Mangelwurzel Curry Recipe

I have been growing mangelwurzels for over 27 years, mostly to make wine from the roots and use the greens, which resemble chard, in meals. This statuesque easy to grow dual purpose vegetable is delicious in all kinds of meals, and I think should be more widely grown. Here’s a recipe for a veggie curry using mangelwurzel roots and greens.

I usually transform the mangelwurzel root into a delicious and rather potent wine. The recipe is here. It is also delicious as a n ingredient in the kitchen, used as you would beetroot, swede or other wintry root veg, to make pickles, pies, soups, stews, ferments, etc.

Find out more about the history of mangelwurzels in this blog which I wrote for SheGrowsVeg Heritage seed company here.

Mangelwurzel Curry Recipe

 

Mangelwurzels are not usually found in shops, so if you are not growing mangelwurzels, you can substitute the root for any root vegetable (swede, turnip, beetroot, sweet potato) and replace the mangelwurzel greens with chard or spinach.

For those living in a rural area, it is worth asking local farmers for a few roots, as it is commonly grown field scale as fodder beet  for feeding livestock over the winter and is usually known to farmers “mangold”.

For this recipe, I used a tin of pulses for ease. Replace with around 240g of precooked pulses of your choice. I like to use Czar beans because I grow those in the garden.

Apologies for the lack of food photos – they didn’t come out well so I have to wait now for the 2025 mangelwurzel harvest!

Feeds about 4, with accompaniments 

Ingredients

750g mangelwurzel (or other root veg)
A bunch of mangelwurzel leaves, washed and finely chopped, including stems
1 can of butter beans or chickpeas, drained (one 400g can produces around 240g of beans or chickpeas)
1 can of coconut milk 400ml
1 large onion, sliced
3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
4cm fresh ginger, peeled (if non-organic) and finely chopped
1 tin of chopped tomatoes (or 8 fresh tomatoes, diced)
2 tbsp garam masala
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp finely chopped fresh chillies – as spicy as you wish
juice of a lime
1 stick cinnamon
sea salt
black pepper

A little oil for cooking – sunflower, coconut oil, or other light veg oil

Fresh coriander leaves for serving

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°F (200°C)

1.Peel the mangelwurzel and cut into 2 cm cubes. Spread across an oven tray and drizzle with oil to coat lightly. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast in the oven for 20-30 minutes until soft inside and lightly caramelised on the outside. Put to one side.

(TIP: This can be done the day before when cooking dinner, to save on the cost of roasting the veg.)

2.Dice the onion and place in a heavy bottomed pan with the garlic, ginger, a little salt and 1-2 tbsp oil. Saute until the onion is transparent.

3.Add the chilli, spices and cinnamon stick. Stir for 2 minutes, then add the butterbeans, tomatoes, leaves, coconut milk and roasted mangelwurzel. Scrape the pan clean of all of the lovely sticky bits of mangelwurzel, such a good flavour. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Stir and gently bring to a simmer. Cook for 20 minutes until the veg is tender.

5. Meanwhile cook the rice, breads etc – whatever you have decided to serve this with.

6. Squeeze the lime juice into the curry, stir and taste. Adjust the seasoning as needed.

Serve with fresh chopped coriander leaves sprinkled on the top.

Leftovers

Any leftover curry will freeze well. Or puree, adding a little extra water as needed, to make a delicious spicy soup.

Buy mangelwurzel seeds

Buy Red Mangelwurzel from She Grows Veg

Yellow Eckendorf Mangelwurzel seeds are available from Kings Seeds