Mum's Peppery Cabbage

Morich'er Bandha Kopi

All of Mum's recipes that I have posted on this food blog reflect her nurturing. In spite of her busy schedule during the week, she devoted her weekends to bonding with the lot of us through the meals she prepared. Neighbours would drop by, tempted by the aromas emanating from her kitchen, and were always welcome to share our meals.

Cabbage is such a bland vegetable, but no one could work miracles with it like Mum did. I've made this from memory with some adaptations. For example, Mum would have used black pepper powder in place of white and would have garnished this dish with ghee, rather than coconut oil. I wanted to keep the coconut theme going and wanted the colour to remain white, which is why I used white pepper powder. The cabbage is cooked just until done, but still crisp, with loads of garlic and white pepper powder. Served as a side dish, it goes well with rice or chapatis.

Ingredients

1 head of cabbage, shredded

2 large onions, sliced

10 cloves of garlic, minced

1 bunch green onions, minced

2 Tbsp. white pepper powder or to taste

2 green chilies, minced or to taste

salt to taste

4 Tbsp. vegetable oil

2 tsp. extra-virgin coconut oil or ghee

1/2 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut, divided

Directions

1. Heat oil over a medium-high flame and stir-fry green chilies until slightly browned.
2. Add onions, garlic and green onions and stir-fry until onions turn translucent.
3. Lower heat to medium-low, add cabbage pepper powder, salt and most of the shredded coconut.
4. Cover and steam for about 15 minutes until cabbage is just done, but still crisp.
5. Garnish with coconut oil or ghee and remaining shredded coconut.

Serve with rice or chapatis.