South Indian Chettinad style Cabbage Kootu – This is an excellent way of having cabbage. The fennel seeds and the coconut makes this dish a winner. This is a great way to do the otherwise boring cabbage. We all love this cabbage kootu at home. Its so satisfying with rice. I am sure you will go for seconds.
“Diets – the ultimate empty promise perpetuating the same cycle over and over again. We’ve all been victims of yo-yo dieting. We stick to some diets longer than others, but c’mon, just how much cabbage soup can a person eat? – Suzanne Somers” – So no more cabbage soup. We can do better things with cabbage. Chettinad style Cabbage Kootu is a great dish to do with cabbage.
This is how we do Cabbage Kootu at home. First, we got some boiling to do. Boil the dal in a pressure cooker for 10 minutes until fall apart tender. I use split moong dal for this recipe. For every half cup of dal use 1.5 cups water if you are cooking in a pressure cooker. If you are going to be cooking dal in a pan, soak the dal for an hour and boil it with 2.5 cups of water for every half cup of dal for 1 hour in low flame. Soaking the dal will help in cooking faster. Do not add salt while cooking lentils. They tend to cook faster without the salt. Once the dal is cooked, set aside.
Next, lets boil 2-3 cups of cabbage with a cup of water until soft and tender. Simmer the cabbage with water and salt. Adding salt brings out the water from the cabbage and aids in cooking it faster. Simmer for 10-12 minutes in medium flame.
Heat oil in a pan and add in a teaspoon each of fennel seeds and cumin seeds. Fennel seeds is the Oomph! factor in this dish. So go for it. Let the seeds splutter. Add in the onions and green chillies and fry till soft. About 3-4 minutes on medium flame. Add in the tomatoes, turmeric powder, sambar powder and salt. Cook until the tomatoes are juiced down and dry. It will take about 5 minutes.
Add in the fresh shredded coconut and saute briefly for a minute. Remove off heat and transfer it to the mixie / food processor.
Add about a cup of water to the pan in which we cooked the onion-tomato mixture. Heat it for a minute until the water is scalding. The little bits that are stuck to the pan are flavor bombs. Just scrape with a spatula. We do not want to waste that. Add the water back to the mixie / food processor and grind it to a smooth paste. The french call this technique as deglazing.
Now add in the cooked dal, cooked cabbage and the masala paste. Add about a cup of water if necessary . Do not add more. We want a thick gravy. Let it simmer briefly for a couple of minutes. Remove off heat.
Now the final tempering.
Add in a tablespoon of sesame oil in a kadai and add in the mustard seeds. Let it splutter. Add in the curry leaves and dried red chillies. Fry until the curry leaves are crisp. Remove from heat and add it to the cooked lentil mixture.
The kootu is ready. Serve hot with rice and a dollop of ghee.
- ½ cup split moong dal
- 3 cups finely chopped cabbage
- 1 teaspoon oil
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 green chilli, chopped
- 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon sambar powder
- ¼ cup fresh shredded coconut
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 sprig curry leaves
- 2 dried red chillies
- Boil the dal in a pressure cooker for 10 minutes until fall apart tender.
- boil 2-3 cups of cabbage with a cup of water until soft and tender. Simmer the cabbage with water and salt.
- Heat oil in a pan and add in a teaspoon each of fennel seeds and cumin seeds. Let the seeds splutter. Add in the onions and green chillies and fry till soft. About 3-4 minutes on medium flame. Add in the tomatoes, turmeric powder, sambar powder and salt. Cook until the tomatoes are juiced down and dry. It will take about 5 minutes.
- Add in the fresh shredded coconut and saute briefly for a minute. Remove off heat and transfer it to the mixie / food processor.
- Deglaze the pan with a cup of water and add it to the mixie / food processor. Grind to a smooth paste.
- Now add in the cooked dal, cooked cabbage and the masala paste. Add about a cup of water if necessary . Do not add more. We want a thick gravy. Let it simmer briefly for a couple of minute. Remove off heat.
- Add in a tablespoon of sesame oil in a kadai and add in the mustard seeds. Let it splutter. Add in the curry leaves and dried red chillies. Fry until the curry leaves are crisp. Remove from heat and add it to the cooked lentil mixture.
- Serve hot with rice and a dollop of ghee.