Ashy's vegetarian recipes ©2003 all rights reserved
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Spicy cabbage and tomatoes
Plain, boring ingredients you might think, but part of the art of vegetarian
cooking (or any cooking for that matter) is the ability to make unusual and
interesting dishes with everyday ingredients. What's special about this recipe
is not the ingredients themselves but the way they are gently cooked, without
stirring, in a combination of spices.
Ingredients
Half of a firm head of white cabbage
3 tomatoes
Half of an onion
1 teaspoon of whole mustard seeds
A few black peppercorns
A pinch of anise seeds
A third of a teaspoon of ground turmeric
A third of a teaspoon of ground ginger
A third of a teaspoon of ground or crushed red chilli
A pinch of ground cloves
A large pinch of ground cinnamon
Salt
Oil
Cut the cabbage into slices about 3 or 4 cm thick, then cut the slices into
4 or 5 cm pieces. Don't separate the leaves but leave the cabbage in solid chunks.
Cut the tomatoes in half and then thinly slice the halves. Chop the onion finely.
Crush the peppercorns together with the anise seeds.
Heat some oil in a deep frying pan and when it's hot, add the mustard seeds
followed, a few seconds later, by the onion. Fry the onion until it's transparent
then add the cabbage pieces. Sprinkle over the rest of the spices and some salt
and gently turn the pieces to coat them with oil and spices. Add the tomato
and put a lid tightly on the pan. After a few minutes, when some steam pressure
builds up, turn the heat down low and let the cabbage cook gently for about
20 to 25 minutes.
This dish will go well with potatoes, rice or bread and perhaps a raita,
as it's quite a dry dish.