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Sisnu ko jhol
Stinging nettle soup
सिस्नुको झोल (sisnu ko jhol): stinging-nettle soup with garlic, jimbu and timur, thickened with cornmeal
Sisnu grows wild along every terrace wall and trail in the middle hills, and before vegetables were easy to buy it was the green that kept villages going through the dry season; Rai and Magar families still pick the tender tips with tongs or with a cloth wrapped round the hand. Cooked, the sting disappears completely, leaving a deep green, silky soup that tastes somewhere between spinach and seaweed, thickened with a spoonful of cornmeal and seasoned with garlic, chilli, jimbu and timur. It is poured over rice or eaten with dhido, and many Kathmandu restaurants now serve it as a proud reminder of hill cooking. Never handle the raw leaves bare-handed; the sting lasts for hours. Chef's tip: wear rubber gloves until the nettles have been in boiling water for a minute, and pick only the top four to six leaves of each shoot.
- Total time
- 30 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 7 oz young stinging-nettle topshandled with gloves, washed
- 2 tbsp mustard oil
- 1 tsp dried jimbu
- 4 cloves garliccrushed
- 2 cm piece fresh gingergrated
- 1 green chillichopped
- 1 /4 tsp ground turmeric
- 4 ¼ cups water
- 3 /4 tsp salt
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Wearing gloves, drop 7 oz young stinging-nettle tops into a pan of boiling water for 1 minute, drain, rinse under cold water and chop finely. The sting is now gone.
3 minStep 2: Heat 2 tbsp mustard oil in a pot over a medium-high heat until it just smokes, lower the heat and add 1 tsp dried jimbu and 1 dried red chilli for 15 seconds.
1 minStep 3: Add 4 cloves garlic, 2 cm piece fresh ginger and 1 green chilli and fry for 1 minute until golden.
2 minStep 4: Stir in 1 /4 tsp ground turmeric and 3 tbsp fine cornmeal (or buckwheat or millet flour) and fry for 2 minutes, stirring, until it smells toasty.
3 minStep 5: Add the nettles and fry for 1 minute, then whisk in 4 ¼ cups water and 3 /4 tsp salt, stirring so no lumps form.
2 minStep 6: Simmer for 10–12 minutes, stirring often, until the soup is smooth, dark green and lightly thickened.
12 minStep 7: Stir in 1 /4 tsp timur (Nepali Sichuan pepper), ground, taste for salt and serve hot.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 110 kcal
- Protein
- 4 g
- Carbs
- 14 g
- Fat
- 5 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does sisnu ko jhol take?
- About 30 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of dried red chilli?
- ½ tsp chilli flakes per chilli.
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
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