Cabbage Thoran

Cabbage Thoran

Such a universal keralite side dish, in Kerala practically every vegetable can be turned into a thoran just because of the abundance of coconuts all around the state.

But also makes every vegetable simple delectable I remember one of my aunt's in Kerala use to make okra thoran which tasted good of course it was loaded up

with shallots and grated coconut. I like the thorans , but by far the one that tops the list will be the cabbage thoran also because my brother loves this thoran

goes great with fried fish and Moru curry.

In India my neighbor who lived next door to us was a fantastic cook and the way she sliced cabbage was a sight in itself, most common way to chop the vegetable down south was and is to use a finger glove to protect ur finger which still gets bruised at the end of the ordeal

Cutting by holding the vegetable in ur hand which needs a talent not everybody can do it but sure with some practice and cuts u will get there and not using the chopping board, but the product was amazingly fine and small.

Coming to the US I was surprised when I walked through the grocery store aisles especially the produce, that cabbages are available in so many varieties, the usual one the green cabbage that we get in India then the red cabbage more like a purple red which I not a big fan of then who can forget the lil' version called Brussels sprouts.

A whole lot to choose from, I have tried all of them Brussels sprouts do taste a little different than the regular green cabbage and good too.

Now to the recipe which is a super simple and easy dish to make,

what u need

Cabbage 1/2 chopped fine

Grated Coconut 1/4 cup

Shallots 1-2 chopped

Ginger 1/2 inch grated

Green chillis chopped 1-2

Curry leaves 1 spring

Mustard seeds 1 teaspoon

Oil to cook 1-2 teaspoon

Salt to taste

Heat a non stick pan , add oil to the pan , after a few minutes add mustard seeds when they start to pop, add the chopped shallots, ginger, green chillis and curry leaves , and sauté for a few minutes.

Add the chopped cabbage and the grated coconut together sauté add salt as needed let it cook for 10 minutes

In between keep stirring the pan to avoid the thoran getting burnt. Once the cabbage looks translucent u can switch the heat off

I like to cook it a little more to brown the cabbage just a tiny bit adds flavor to the dish.

Serve with rice or rotis too.