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Gundruk Recipe: How Nepali Fermented Greens Are Made (and Gundruk Soup)

By Updated 2 min read

Discover how to make gundruk, the traditional Nepali fermented leafy greens that have sustained Himalayan communities for centuries. This comprehensive guide covers the unique dry fermentation technique, sun-drying process, and authentic serving methods for this probiotic-rich delicacy.

At a glance

Gundruk is Nepal's fermented, sun-dried leafy vegetable. Wilt mustard, radish or cauliflower leaves for a day or two, shred them, pack them very tightly into a jar without salt, ferment 7–15 days in a warm place until sour, then sun-dry. Lactic acid bacteria such as L. plantarum do the souring. Cook it into gundruk ko jhol (soup).

  • Made from wilted mustard, radish or cauliflower leaves, fermented without salt, then sun-dried.
  • Lactic acid bacteria reach about 10 million per gram (Tamang et al., 2005).
  • L. brevis and P. pentosaceus start the fermentation; L. plantarum finishes it.
  • pH fell from 6.6 to 3.7 by day 9 in a jar-fermented gundruk (Ghimire et al., 2020).
  • Dried gundruk keeps for months and is usually cooked into soup.

Ferment profile

Origin
Nepal and the Eastern Himalayas
Fermentation
Lactic acid
Main microbes
Lactobacillus plantarum, L. brevis, Pediococcus pentosaceus, P. acidilactici, Leuconostoc fallax
Live cultures
Depends on preparation
Alcohol
None / trace

Gundruk is a fermented and sun-dried leafy vegetable from Nepal and the Eastern Himalayas (Sikkim, Darjeeling and Bhutan). Leaves of mustard greens, radish or cauliflower are wilted, shredded, packed tightly into a jar or pot and left to ferment for one to two weeks, then dried in the sun. Unusually, it’s made without salt (Dahal et al., 2026). Dried gundruk keeps for months and is cooked into a sour soup (gundruk ko jhol), pickles and side dishes. Its relative sinki is made from radish roots.

The Gundruk Making Process

  1. Wilt fresh leaves in the shade for a day or two until limp.
  2. Shred or crush them.
  3. Pack them very tightly into a jar or earthenware pot, pressing out air, and cover.
  4. Ferment in a warm place for about 7–15 days, until pleasantly sour.
  5. Sun-dry the fermented leaves until completely dry, then store them in airtight containers.

The Microbes

Gundruk is a lactic acid fermentation. Across 65 samples of Himalayan fermented vegetables including 25 of gundruk, lactic acid bacteria reached about 10 million per gram, mainly Lactobacillus brevis, L. plantarum, Pediococcus pentosaceus, P. acidilactici and Leuconostoc fallax, with no molds detected (Tamang et al., 2005). During fermentation, L. brevis and P. pentosaceus start the process and L. plantarum finishes it (Tamang & Tamang, 2010). In a jar-fermented mustard-leaf gundruk, the pH fell from 6.6 to 3.7 by day 9 (Ghimire et al., 2020); spontaneous batches in another study reached pH 4.5 (Dahal et al., 2026).

Gundruk is usually dried and then cooked, so it’s valued as a tangy, long-keeping vegetable rather than a source of live cultures.

How to Make Gundruk Soup (Gundruk ko Jhol)

Soak a handful (about 30 g) of dried gundruk in warm water for 10 minutes, then squeeze it out. Heat a little oil, fry a pinch of cumin or fenugreek seeds, a sliced onion, garlic, ginger, a dried chili and a chopped tomato, then add the gundruk and fry for a minute or two. Add about 3 cups of water (and, if you like, soaked soybeans or potato), season with salt and turmeric and simmer 10–15 minutes. Serve with rice.

Tips

  • Pack it tight. Air pockets encourage mold; the leaves’ own juice should gather around them.
  • Keep it covered and warm – around 20–30°C – so it sours quickly.
  • Dry it completely before storing; damp gundruk molds.
  • Discard any batch that smells rotten rather than sour, turns slimy or grows fuzzy colored mold.

