Cabbage is one of those vegetables that i really don't think much of. I have always felt that it has no distinctive taste and its smell is nothing less than revolting. But there are times when I jus pick up a head of cabbage for lack of anything else to choose from.
And it has always ended up in the same unexciting cabbage fry. The only change is when I go home and my mom adds a little coconut to the cabbage to give it some character.
So this week, when my cook asked me if she should fry the cabbage as usual, i just asked her to shred it into little pieces and keep it in the fridge. I was completely out of ideas. Salad? But that wouldn't be a filling meal by itself. Koftas? Too much effort on a working day. As i poked around in the fridge looking for some inspiration, I saw a small container in which I had stored some ground, roasted peanuts. And voila! This is the dish I came up with - really simple and easy, and takes just about 10min to cook. And the end result was mouth-watering.
Ingredients:
Cabbage - 1 small, shredded
Peanuts/groundnuts - 1/2 cup,roasted and coarsely ground
Oil - 1 tbsp
Dried Red Chillies - 2
Asafoetida (Hing) - 1 pinch
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Salt
Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed pan and splutter the mustard seeds, red chillies and asafoetida. To this tadka add the roasted, ground peanuts and the shredded cabbage. Cover and cook for 5min. Add the salt and stir well. Take off the flame when the cabbage is a little soft, yet retains its colour and crunch. Don't let it get too soft or mushy.
Serve hot with rotis and pickle/chutney.
