Cabbage vadai

      I made cabbage vadai for Holi party as an appetizer. My friend does not eat onion and garlic. So I have to find the substitute for onion. I was surprised that cabbage tasted so well. This can be done on the pooja days to avoid onion.

Ingredients:


1 cup of Bengal gram(channa dhal)
1/2 tbsp of rice flour
4 green chilies
1 inch grated ginger
1 small cup of cabbage 
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 sprig of curry leaves
2 tbsp of chopped coriander
salt as required
Oil for deep frying

Preparation:

1.Soak channa dhal in water for 2 hours. Filter the water and grind little coarsely. (Do not add additional water). 
2.Fine chop the cabbage,green chilies, ginger, curry leaves and coriander leaves and add them to the ground dhal. Add cumin seeds, rice flour and salt to the ground mixture. Mix well.
3.Make a small patty and put in the preheated oil. Once the patty turns golden  brown, cabbage vadai is ready.

Cabbage porial/ Dry cabbage curry/ Band Ghobi ki Subzi

        Steaming of vegetables is always better than cooking them in microwave. Research shows that steaming of cabbage maximizes the lot of health benefits of glucosinolates. The presence of glucosinolates helps in cancer prevention.

Serves up to 4 people
Preparation time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

500 grams of cabbage
1 chopped onion 
2 green chillies
1/4 tsp of turmeric
1-2 tbsp of paruppu podi 
1 tbsp of grated ginger
1 tbsp of oil
salt as required

Seasoning:

1/2 tsp of mustard
1/2 tsp of Bengal gram dhal

Paruppu podi:

1 cups of chutney dhal
1/2 cup of Bengal gram dhal
1/2 cup of urad dhal
2 red chillies
pinch of asafoetida
1 tsp of oil
salt as required

Preparation:

1.Heat oil in the pan, roast the ingredients Bengal gram dhal, urad dhal and red chillies till they turn golden brown.
2.Allow them to cool and grind them together till they are 85% done. Then add the chutney dhal, asafoetida and salt and grind them.Paruppu podi is ready.
3.Heat oil in the pan and add mustard, Bengal gram dhal. 
4.As the mustard crackles, add onion, ginger and slit green chillies. Saute for a minute.
5.Add the chopped cabbage, salt and turmeric to the pan and saute well for 5 minutes.Close the lid. Add 1/4 cup of water.
6.Stir occasionally and check if the cabbage is cooked and add the paruppu podi and cook for 5 more minutes.
7.Cabbage porial is ready. Serve with rice and sambhar.

Red Chori dhal/ kootu

  Red chori dhal are starchy beans but rich in fiber. The fiber content in red chori dhal lowers blood cholesterol while offering  cardiovascular benefits.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup red chori dhal

1/4 kg red pumpkin

1 tsp red chilli powder

1/4 tsp of turmeric powder

1 tomato

oil as required

salt as required

Grinding:

1 large chopped onion

1/2  cup of grated  coconut

1/2 tbsp cumin seeds

1 red chilly

Seasoning:

1 sprig of curry leaves

1/4 tbsp mustard seeds

1 red chilly

Preparation:

1.Soak chori dhal for 5-6 hours. Add turmeric, salt and 2 cups of water to chori dhal and pressure cook with red pumpkin.
2.In a pan, add chopped tomatoes, red chilly powder and saute for 2-3 minutes.

3.Grind grated coconut, cumin seeds, red chilly, chopped onions with little water and make it into a smooth paste.

4.Add this paste to the tomatoes in the pan and cook till the raw smell disappears. Add the cooked dhal and cook for 5 more minutes in medium flame.

5.Add the seasoning to the chori dhal. Delicious chori dhal is ready.

6.Serve with rice and papad.