Cabbage Kootu
South Indian style stew with cabbage, lentil and coconut
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup finely chopped cabbage
- ¼ cup yellow moong dal
- ¼ tsp turmeric powder
- Salt to taste
To grind
- ⅓ cup grated coconut
- 3 green chillies
- ½- inch ginger chopped
- ⅛ tsp fennel seeds / perumjeerakam optional
- ½ tsp rice powder
To temper
- 2 tsp coconut oil
- ½ tsp mustard seeds
- ½ tsp split urad dal
- 1 dry red chilly broken
- Few curry leaves
Instructions
- Wash the moong dal and soak it for 15 minutes. Add to a pressure cooker with cabbage, turmeric powder, ½ cup water and pressure cook for 2 whistles.
- Grind coconut, green chillies, ginger, fennel seeds and rice flour to a paste adding little water.
- Add the ground coconut paste, salt to the cabbage-moong dal and bring everything to boil. Cook for 5-6 minutes.
- In a pan, heat oil and add mustard seeds. When it crackles, add urad dal, red chilly, curry leaves and pour over kootu.
Notes
- Do not add more water while cooking the cabbage. The cabbage will release water while cooking.
- I like this kootu little spicy, so added 3 green chillies. You can reduce the chillies according to your spice preference.
- Adding fennel seeds is optional. But I would recommend it as it adds a nice flavor to the kootu. But do not add more as it can be quite overpowering.