One of the most popular and lived vegetable soup in Nepal, the soup made by gundruk or sinki is also considered to be good for digestion and for stomach. Gundruk is also considered as a national food and these two food items are also two of the traditional foods of Nepal. Sinki, however, is avoided during the winters or while suffering from cold and cough as it is said that the sour taste of the sinki will further increase the effects of the problems. Nevertheless, it is also one of the popular food items in Nepal.

Although you can find ready-to-cook, gundruk and sinki in the stores around Nepal, it could not beat the taste of those that have been made at home. Gundruk is usually used by people to make pickle and eaten raw but you can as fry it and make Gundruk Suruwa.

For Gundruk

All you need is the fresh green leaves of mustard or turnip or radish or even cauliflower plucked from the garden. When you have acquired the desired about of it, cut it into uneven pieces (don’t make it very small) and leave it to wilt for a day or two. You can also mix the roots of radish or turnip, if you want, but make sure to smash it along with the leaves. Then, pack them in a container (wooden, earth ware or glass jar) with an air-tight lid. Let the container stand for a four days to a week in sunny place until the leaves are naturally fermented due to lactic acid bacteria. After the fermentation process is completed, take the contents of the container and spread it out on a thin plastic sheet and let is sun-dry for few more days, then, store it in a container. Your gundruk is ready to use for making pickle or suruwa (soup).

For Sinki

You can use radish or cauliflower for making sinki. First of all, break or cut the vegetables into small pieces and spread them in son for several days to let them sun-dry. Then, store it in an air-tight container until the leaves go through a natural fermentation process just as in case of gundruk. When the fermentation process is completed, take them out of the container and spread out on the sun to sun-dry for few more days. When done, store it in a container and use it whenever you want.