8 January 2008

Cabbage Thoran

New Year Greetings to all of you!

The new year arrived and so did some entries for RCI - Cuisine of Kerala. Whether I was busy or lazy, uninspired or upbeat, hosting this event did make me sit up and take pictures and write about a cuisine that I've come to appreciate only since I've been away from home. There are times when there's a plate of spicy pavbhaji before me and I'm craving for idlis! Such is the bond created by simple home food that the most attractive, aromatic and appetising dish cannot take away! And that is the magic of coconut, cumin, curry leaves and chillies, essential in almost every Malayalee dish.

Thoran refers to finely chopped vegetable cooked with crushed coconut. It is served as a dry side dish with rice and curry. Southern Keralites add onion/shallots and garlic to thoran, which is a strict no-no for the Northern Keralites. Either ways, thoran tastes great and is quick to make. Cabbage thoran is one of my favourites, perfect to go with steamed rice and sambhar. Read more about the benefits of cabbage here.

You'll need:
Half a large cabbage
1 cup grated coconut
1 tsp mustard seeds
¼ tsp urad dal
¼ tsp of channa dal
2 dry red chillies broken
a sprig of curry leaves
1 tsp cumin seeds/jeera
2-3 green chillies

Chop the cabbage finely or cut up the cabbage into large chunks and run it in the chopper for a few seconds. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When it crackles, add urad dal, channa dal, red chillies and curry leaves. When the dals turn red, add the chopped cabbage, salt and turmeric and turn down the flame. Cover and let it cook for about 2 – 3 minutes. There is no need to add water to the cabbage as it will cook in its own moisture. Put the coconut, green chillies, cumin seeds and a few curry leaves in the chopper and run till they are just crushed. Add this now to the cabbage, stir through and let it cook till done. This is my entry to RCI – Cuisine of Kerala, event conceived by LakshmiK of Veggie Cuisine.

28 comments:

FH said...

Happy new year to you my dear friend, glad to see you back and with a yummy Thoran too. Guess what's coming for you tomorrow?
I love the simple and delicious Thoran. Good one J!:)
(Oh, I fixed the RCI date!:D)

Rajitha said...

Jyo..we make cabbage thoran the same way..i used to wonder about the onions,garlic in them..now i know why! and yes..you do crave for simple food..like an idly post makes my moth water..but a ckae looks good..but does not make me crave!!

Pooja said...

Hapy new year to you and your family too Dear !
great recipe, though new for me , tyhanks for sharing...

vimmi said...

we make it in a similar manner., but i soak the chana dal and add more of it. thats the maharashtrian way

sra said...

Yay, you're back!

Mishmash ! said...

I am looking forward to the round up of this one....hope we get to see some forgotten delicacies...will send u my entries soon ...:)

Shn

indosungod said...

Happy New Year! Jyothsna.
The simple thoran, a pleasing addition to any meal.

Sagari said...

I like the sweetness of cabbage after cooking a lot and adding fresh coconut yummmmm nice recipe

EC said...

Never tried adding jeera to cabbage...thanks for the idea

J said...

Asha - Thanks! Glad to see you too :) I'm waiting to see what you are cooking!

Rajitha - :) Good, I have company here!

Pooja - Thanks! My Gujju friends seem to like this one, maybe you should try.

Vimmi - Yeah, I've had the Maharashtrian style, it's good too.

Sra - Yay! Good to see you too.

Shn - I'm homesick seeing the entries! I'm trying to recollect some simple quick fixes I have now forgotten. So what are you cooking ? :)

Indo - Thanks! It is so homely.

Sagari - I can agree with you.

Easycrafts - Jeera gives a nice touch, try adding it.

J said...

Asha - Thanks! Glad to see you too :) I'm waiting to see what you are cooking!

Rajitha - :) Good, I have company here!

Pooja - Thanks! My Gujju friends seem to like this one, maybe you should try.

Vimmi - Yeah, I've had the Maharashtrian style, it's good too.

Sra - Yay! Good to see you too.

Shn - I'm homesick seeing the entries! I'm trying to recollect some simple quick fixes I have now forgotten. So what are you cooking ? :)

Indo - Thanks! It is so homely.

Sagari - I can agree with you.

Easycrafts - Jeera gives a nice touch, try adding it.

amna said...

the king of all thorans :)

Padmaja said...

Jyothsna!!
I love all thorans and my favourite of all is raw banana thoran.
Cabbage thoran looks yummy and happy new year to you n family!

Padma said...

I like to eat cabbage in thoran format... We used to eat at one of our Mallu frens in Mumbai for Onam, simply loved the crunch to it!
Will try to come up with something related to Kerala Cuisine and looking fwd for the round-up!

Shah cooks said...

hmm. i never add jeera..will try that too.

Grihini said...

HappY new year..nice to see u back. I have sent u my post or RCI.

Ramya's Mane Adige said...

New Year wishes to you too!!! I love Cabbage thoran.. Keep asking my keralite frd to make it for me...

Swati said...

Happy New Year Jyothsna

A lovely cabbage recipe..though I am a north indian but I relish south Indian food very much...

Sig said...

Happy New Year Jyo... love all kinds of thorans...

DEEPA said...

Happy new year Jo!!...Awesome thoran ..I will soon post my entry for your event by next week

Nanditha Prabhu said...

Hi jyothsna,
happy new year to you and family!
you know what, I am also thinking of signing up for this event! I have just given birth to my food blog! :)
you guys have inspired me !!!

Susan from Food Blogga said...

I hope the new year is good to you.

J said...

Nags, Padmaja, Padma, Mallugirl, Ramya, Sugarcraft, Sig,
Deepa - Thankyou to all of you and hope to see your entries soon!:)

Grihini - Got your entry,thanks!

Nanditha - :) Good to hear that! Will come over soon!

Susan - Thankyou:)

Anonymous said...

I too make it at home. My husband loves it.

Susan said...

This looks too good and too easy, Jyothsna. There must be a trick somewhere! How I love cabbage.

Likely my entry for your event hosting will turn up coconuts, too. We'll see. So many delightful choices.

Sia said...

happy new year to u jyo. sorry couldn't visit ur blog before. so u r hosting RCI. gosh i got to send u something before deadline:) let me see what i can come up with.
thoran is very similar to palyas we make at home. like northern keralaites we dont add onions in palya. ofcourse mangalore and kerala food have many things in common.

J said...

Hima - Ya, it's easy to make.

Susan, Sia - Waiting for your entries, ladies!:)

Kribha said...

I love cabbage thoran. Although some people complain about the smell during cooking, I love it whole heartedly. Your picture looks so good.