CABBAGE MOR KOOTU

CABBAGE MOR KOOTU

In our South Indian cooking, we make use of curds/yogurt in a number of dishes. It is supposed to help keep your system stay cool. We also use curds to make different side dishes which accompany the main meal. Elsewhere in this blog, you will find recipes for Curry Leaves Raita, Mor Kuzhambu, and Avial.

Today's recipe is called Cabbage Mor Kootu which gets its name from "Mor" being the Tamil name for curds. "Kootu" is a curry made with vegetables and lentils.

As you know, cabbage is a vegetable that gets cooked really fast so this dish can be made at fairly short notice. It also does not use onions or garlic. This mildly spiced dish can be served as an accompaniment  with rice and sambar/rasam or had with chappatis.

I have adapted this recipe from Cabbage Morkootu from Gita's Kitchen.

Ingredients:-

• Cabbage, 500 gms. 
• Thick Curds, 1 cup
• Fresh Coconut Gratings, 4 tbsp
• Green Chillies, 4
• Chana Dal, (Bengal Gram), 1 tbsp
• Salt, to taste 

For Seasoning:

• Mustard Seeds, 1/2 tsp
• Curry Leaves, a sprig 
• Coconut Oil, 2 tsp

Method:-

Wash and finely chop the cabbage

Soak the chana dal in water for about 10 minutes
Cook the cabbage in a vessel by adding water ( less than 1 cup) and salt until it gets done.
In a mixer, grind together the coconut gratings, green chillies, soaked chana dal to a smooth paste adding just the required amount of water
Add this ground paste to the curds and mix well
Next, add the mixture of curds and the ground paste to the cooked cabbage, mix well and bring to a boil
Let this simmer on low flame
In a pan, heat the coconut oil and on medium heat add the mustard seeds
When the mustard seeds splutter, add the curry leaves and saute for a few seconds
Add this seasoning to the mor kootu
Lastly, add 1/2 tsp of coconut oil to the Cabbage Mor Kootu
Serve hot as an accompaniment to rice and sambar/rasam