Veggies: Cabbage Pallya with Bell Pepper and Peas

Most people in the U.S hate cabbage cooked, this lady compares the boiling of cabbage smell akin to a pair of dirty socks! I guess they haven't had cabbage Indian style and don't know what they are missing! I made some cabbage pallya today with the arrowhead cabbage bought at the farmers market this past weekend. Pallya in Kannada is a technique of making dry vegetable dish with spices, fresh coconut and tempering. This recipe is from my amma (mother) and very easy to make in a hurry. Although when you add time to take pictures, run downstairs to verify good photos and dish up the pallya, it took longer than normal! :)

Anyway, cabbage cooked in our house is not smelly but aromatic with all the seasonings and complimentary veggies. Pallyas don't need the shredded coconut every time but with cabbage I think it is a must, as it enhances the flavors of cooked cabbage and gives it that nice tender sweet balance.

I am ever so grateful for having my amma around as I verified and reverified her recipe while she was entertaining the kids. I am hoping this blog will be a good reference point for me to catalog and treasure all my favorite amma recipes.

The star vegetables: Chopped arrowhead cabbage, diced orange bell peppers, and frozen peas.
Recipe:
1 Arrowhead Cabbage ~3 cups chopped
1 Orange Bell Pepper ~ 1 cup chopped
1/2 Cup Fresh or Frozen Peas
1/4 Cup Fresh or Frozen Shredded Coconut
Juice from 1/2 Lime
1 Green Thai Chile
1 Tablespoon Chopped Cilantro or Coriander Leaves
Salt to Taste

For Tempering:
1/2 Teaspoon Mustard Seeds
1 Red Chili
1/2 Teaspoon Urad Dhal
1/2 Teaspoon Ghee (Clarified butter)
1/2 Teaspoon Olive Oil

Method:
Heat up a non-stick pan on med-hi and add ghee/olive oil. Add all the tempering ingredients and when the mustard seeds start to sizzle and jump and urad dhal becomes pale brown, add all the vegetables and green chili. Give this a good stir to incorporate all the flavors and cover. The veggies will cook in their own steam for about 4 to 6 minutes. After the veggies are cooked, add coconut, lime juice, cilantro and salt. Saute for another minute and turn off the heat.

Serve Hot with Rice and Dhal or with Chapatis, Yogurt/Dahi.

Our dinner tonight - Cabbage Pallya with Jasmine Rice and Lemon Flavored Dhal:

Notes:
Source: My Amma

Arrowhead cabbage is a very light and water based cabbage, it shed more water than the typical green cabbage but I thought it was more sweet, crunchy and flavorful as well!

I thought the spicy factor was a little high for us because the Thai green chili and the tempering chili were super hot. If you like dishes a little less hot, change the chili to a milder version. The heat of the chilies was aptly balanced by the sweetness of the peppers, peas and coconut and the lime juice added enough of a tang to even out the flavors. I am thinking of making a little Roti Burrito tomorrow for lunch with this pallya, plain yogurt, rice all rolled into a roti!

You can make this pallya without any other vegetables and only with cabbage as well or you can just make it with peas only or pepper only. I used orange pepper for color and taste but you can use any other kind as well.

I used half ghee and half olive oil to give a little bit of the rich ghee taste without all the extra calories.