No Onion No Garlic/ Sambar,Rasam,Gojju & Dal

CABBAGE KOOTU / SOUTH INDIAN STYLE CABBAGE CURRY

Though we all like variety of food ..love eating in restaurants…end of the day if you ask anyone,nothing can beat simple home cooked food.Today’s post ” Cabbage Kootu ” is one such comforting dish made from cabbage and lentils,that is very popular in South India…especially in Tamilnadu. This mildly spiced cabbage curry tastes perfect with hot rice accompanied with some spicy chutney.

Cabbage is one such vegetable that is most under rated because of its smell. But thankfully in my home every one likes it be it in their noodles,sandwich,parthas ,cabbage dosa ,simple stir frys,sambar or this cabbage kootu.This kootu is very simple yet elegant.I am sure people not from south India are wondering what kootu means ? Kootu is basically a thick curry of lentils and vegetables.There are many versions of making kootu .Karnataka version is entirely different which you can find HERE .But for today it’s brahmin style Tamilnadu style Cabbage Kootu that has no onion -garlic  in it,which i learnt from mom.The best thing that i like in this dish is the crunchy chana dal that we get in between.I don’t like it being mushy for this dish.Do try this easy and healthy dish ..i am sure youl like it…

CABBAGE KOOTU

Smitha Kalluraya
Course Side Dish
Cuisine south indian

Ingredients
 

  • 2 - 3 cups cabbage, finely chopped
  • 1 small cup Bengal Gram channa dal
  • 2 Green Chillies, - slit length wise
  • 1/2 Lemon
  • 1/4 tsp Turmeric Haldi
  • optional Coriander leaves
  • to taste Salt

For Grinding

  • 1 small cup coconut, Grated
  • 1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds Jeera
  • 1 tbsp Rice, ( for thickening )
  • 3 - 6 Green Chillies, depending on spice level

For Tempering

  • 1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
  • 1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds Jeera
  • 1 - 2 Red Chilli, broken to pieces
  • few Curry Leaves, -

Instructions
 

  • Wash and soak channa dal for about 15-30 min.
  • Add soaked channa dal, chopped cabbage, slited green chillies ,turmeric powder and some water to a cooker.Cook for 2 whistles and switch off the stove.
  • Grind the ingredients mentioned under "for grinding" to a fine paste adding little water .Keep it aside.
  • Once the cooker cools, open the lid. Transfer the cooked cabbage and dal to a vessel.
  • Add ground masala paste and salt to it. Add some water based on your desired consistency.Keep it on stove for boil. Let it boil for 3-4 mins.Switch off .Squeeze lemon and add chopped coriander leaves.
  • Now heat oil in kadai and temper with the ingredients mentioned and add it to the cabbage kootu and stir well.
  • That's it simple cabbage kootu is ready to serve. Enjoy it with hot rice / roti .

Notes

Variation:
  • Instead of cabbage you can use spinach  / snake gourd / chayote squash / any other veggies..
  • If you wish you can add little onion / ginger while grinding.
  • Instead of chana dal you can use moong dal or tuvar dal.
 

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18 Comments

  • Reply
    Kurinji
    June 18, 2014 at 10:25 am

    yummy kootu and beautiful clicks…

  • Reply
    Linsy Patel
    June 18, 2014 at 11:16 am

    Lovely vibrant colors , looks very tempting

  • Reply
    Priya Shiva
    June 18, 2014 at 11:20 am

    Delicious! Home food comfort food..

  • Reply
    nandoos Kitchen
    June 18, 2014 at 11:27 am

    yummy kootu. We also make this kootu in the same way without lemon. Will try your version next time.

  • Reply
    Chitra
    June 18, 2014 at 12:24 pm

    Lovely.bowl looks cute.where did u get it ?

  • Reply
    Sony P
    June 18, 2014 at 1:50 pm

    Lovely color, looks delicious cabbage curry !!

  • Reply
    Vibha Sp
    June 18, 2014 at 1:51 pm

    wow so easy to make , lukng invitng , nice clicks lukng so bright , kootu i never preprd , but v do same grindng fr few dishes

  • Reply
    Indrani
    June 18, 2014 at 3:50 pm

    So many steps in between, great item. Well presented.

  • Reply
    Meena Kumar
    June 18, 2014 at 4:02 pm

    Yummy looking cabbage kootu I should try this some time.I think Keralites too make a variation of this.

  • Reply
    Swathi Iyer
    June 18, 2014 at 5:04 pm

    cabbage kootu curry looks delicious lovely addition of lemon in there.

  • Reply
    Maha Gadde
    June 19, 2014 at 1:33 am

    healthy and comforting dish fr lunch with rice.

  • Reply
    Devi Annamalai
    June 19, 2014 at 1:27 pm

    I am going to try this dish for sure. Looks yummy.

  • Reply
    Nalini Somayaji
    June 19, 2014 at 2:23 pm

    Cabbage kootu looks great Smitha Kalluraya…

  • Reply
    Radha Natarajan
    June 20, 2014 at 3:32 pm

    absolutely the way we make it , I also make it with moong dallovely post Smitha

  • Reply
    Priya Suresh
    June 20, 2014 at 3:57 pm

    Such a comforting food, can survive many days with it.

  • Reply
    Anonymous
    April 21, 2015 at 10:12 am

    Thanks Smitha! I’m alone in abroad. I could cook something on my own and survive here with the help of such articles. Keep doing this great work. ..

  • Reply
    Unknown
    February 2, 2016 at 1:20 am

    Hello,This is a great dish and we loved it.Its a simple and authentic receipe.Just followed the steps and it came out well and yummy.I also added snake guard and carrot to the receipe and it was really yummy.Thanks for the receipe

  • Reply
    Punam
    August 25, 2018 at 8:35 pm

    Most of my childhood memory includes getting yelled at by my mother, punampaul.com and eat your veggies; but I used to pay no heed to it. However as time passes, most of us come around to eating vegetables as we are aware of the countless benefits they have for our health.

    Cabbage is especially one of the world’s most nutrient dense vegetables readily available for us to enjoy, rich in essential vitamins such as C, B6, K, saturated fat, thiammin, calcium, iron, magnesium phosphorus and a good source of dietary fibers.

    But I never liked any cabbage recipe other than in noodles.

    This cabbage recipe when I tried at home was not really appreciated by my family but it was really yummy too. Thanks for sharing this delicious preparation.

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