Cabbage poriyal is a dry, stir-fried dish of shredded cabbage, spiced with mustard seeds and curry leaves, and finished with coconut.
This is a popular recipe across all of South India. This version comes from the Andhra region.
This dish, muttaikose poriyal, is an example of a south Indian vegetarian recipe that features the one main ingredient – in this case, cabbage. There are several poriyal recipes in this book, largely because we like them. They are simple, easy to prepare, and are amongst the healthiest foods in this book.
The secret to good poriyal is to use fresh vegetables and cook them no longer than you need to. Fresh coconut, which is added at the end of the cooking, helps too.
Poriyal is a similar dish to thoran and there are several recipes for both of these dishes in this book. Although similar in that they feature one vegetable and coconut is used, they do have some differences.
Poriyal is made by finishing the cooked stir fry with freshly grated coconut. Thoran is made by cooking the vegetable with grated coconut. You get a different texture and a different taste profile from the coconut. We have a similar recipe, but for a thoran, in cabbage thoran, a traditional Keralan dish.
An ideal poriyal will have vegetables with crunch, some bite from the chilli, and subtle background from the curry leaves and the mustard seeds and oil.
We serve this as a side dish, or for a simple meal, just with plain rice.
the recipe
about
equipment
- kadai
ingredients
- ½ cabbage - thinly sliced
for cooking
- 2 tsp mustard oil
- ½ tsp black mustard seeds
- 1 green chilli - finely sliced
- ½ tsp split black lentils - urad dal
- 6 curry leaves
- ½ tsp salt
for serving
- ½ cup coconut - grated
instructions
- Heat the oil in a kadai or wok on medium heat, then add the mustard seeds and cook until they start to pop.2 tsp mustard oil, ½ tsp black mustard seeds
- Add the green chilli, split black lentils and curry leaves. Fry, stirring frequently, for two minutes or until the dal is golden brown.1 green chilli – finely sliced, ½ tsp split black lentils – urad dal, 6 curry leaves
- Add the cabbage and salt, mix well and cook on medium heat for around 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently. Add a tablespoon of water if the cabbage starts to stick to the pan. You want the cabbage just cooked and retaining some crunch.½ cabbage – thinly sliced, ½ tsp salt
to serve
- Remove from the heat and stir the grated coconut through. Serve.½ cup coconut – grated
notes
private notes
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