Monj Haakh (Kashmiri Kohlrabi and Greens)

From the garden

• 3 medium kohlrabi, bulbs and leaves, bulbs peeled and sliced thin, leaves torn · the leaves are half the dish, so keep them
• 3 green chiles, slit lengthwise · left whole so you can fish them out
• 3 cloves garlic, lightly crushed

From the pantry

• 3 tbsp mustard oil or neutral oil · divided; mustard oil is traditional and carries the whole dish
• 2 tsp fresh ginger, grated · dried ground ginger, sonth, is the Kashmiri original
• ½ tsp red pepper flakes (optional) · for the finishing spoon of hot oil
• 1½ cups rice · cooked, for serving
• salt · to taste, and this dish takes more than you expect

1. Start the rice. Peel the kohlrabi bulbs deeply, well past the fibrous layer under the skin, and slice them into thin rounds. Wash the leaves well and tear them from their thickest stems.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a wide pot over medium-high until it shimmers and just begins to smoke, which takes the raw bite out of mustard oil. Add the garlic and slit chiles for 30 seconds.
3. Add the kohlrabi rounds, the ginger, a generous teaspoon of salt, and 3 cups of water. Boil steadily, uncovered, 8 to 10 minutes, until the slices are translucent at the edges and tender to a fork.
4. Pile in the leaves, push them under the surface, and boil 6 to 8 minutes more, until they collapse and the broth turns green. Keep it loose: the thin broth is the point, not a sauce.
5. Taste for salt, then bloom the pepper flakes in the last tablespoon of oil in a small pan for a few seconds and pour it over. Ladle kohlrabi, leaves, and plenty of broth onto rice.