“What’s in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.”
― William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet
Hold on! I am neither going to discuss Romeo and Juliet nor any other play by William Shakespeare and Rose is also not going to be the part of this post 🙂 ! Today I am here to write a simple yet tasty recipe of a South Indian style Stir-Fried Cabbage which is popular as cabbage Poriyal in the Tamil speaking region and Cabbage Thoran in Kerala!
This dish is quite similar to Bengali Bandhakopir Chechki, however, we don’t use Coconut in Chechki! Whatever may be the name is, this dish is amazingly flavorful and really easy to prepare.
I visit Chennai very frequently and opt for a home cooked meal provided by a local lady in our Chennai office quite often. I love the flavors of her home cooked food including slightly sweet Sambhar, Rasam and a very light stir fried cabbage which she called Poriyal. The same dish is known as Cabbage Thoran in Kerala and I got to know about it during our Kerala trip a few months back. We were served this on the houseboat and I asked for the recipe from the local cook who prepared it for us. He told me that both Poriyal and Thoran are different names of the same dish!
I made Cabbage Poriyal last Sunday to just to get rid of the typical Bandhakopir Tarkari (Bengali Cabbage Sabzi) that I prepare almost once a week during the winter!
A bowl full of Cabbage Poriyal (Thoran) along with Sambhar, and my lunch was turned into a comfort food; even Pasta enjoyed it a lot! Coming to the recipe, a simple dish prepared with finely chopped cabbage and fresh coconut and tempered with lentil, Curry leaves and Mustard Seed. I have not added Onion while cooking Cabbage Poriyal and added coconut a bit in excess given I prefer the flavor of freshly grated coconut.
Here’s how I make Cabbage Poriyal or Cabbage Thoran at Debjanir Rannaghar!
- Cabbage: 1 (Medium Size)
- Freshly Grated Coconut: 1 Cup (you can take ⅔ cup either) / 1 medium sized coconut
- Green Chili: 2-3
- Curry Leaves: 8-10 (or more)
- Dried Red Chili: 1
- Urad Daal/ Kalai er Daal: 1 Tsp.
- Black Mustard Seed: ½ Tsp.
- Salt: 1 Tsp. (or as per taste)
- Refined Vegetable Oil: 1.5 Tbsp. (Can be substituted with coconut oil for more authentic taste)
- Wash Cabbage thoroughly and cut into fine long strips.
- Grate coconut and keep the freshly grated coconut aside.
- I prefer to microwave Cabbage before cooking for around 5 minutes which is completely optional. If no available with a microwave then take cabbage in a big pan and 2 cups of water.
- Cook on high flame for 5 minutes and discard the water and use the cabbage for cooking.
- In a Pan take Oil and heat sufficiently.
- Temper the Oil with Dried Red Chili, Mustard Seed, Curry leaves and also Urad Daal (Kalaier Daal).
- Cook in low flame until Urad Daal turned golden brown in color. It took me around 1 minute of cooking with continuous stirring in low flame).
- Add cabbage and mix properly with the tempering.
- Now add Salt and continue cooking in low flame for 10 minutes or until Cabbage soften and well-cooked.
- Cook the cabbage uncovered and don’t add water to it.
- Add Coconut once the cabbage is cooked properly.
- Give it a mix and then cook for 2-3 minutes more in medium flame to incorporate the flavor of coconut.
- Switch the flame off and serve Cabbage Poriyal/ Thoran hot with Steamed Rice and Sambhar or pair it with plain Daal.
I have not added turmeric Powder given I love the whitish color of this dish;
You may check Exploring God’s own country; Kerala Trip in 9 days!
A Few South Indian Recipes from Debjanir Rannaghar:
- South Indian Prawn Curry (Also known as South Indian Prawn Masala)
- South Indian Filter Coffee (Also known as Filter Kapi)
- Kerala Chemmeen Achar (also known as Kerala Style Prawn Pickle)
- Pandi Curry (Also known as Coorgi Pork)
- Avial (Also known as South Indian mix-veg curry)
- Mutton Ghee Roast (Also known as Mangalorean Mutton Ghee Roast)
- Malabar Fish Curry (Also known as Malabar Fish)
- Gobi 65 (Also known as Cauliflower 65)
- Kerala style Pomfret Fry (Also known as Kerala Fish Fry)
- Kerala Style Chicken Stew (Also known as Kerala Chicken Stew)
- Mysore Pak ( Also known as Gram Flour Fudge)
Have you tried the Cabbage Poriyal recipe from Debjanir Rannaghar!
Do let me know how it came out. Also, I would love to see a picture of the same which you can share here on dolonchttrj@gmail.com. Meanwhile, on Instagram, you can use my hashtag #debjanirrannaghar and in addition, you can tag me at @foodofdebjani.
