Trans-Himalayan Pantry · Fermented Leafy Greens

Gundruk

Photo: Gaurav Dhwaj Khadka / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

About a week of fermentation in a warm earthenware jar turns wilted mustard and radish leaves into a sharp, shelf-stable staple that can outlast an entire winter without refrigeration.

Gundruk is made by wilting mustard, radish or cauliflower leaves, packing them tightly into an earthenware jar with a little warm water, and letting them ferment for about a week before sun-drying. It's simmered into a sour soup or fried into a tangy side dish, a pantry staple across Nepal's high trans-Himalayan trade villages, including the Thakali homeland around Mustang where fresh greens are scarce much of the year.

Why it's made this way: In high, dry valleys like the Kali Gandaki, where fresh vegetables are hard to grow for much of the year, fermenting and drying the autumn leaf harvest became the region's main way of getting greens through the winter.