Cabbage Rice with Spices

Recipe for a Maharashtrian style Cabbage Rice

I have to admit that cabbage is the somewhat boring category of vegetables. While the Tamil style simple cabbage stir fry or kootu is ok, there’s nothing more I like to do with them.

But then I remembered this old Marathi recipe I had cut out from a magazine. This was from the era when we used to cut out recipes from magazines to try out later, the old world version of Pinterest 😛

I did give this recipe a try a few times and it actually made cabbage a whole lot more appetising. So if you are from that part of the world, where cabbage is boiled and everyone turns their nose up at this poor vegetable, you must try it this way. You are in for a pleasant surprise. The chopped cabbage, crunchy lentils, peanuts and coconut makes this rice a fun dish to serve / eat. Serve along with suggestions given at the end of the post to make a fun, satisfying meal.

I did give this recipe a try a few times and it actually made cabbage a whole lot more appetising. So if you are from that part of the world, where cabbage is boiled and everyone turns their nose up at this poor vegetable, you must try it this way. You are in for a pleasant surprise. The chopped cabbage, crunchy lentils, peanuts and coconut makes this rice a fun dish to serve / eat. Serve along with suggestions given at the end of the post to make a fun, satisfying meal.

Easy Cabbage Rice

This easy Cabbage Rice is a Maharashtrian (Western India) recipe. Ready in less than 20 minutes & makes a complete meal with yogurt/raita on the side. One of the tastier ways to eat cabbage! Get the recipe here

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 55 minutes mins

Servings: 4 serving

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 1 cup rice (short grain or basmati)
• 1 cabbage medium
• 1/4 cup peanuts raw
• 2 tbsps chana dal bengal gram dal or split
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 sprigs curry leaves
• 2 - 4 green chillies , slit lengthwise
• pinch asafoetida of
• 1.5 tsps salt
• 1.5 tsps garam masala powder
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder, optional
• 2 cups water

For garnish

• 1/4 cup coconut grated
• 1/4 cup coriander leaves fresh , chopped

Method

 

1. To make the cabbage rice, start by washing the rice 2-3 times and soak in a big bowl of water for 30 minutes.
2. Soak the peanuts and chana dal in a small bowl of water for 15-20 minutes.
3. Finely chop the cabbage, discarding the core and any tough ribs on the leaves. We need 3 cups of finely chopped cabbage.
4. In a large heavy bottomed pan with a lid, heat the oil.
5. Add the mustard and cumin seeds. Once they splutter, add the chillies, curry leaves and stir for few seconds.
6. Drain the water from the soaked peanuts and chana dal. Add the soaked peanuts and chana dal to the oil. Stir for a minute.
7. Add the finely chopped cabbage and saute on high flame for 1-2 minutes. The cabbage will reduce in volume a bit.
8. At this point, add the salt, drained out rice, garam masala and chilli powder (if using). Stir this around for 3-4 minutes until the rice is a little toasted.
9. To this, add around 1 and 3/4 cups of water, reserving 1/4 cup for use if required.
10. Stir to mix well. Once the water comes to a boil, reduce the flame, cover with the lid and allow rice-cabbage to cook for 7-8 minutes.
11. Open the lid after 8 minutes and check if rice is cooked. Even if it is 80% cooked, at this point switch off the flame and keep covered for 20 minutes. The rice will be perfectly cooked by then.
12. Fluff up the rice and serve hot.

Notes

Serving suggestions:

For a vegetarian lunch menu, serve the Cabbage Rice with a Banana Raita, Khamang Kakdi (Maharashtrian cucumber salad) and roasted papads, for a complete lunch. [recipes below]