Greek Dips and Sauces
Moungra Recipe (Cypriot Pickled Cauliflower and Turnip)
Μούντρα MOON-drah · Moungra
In short
Moungra is a Cypriot pickle of cauliflower and turnip cured in vinegar with mustard seed, turmeric and salt, left to ferment and sharpen over about a week. It is served alongside meze as a sharp counterpoint to rich fried and grilled dishes.
Every meze table needs something sharp to cut through the fried and grilled dishes around it, and in Cyprus that job usually falls to moungra: cauliflower and turnip cured in a vinegar and mustard seed brine, turned a distinctive yellow by turmeric, and left to sour properly over about a week.
It is not a quick refrigerator pickle in the way a lot of modern recipes are. Moungra wants time, both to soften the vegetables into that particular tangy give and to let the flavours of mustard seed and turmeric properly infuse the brine, rather than just sit on the surface.
Once made it keeps for weeks, so treat it as a pantry project rather than something you make to eat the same day.
Key preparation steps
- Salt the cauliflower and turnip briefly to draw out water.
- Pack into jars with mustard seed and turmeric.
- Cover completely with a vinegar and water brine.
- Leave at room temperature for about a week before refrigerating.
The vegetables
Cauliflower cut into small florets and turnip cut into batons or thin rounds are the classic combination, though some households use only cauliflower. Both vegetables hold up well to a week of curing without turning to mush, which is why they were the traditional choice.
Cut everything to a similar, fairly small size so it cures evenly and fits easily into jars. Blanching briefly in boiling water for a minute before salting is a common step that softens the vegetables just enough to speed up the pickling without cooking them through.
Building the brine
White wine vinegar or a plain distilled vinegar, diluted with water in roughly equal parts, forms the base. Too much undiluted vinegar makes an unpleasantly harsh pickle, while too little gives you something that will not keep or sour properly.
Whole yellow mustard seed and ground turmeric go in for flavour and for the moungra's characteristic bright yellow colour. A little sugar is common to round off the sharpness, and some households add a few whole peppercorns or a bay leaf.
Curing time and storage
Pack the salted, drained vegetables into clean jars with the mustard seed, pour over the brine so everything is fully submerged, and leave at room temperature, loosely covered, for about a week, tasting from day four onwards.
Once it has reached a sourness you like, seal properly and move to the fridge, where it will keep for a month or more. The flavour continues to develop slowly even once refrigerated.
Tips from my kitchen
Keep everything submerged
Vegetables poking above the brine line can spoil rather than pickle. Weigh them down with a small clean stone or a folded cabbage leaf if needed.
Taste as it goes
The souring time varies with room temperature. Start tasting from day four and move it to the fridge once it is where you want it.
Sterilise the jars properly
A week at room temperature is a real fermentation, and starting from properly sterilised jars keeps it safe and clean-tasting.
Moungra Recipe (Cypriot Pickled Cauliflower and Turnip)
Μούντρα · by Kalliopi Andreou · updated 2026-07-31
- Prep
- 30m
- Cook
- None
- Total
- 30m
- Serves
- 10
Ingredients
Ingredients
Method
- Bring a large pan of water to the boil and blanch the cauliflower and turnip together for 1 minute. Drain thoroughly.
- Toss the blanched vegetables with the salt in a large bowl and leave to drain in a colander for 1 hour.
- Rinse briefly and pat dry. Pack tightly into clean, sterilised jars along with the mustard seed.
- Bring the vinegar, water, turmeric, sugar and bay leaf to the boil in a pan, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
- Pour the hot brine over the vegetables in the jars, making sure everything is fully submerged.
- Let cool, then cover loosely and leave at room temperature for about a week, tasting from day 4 onwards.
- Once it has reached the sourness you like, seal the jars properly and refrigerate. It will keep for a month or more.
Nutrition, per 80 g
- Calories
- 38
- Protein
- 1 g
- Carbs
- 6 g
- Fat
- 0 g
- Sat fat
- 0 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
These figures are calculated estimates based on the ingredients listed, not laboratory analysis. Actual values vary with brands, cuts and portion size.
Frequently asked questions about Moungra
How long does moungra take to make?
Around a week at room temperature to reach a proper sourness, then it moves to the fridge, where it keeps for a month or more and continues to develop slowly.
Why is moungra yellow?
Ground turmeric in the brine gives it the characteristic bright yellow colour, alongside contributing a mild earthy flavour.
Can you eat moungra straight away?
You can, but it will taste mostly of raw vinegar rather than a properly cured pickle. It genuinely needs several days for the flavours to develop and the vegetables to take on the right texture.
