves — finely sliced
2 dried red chillies
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp coriander powder
1/4 tsp asafoetida
Salt to taste
2 tbsp rice flour dissolved in 3 tbsp cold water — for Pahadi-style thickening
Method
Wear rubber gloves to handle raw stinging nettle.
Wash thoroughly in cold water. Use only the tender top leaves — discard tough stems. Blanch in boiling water for 2 minutes. The sting is completely neutralised by heat. Drain immediately. Plunge into cold water to stop cooking. The leaves can now be handled safely without gloves. Roughly chop.
Heat 2 tbsp mustard oil in a heavy pan to smoking point.
Reduce to medium. Add cumin seeds — sizzle. Add asafoetida. Add sliced garlic — fry until golden. Add dried red chillies.
Add the blanched chopped nettle leaves. Add turmeric and coriander powder.
Toss on high heat for 3 to 4 minutes.
Add the rice flour dissolved in cold water, stirring continuously to prevent lumps.
This is the traditional Pahadi thickening technique. Simmer 4 to 5 minutes, stirring until the curry thickens to a creamy coating consistency.
Add salt. Taste — nettle has a mineral, earthy flavour quite unlike spinach.
Serve hot with mandua roti or rice. A drizzle of raw mustard oil on top before serving is the Pahadi tradition.