Cabbage, honestly was never high up on my list of favorite foods growing up. In fact, I hated it.

Fast forward to 2012, I was newly married and ate mutton curry and cabbage for the first time at my in-laws. The mutton didn’t really impress me but the cabbage was amazing. I remember admiring the taste and wondering why I had never tried cooking it myself in my adulthood.

Fast forward to 2020, I am divorced and making cabbage on the regular, much to my mother’s anguish. Almost every week in my house this humble dish makes it to the table. Not only is it affordable, it’s also flippin healthy.

I make this with only 1 teaspoon of oil and serve it up with either brown rice or quinoa. It is genuinely the most wonderful meal. Pair it with a cucumber raita and you’ve knocked, your 2 protein, vegetables and a salad at lunch. If I eat this for supper, I usually make cauliflower rice and have fish with my meal.

Did you know - Cabbage is very nutrient dense and contains vitamin K, C, B2, B1, magnesium, calcium, iron, and protein, to name a few. Vitamin K feeds your skin in a tremendous way, and it’s particularly beneficial for stretch marks, healing wounds and skin recovery following operations. The downside of too much Vitamin K is that if you’re on dialysis treatment because of a kidney disease, your body won’t cope too well. Also if you’re prone to clotting or have a liver disease, you could exacerbate the situation by having too much vitamin K.

Ingredients

1/2 cabbage chopped finely

1 onion, sliced and not diced

6 dry red chillies

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp methie seeds

1 tsp jeera seeds

1 tsp oil for frying

1 tsp masala

Curry leaves if you have

pinch of tumeric

1 tsp salt

Method

1. In a large pot, heat oil on a medium heat, and add dry red chillies and curry leaves.

2. Add methie seeds, mustard and jeera to the pot.

3. When the mustard seeds start to pop, add the onions and let it cook until it becomes translucent.

4. Add 1 masala of your choice and a pinch of tumeric to the pot. When you smell the rawness of the spices starting to go away, add cabbage.

5. Give it a good stir and let it braise for as long as you can before adding water to prevent it from sticking to the pot. I usually add 1/8 of a cup each time. Close the pot when you add the water and reduce to a very low heat. Keep checking in on your cabbage every 4-5 minutes, adding water if needed and making sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot.

6. Your cabbage is ready when it changes colour to an almost light brown.

7. Add salt and turn off the heat.

8. Garnish with fresh coriander and serve with fluffy brown rice or quinoa.