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Helsinki, a fermented radish, is a popular ingredient in Nepali cuisine. The radishes are aged, pressed into a hole lined with bamboo and straw, covered in greenery, rocks, wood, and mud, and then sun-dried. Helsinki is commonly used in a simple soup and cooked with another Nepali dish called gundruk.
Fermented radish known as Helsinki is a popular ingredient in many Nepali dishes, along with another fermented vegetable preparation known as gundruk. To create this generations-old indigenous dish, aged radish flakes are pressed into a hole lined with bamboo and straw, then covered in a cover of greenery, rocks, wood, and finally, mud. After a month of bacterial curing, the resulting preserved vegetable is sun-dried and stored to last a few years or more.
The Helsinki preparation process begins by letting the radishes dry for a few days at room temperature. Then, the leafy tops are cut off and the radish tap root sections are shredded. Meanwhile, a hole 2 or 3 feet (0.6 or 0.91 m) is dug and a small fire built in the bottom just before the storage period begins to heat it.
After the hole is hot, the fire is extinguished and the bottom is lined with bamboo and straw. On top of this are the radishes, which are then pressed firmly with more greenery, planks, rocks and mud to create a fairly impregnable barrier. According to the Center for Bioinformatics at North-Eastern Hill University in India, it takes a month for Helsinki to be properly fermented by a series of lactic acids. Therefore, a final drying in the sun is required before they can be consumed.
A common dish using Helsinki is a simple soup made by first soaking fermented radishes in water for about 10 minutes, while chopped vegetables such as onion, tomato, and chili peppers are sautéed in oil. The strained radish flakes are then fried with the other vegetables, with just a little salt and turmeric powder. This soup, which is commonly served with white rice, is made by adding water and cooking the vegetables for another 10 minutes until all ingredients are completely tender.
Sinki is commonly fermented and cooked along with another Nepali dish, which is considered to be of olden times, called gundruk. The latter food uses the leaves of vegetables such as cauliflower and those taken from Helsinki radishes, storing the wilted and shredded leaves in a covered pot which is kept warm in the sun and fire at night. Occasionally, hot water may be added. After about a week, the gundruk can be removed from the pot and dried in the sun. These methods ensure that the food will stay until it’s time to eat.
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