Like other fermented leafy greens, gundruk can build up nitrite in its first days, before the lactic acid bacteria make it properly sour; in fermenting cabbage, nitrite peaks early and falls to almost nothing once the brine is acidic (Pu et al., 2001; Xu et al., 2024). So let it ferment until it is clearly sour before drying it – in a cool kitchen, towards the longer end of the 7–15 days – soak and squeeze it before cooking (washing removed about 91% of nitrite from leafy pickles in one study), and don’t give fermented greens to babies.

Related: another Nepali ferment, tongba; and salt-brine fermented greens and vegetables such as sauerkraut and kimchi. Northeast India’s fermented bamboo shoots, soibum, are another vegetable ferment from the region.

Recipe: Homemade Gundruk

Makes
About 100–150 g dried gundruk
Hands-on
30 min
Fermentation
1–2 days wilting, 7–15 days fermenting, then sun-drying
Salt
None
Temperature
About 20–30°C (68–86°F)
Difficulty
Moderate

Equipment

  • Tray or mat for wilting
  • Knife or food processor
  • Glass jar or earthenware pot
  • Weight or tight-fitting lid
  • Drying tray or mesh screen

Ingredients

  • 1 kg mustard greens, radish leaves or cauliflower leaves (fresh, unblemished; can be mixed)

Method

  1. Wash the leaves, shake off the water and spread them in the shade for 1–2 days until limp and reduced by about a third.
  2. Shred or chop the leaves and crush them lightly with your hands.
  3. Pack them into a clean jar or pot as tightly as you can, pressing hard to remove air, until their juice rises. Weigh down and cover.
  4. Leave in a warm place (20–30°C) for 7–15 days until the leaves are olive-colored and pleasantly sour.
  5. Spread the fermented leaves on a tray and dry them in the sun (or a very low oven or dehydrator) until completely dry and brittle.
  6. Store in an airtight jar. Soak before cooking – for example in gundruk ko jhol (method above).

Frequently asked questions

What is gundruk?

A Nepali fermented and sun-dried leafy vegetable made from mustard, radish or cauliflower leaves, used mainly in sour soups and side dishes.

How is gundruk made?

Leaves are wilted, shredded, packed tightly into a jar without salt, fermented for 7–15 days until sour, then sun-dried.

Does gundruk use salt?

No. Traditional gundruk is made without salt – the tightly packed leaves ferment in their own juice.

What does gundruk taste like?

Tangy and savory, with a slightly earthy, smoky note from drying.

How do you cook gundruk?

Soak it briefly, then fry with onion, garlic, ginger, chili and tomato and simmer with water to make gundruk ko jhol, or fry it as a pickle-style side dish.

Is gundruk probiotic?

It's fermented by lactic acid bacteria, but it's usually dried and cooked before eating, so it isn't a reliable source of live cultures.

How long does gundruk keep?

Completely dried and stored airtight in a dry place, it keeps for months.

Sources

  1. Tamang JP et al. (2005). Identification of predominant lactic acid bacteria isolated from traditionally fermented vegetable products of the Eastern Himalayas. Int J Food Microbiol 105(3):347–356. Link
  2. Tamang B, Tamang JP (2010). In situ fermentation dynamics during production of gundruk and khalpi, ethnic fermented vegetable products of the Himalayas. Indian J Microbiol 50(Suppl 1):93–98. Link
  3. Ghimire A, Kumar Sah A, Poudel R (2020). Kinetics and modeling of growth and lactic acid production in Gundruk, a Himalayan fermented vegetable dish. Food Sci Nutr 8(10):5591–5600. Link
  4. Dahal S, Poudel S, Manandhar S (2026). Microbial diversity of Nepalese fermented dish (Gundruk) and enhancing its fermentation using lactic acid bacteria starter culture. J Microbiol Methods 244:107474. Link
  5. Pu C et al. (2001). Research on the dynamic variation and elimination of nitrite content in sauerkraut during pickling. Wei Sheng Yan Jiu 30(6):352–354. Link
  6. Xu X et al. (2024). Analysis of microbial diversity dominating nitrite enzymatic degradation and acidic degradation in the fermentation broth of Northeast sauerkraut. Foods 13(24):4168. Link
#South Asia and the Himalayas
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