Cabbage Kootu is a tasty Tamil Nadu style Cabbage Dal made with cabbage, moong lentils in a base of ground coconut and spices. Serve with steamed rice for a comforting meal.
Rinse ½ cup moong dal a couple of times in water. Then add the lentils in a thick bottomed pot or pan.
Next add 1 to 2.5 cups chopped cabbage. Also add ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder and 2 to 2.25 cups water.
Place the pan on a stove top. Cover it with a lid.
Simmer on a medium or low-medium heat till both the moong dal and the lentils are cooked.
Do check and stir at intervals, while the cabbage and lentils are cooking. If required you can add more water.
While the cabbage and moong lentils are cooking, you can prepare the coconut paste.
Take grated coconut, green chilies, cumin seeds in a chutney grinder jar. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of water for grinding. For spicy taste, add 3 to 4 green chilies.
Grind to a smooth and fine paste. Cover and keep aside.
The moong lentils need to be softened well and become mushy. Mash the moong lentils with a spoon. There should not be any separately visible moong lentils.
Cooking moong dal and cabbage takes about 40 to 45 minutes on a low heat.
Now add the ground coconut paste. Season with salt.
Mix very well. Add some water at this point if the dal looks very thick.
Simmer on a low heat for 4 to 5 minutes. Do stir at intervals so that the lentils do not stick to the bottom of the pan.
Sprinkle rice flour all over. Rice flour is optional and you can skip if you want. Rice flour is used for thickening.
Mix very well and cook the kootu for 5 to 6 minutes till the dal comes to a gentle boil. Do stir while dal is cooking, so that the lentils do not stick to the base of the pan. Switch off the heat and cover the pan.
Tempering kootu
Heat coconut oil in a small frying pan. Keep heat to a low. Add ½ teaspoon mustard seeds and ½ teaspoon urad dal.
Fry till the mustard seeds crackle and the urad dal turns golden. Stir often and fry these for even cooking.
Add 10 to 12 curry leaves and a pinch of asafoetida. Stir and then switch off the flame.
Pour the tempered ingredients in the cabbage kootu. Cover the pan for 5 minutes so that the tempering flavours infuse in the kootu.
Then add chopped coriander leaves. Mix well. Coriander leaves are optional and you can skip if you do not have.
Serve cabbage kootu with steamed rice.
Notes
Preferably use unpolished mung lentils for better taste, flavor and nutrition.
Adjust the consistency by adding less or more water.
Instead of coconut oil, you can opt to use sesame oil (gingelly oil) or peanut or sunflower oil.
Easily swap fresh coconut with desiccated coconut.
You could choose to cook both moong dal and cabbage in stovetop pressure cooker or the Instant pot.
For cooking in a pressure cooker, add 1.5 cups of water in a 3 litre pressure cooker together with the cabbage, moong dal, salt and turmeric powder. Pressure cook on medium heat for 3 to 4 whistles. Let pressure drop naturally in the cooker and then only open the lid. Later follow the recipe as is.
If cooking in an Instant Pot, add 1.5 cups water together with the cabbage, lentils, turmeric powder and salt. Use the manual mode and pressure cook on high for 10 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally. Once the lentils are cooked well, follow the recipe using the sauté function as needed.