Cabbage fry Andhra style | Cabbage and green peas poriyal
Cabbage stir fried with ginger, green chilli and some pretty basic seasonings, this South Indian style Cabbage fry recipe changes the way you feel about cabbage. Simple, yet delicious, nutrient packed, ready on the table in less than 30 mins.
Ingredients
- 1 medium to large green cabbage finely shredded
- 2 tablespoon oil coconut oil tastes good, but you can also use canola or such similar oils
- 1 tablespoon ginger finely chopped
- 3 to 4 green chillies split length wise Serrano, jalapeno, thai chilli etc.. any kind is ok based on your tolerance and availability
- 1 sprig curry leaves
- ¼ tsp turmeric powder
- ¼ tsp asafoetida optional, also called hing or inguva, skip if you are on a gluten free diet
- ⅓ cup of fresh shredded coconut or dry coconut powder optional but delicious addition
Tempering Ingredients :
- 1.5 teaspoon chana dal bengal gram
- 1.5 teaspoon split urad dal
- ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
Instructions
- Finely shred the cabbage ( see the picture above for reference ) either by using a food processor with thin shred option or with a knife using some muscle power.
- Chop the ginger into very small pieces. Split the green chillies length wise. ( Tip : If you split them lengthwise, it is easy to discard them while eating if you have young kids who cannot tolerate chillies ).
- Heat a pan over medium heat and add 2 tbsp oil. When the oil is hot add chana dal, urad dal, cumin seeds and mustard seeds and saute them for few seconds until the mustard seeds crackle and the dals starts to turn slightly golden brown.
- Add chopped ginger, green chillies and curry leaves and saute for few more seconds. If you don't like to get ginger or chilli pieces while eating, make a paste of ginger and chilli together and add it to the oil after tempering and before adding the cabbage. Both ways taste excellent. I do the first way so I can remove couple chillies mid way to reduce the spice for my kids.
- Now add turmeric powder and asafoetida ( optional if you are on gluten free diet ) and stir everything well. ( Tip : Adding turmeric to the oil before adding any veggies helps in incorporating it well into the veggies easily ).
- Add shredded cabbage now and stir well. Cook uncovered over medium high heat while stirring frequently to avoid burning.
- Add salt to taste to get the water out of cabbage and help it cook faster. Cook until cabbage is softened and almost cooked.
- Now add green peas ( I used frozen green peas, you can use boiled fresh peas too ) and stir well.
- Now add coconut powder if you are using it and stir well. You can skip it if you want but it is a delicious addition.
- Finally taste it to check the salt and see if it is cooked well and add chopped cilantro to garnish.
Notes
- Make sure to shred cabbage really finely for an excellent stir fry.
- Cabbage cooks really fast, especially when finely shredded. So keep a close eye on to avoid mushy cabbage.
- Avoid using any kind of chilli powder. Cabbage tastes best when cooked with whole green chilli ( split lengthwise ) or red chilli ( cut into 1 inch pieces ) if you don't have green chilli.
- Instead of adding chopped ginger and chilli pieces, you can also make ginger chilli paste and add it to the oil along with the tempering before adding the cabbage.That way, you won't get ginger and chilli pieces in your mouth if you don't like them that way.
- Cook it uncovered to get the stir fried taste and avoid boiled taste.
- You can add other veggies like carrot or beans to this recipe by cutting them into really small pieces as cabbage and adding them at the same time as cabbage. It makes the dish more nutritious and colorful.