Knol-khol (kohlrabi): nutrition per 100 g

1. 01

   Vitamin C ranks 4th of 36

   Knol-khol carries 64.7 mg vitamin C per 100 g, 19th of 130 foods. A 100 g serving of the bulb gives a man 81 per cent of his requirement and a woman 100 per cent of hers, more if eaten raw in a salad.

2. 02

   One of the lightest vegetables

   At 16 kcal and 93.1 g water per 100 g, knol-khol is among the lightest foods in IFCT 2017, with only 1.4 g carbohydrate. It is filling and crunchy for almost no energy.

3. 03

   Potassium and some sodium

   Each 100 g supplies 327 mg potassium and 27 mg natural sodium, the latter ranking 3rd of 39 vegetables. Both are modest amounts in a balanced diet.

4. 04

   Omega-3 ALA and B6

   The bulb has 71 mg of the plant omega-3 fat ALA, 5th of 36 vegetables, and 0.19 mg vitamin B6 per 100 g. Its iron, at 0.24 mg, is low.

Values per 100 g of the edible portion. Source: Longvah T, Ananthan R, Bhaskarachary K, Venkaiah K. Indian Food Composition Tables 2017. National Institute of Nutrition, Indian Council of Medical Research, Hyderabad. Daily-need shares use the ICMR-NIN 2020 recommended dietary allowances for a 65 kg man and a 55 kg woman doing sedentary work (ICMR-NIN brief note). Nutrients IFCT did not analyse for this food are left out rather than shown as zero.

• Monji haak in Kashmir: sliced kohlrabi and its leaves simmered with mustard oil, hing and dried red chillies.
• Olkopir dalna in Bengal: cubes cooked with potato and green peas in a light ginger and cumin gravy.
• Navilkosu sambar in Karnataka: knol-khol pieces simmered in toor dal with tamarind and sambar powder.
• Noolkol kootu in Tamil Nadu: diced bulb cooked with moong dal and a coconut and cumin paste.
• Raw in a salad: thin slices or matchsticks with carrot, lemon, salt and roasted peanuts.

Choose small to medium bulbs, no bigger than a tennis ball, with fresh leaves. Large, old knol-khol turns woody and fibrous inside and needs a thick peel. Remove the tough outer skin with a knife rather than a peeler, and cook the leaves too, since IFCT lists them separately with far more calcium than the bulb. Like cabbage, knol-khol can cause wind in some people; cooking it with hing, as Kashmiri monji haak does, helps.

Food composition is general information, not a diet plan. Anyone managing a medical condition should plan their diet with a doctor or a registered dietitian.

• Knol-khol leaves

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

• Cabbage

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

• Radish

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

• Cauliflower

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

• Carrot

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

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