Working with cabbage can be boring at times, so this dish adds flavor to the normally bland vegetable. This is a recipe for pan-fried cabbage patties from the coastal region of India, where coconut is widely used. This recipe, which was passed down from my grandma, calls for fresh Indian spices and ingredients. Serve with naan bread or Indian rice.
| Prep Time: | 20 mins |
| Cook Time: | 10 mins |
| Total Time: | 30 mins |
| Servings: | 20 |
| Yield: | 20 patties |
Ingredients
- 2 dried red chiles, stemmed and seeded
- 1 cup fresh grated coconut
- 1 cup rice flour
- ½ cup gram flour (chickpea flour)
- 1 tablespoon tamarind, or as needed
- 4 tablespoons coriander seeds
- 1 tablespoon skinned split black lentils (urad dal)
- 1 tablespoon asafoetida powder
- 1 medium head cabbage, shredded
- 1 pinch salt to taste
- 1 pinch white sugar, or to taste
- oil for frying
Instructions
- Heat a heavy pan over medium-high heat. Place chiles in the pan and toast, turning often, until fragrant, 2 to 4 minutes. Transfer toasted chiles to a blender.
- Add coconut, rice flour, gram flour, and tamarind to the blender with the chiles and process to a fine paste. Add a small amount of water if necessary.
- Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a skillet over high heat. Add coriander, urad dal, and asafoetida; cook and stir for 30 seconds. Transfer this mixture to the tamarind mixture in the blender. Blend to combine.
- Place shredded cabbage in a large bowl and add tamarind-coriander paste. Stir to combine; season with salt and sugar.
- Heat oil for frying in a large heavy skillet. Spread small portions of cabbage mixture in the hot pan and fry patties until browned, 2 to 3 minutes per side.
- Cabbage can be replaced with spring onion or spinach.
- Urad dal, known as black lentil, can be found in any Indian store. If you do not have the Indian ingredients, you can skip step 3 (urad dal, coriander seeds, and asafoetida). The patties will still taste delicious.
- This mixture can be baked in the oven instead of pan frying them.