Cabbage Thoran
Kerala-style dry cabbage with coconut: finely shredded cabbage tossed with grated coconut, mustard seeds, curry leaves and green chilli. A weekday workhorse side, on the table in 15 minutes.
Overview
Cabbage is finely shredded into ribbons. A temper of mustard seeds, urad dal, dried red chilli and curry leaves is bloomed in coconut oil, the shredded cabbage tossed in over high heat, and a coconut paste of fresh coconut, green chilli, garlic and cumin folded through. The dish stays dry and the cabbage retains a slight crunch.
Ingredients
Cabbage
- 400 g green cabbage (or white cabbage, finely shredded)
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon salt (to taste)
Coconut paste
- 80 g fresh grated coconut (or 60 g desiccated, rehydrated in 4 tablespoons of warm water)
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 green chilli
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
Temper
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon urad dal (split black gram, white)
- 1 dried red chilli (broken in half)
- 20 fresh curry leaves
- 1 shallot (small, or ½ small onion, finely chopped)
Method
Stage 1 - Make the coconut paste
- Pulse the grated coconut, garlic, green chilli and cumin in a small grinder or pestle and mortar to a coarse, even mixture (do not water it down).
Stage 2 - Temper
- Heat the coconut oil in a wide pan or wok over medium-high heat.
- Add the mustard seeds; when they pop, add the urad dal and dried red chilli.
- Cook for 30 seconds until the dal turns golden.
- Add the curry leaves; sizzle for 5 seconds.
- Add the shallot and a pinch of salt; cook for 2 minutes until soft.
Stage 3 - Cook the cabbage
- Tip in the shredded cabbage and turmeric.
- Sprinkle the salt over.
- Stir-fry over medium-high heat for 4-5 minutes, tossing often, until the cabbage has wilted but still has a clear crunch.
Stage 4 - Combine
- Add the coconut paste.
- Toss for 2-3 minutes until the cabbage is coated and the coconut has warmed through.
- Taste and adjust salt.
- Pull from the heat (cooking longer makes the cabbage limp).
Stage 5 - Serve
- Transfer to a serving bowl and serve immediately, alongside rice or as part of a thali.
Notes
- High heat, short cook: A thoran should keep crunch. Long, slow cooking turns the cabbage soggy and the coconut greasy.
- Coconut paste, not coconut milk: Thoran uses dry coconut. This is not a curry; the dish is fundamentally dry.
- Curry leaves matter: They're the South Indian aromatic backbone. Dried ones lose half the perfume; use fresh if at all possible.
Storage
- Best eaten the day it's made.
- Refrigerate up to 2 days; reheats but the cabbage softens significantly.
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