This is a signature Kerala dish…If there is an event which serves lunch then this dish is a sure thing as an accompaniment. Super easy to make, good to look at,nutritious and delicious are some things going in favor of this dish. Cabbage thoran and fish with some rice is one of those ‘perfect food pairings’.
Usually the cabbage thorans that I make were quite watery…I could never figure out how to make a dry cabbage curry. At a potluck lunch, one of the members at my church had brought this dish and I managed to get the secret from her, and now I share it with you.
Cabbage is rich in nutrients and antioxidants.
And so I guess this post can be be submitted for Stephanies ARF Tuesday.
Ingredients
Cabbage shredded into small pieces- one small or half of a big cabbage head.
I usually cut the whole cabbage into 4 or 8 small quarters, and then slice them at an angle into super fine shreds
Carrot 1 small ,cut or shredded into small pieces
Coconut 1 cup shredded
Greenchillies 5-6( add more or less to suit yr level of spiciness)
Jeera/cumin seeds 1/4 tsp
Shallots or onion diced 1/2 cup
Mustard seeds 1/4 tsp
Turmeric 1/2 tsp
Oil 1 tablespoon
Curry leaves one sprig
Salt to taste
Method
Combine the cabbage, carrots, coconut, salt, crushed green chillies and cumin. Use your hands to mix them well.
Add oil to the hot pan. When the mustard seeds splutter, add the onions and stir for 2-3 min. Add the curry leaves now.Then add the turmeric powder and fry for about 30sec. Then add the cabbage mixture, mix everything well and then close the pan with a lid. After about 2 min, remove the lid, give a light stir and return the lid. Remove the lid and stir the cabbage every 2 min. After about 6-8min, the thoran should be done. There is no need to add any water at all…use a nonstick pan for this recipe. The cabbage will retain some of its color, have a bite to it and wont be all mushy.
Looks delicious – thanks for the recipe!
Looks really good….quick question though….any idea how to makeour nadan porotta? I wish someone who really knows to make nada porotta takes some pics at various stages of porottamaking ans post it somewhere
Gini, this dish looks yum! My mother makes the same kind minus the coconut. My problem is same as yours cabbage fry ends up mushy all the time even though I do not add any water. Thanks for the tip.
Gini,Nice picture….I will try this one sometime and let you know…
Seems to be a very good recipe
Gini, a question about your recipe (which I would love to try, especially if you would cook it for me (:-) … does it matter if you use fresh coconut or the bagged flaked kind?
gini, lovely recipe and picture! I love cabbage thoran, especially when the cook has a generous hand with the green chillies
You are welcome Stephanie..Actually the thank you should go to you for inspiring us to use our veggies.
Anil, the naadan porotta. I dont have any recipe to make it but what a nice idea. I know it is not easy to make those but I will try to find out about it. It is one of those things I miss from home. The frozen porottos dont come anywhere near the real thing.
Arjuna..you are welcome.
BDSN It is a very good dish and the cabbage can be substituted to make other varieties of thoran like beans thoran. If you ever try it, would like to know how it went!The trick is to make it quickly in a hot pan.
Hi PatL..the coconut I used for this recipe is the frozen fresh coconut available from Indian grocery stores. If you use the dry dessicated kind, I doubt it will be the real thing. And dried coconut has a taste unlike the fresh kind.
Thanks Saffron Hut..Always looking forward to recipes from you. The picture of the dahiwala baingan keeps haunting me.
Gini – My cabbage has gone mushy too may times to count! Your hints are very timely. May I ask if you have an electric or gas stove to check the cooking time? Next time I cook cabbage, I will use a timer
really…
The carrots add wonderful color to the dish!
I have a gas stove but I dont use the timer to check on the cabbage though..it cooks pretty fast. Yes..the carrots adds color.
My husband and I made this dish last night. Fantastic. Just what I needed to get my husband eating more veggies. Thanks for posting the recipe.
Linae you are very welcome.I am glad it worked out for u.
I’m not a great fan of cabbages, but your pictures made the thoran look so delicious and so I mustered courage to try them yesterday and boy i was delighted. My family loved it including me.
Thankyou for the lovely recipie
If you add a small piece of ginfer finely chopped to the thoran, it tastes better.
I Googled for something completely different, but found your page…and have to say thanks. nice read….
i was really good.do any one knows the recipe of “curry leaves soup”.
absolutely fantastic recipe …thanx a tonnn
Superb Recipee there man!
Hi… I’m going to try this out tonight. Have made other attempts in the past, but have a hubby who doesn’t like cabbage and a mother-in-law whose cooking is so phenomenal that I lose my enthu quickly
Any good avial recipes on your site? I haven’t checked… but would love to! That’s my veggie favorite!
Cheers!
Hey Gini,
That was gr8. I just made it and send its pics to my wife.. it has come so well and i got compliments from my frens too.. I didnt add carrots though.. Hats off to you.. I want to make a proper kerala parippu curry.. do you have any recipe.. do share it..
thanks again..
HI GiniAnn,
Thanks for the post. Used to make this in college… had forgotten the recipe Thoran. Then I saw madhur jaffrey mucking up the dish… phew… hard not to blow your top off when someone from your own country screws up the food we eat on TV big time.
anyways, thanks for this up. Let you know with some snaps of the end product and the way it came out.
I tried this recipe and it was yummmmmmmm it was part of my onam sadhya.. and a super hit ..thanks a lot for sharing this recipe
Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!…my first cabbage thoran is so tasty …Thanks for the excellent website…..It was very easy to following it.
I have made cabbage thoran several times but they always came out too mushy. I cooked it on low flame and it would take a really long time. I followed your tips and the thoran was ready in about 10 minutes. Thanks a lot.
Hey, nice idea i did a bit differently by grinding coconut chillies and the cumin sedds into a paste and hand mixing it to cabbage with a half of a carrot and cooked it when 3/4th cooked i added few pinches of black pepper ………turned out to be good,
CHEERS
Adding carrots is a truly wonderful idea to brighten up the regular cabbage thoran.
I just prepared this and have come straight from the kitchen to say THANK YOU! It tastes lovely and your tip to prevent the cabbage thoran from going all mushy worked wonderfully.
Super recipe… this is excelent in all ways includes taste, look and so simple too………
Thanks a lot…
Giniann,
Tried the cabbage carrot thoran..yum yum.
Deepa
“Thorans are generally cooked in woks.Vegatables or prawns for that mstter, are lightly sauted or poached and then pushed to the edges of the wok. a mixture of fresh coconut and spices is placed in the centre he dish is and covered over with the main ingredient. The wok is covered and the dish is allowed to cook gently. The results are light and delicious.” So says a cookbook of mine, and I thought it was so till I read your blog.
“Thorans are generally cooked in woks.Vegatables or prawns for that mstter, are lightly sauted or poached and then pushed to the edges of the wok. A mixture of fresh coconut and spices is placed in the centre and covered over with the main ingredient. The wok is covered and the dish is allowed to cook gently. The results are light and delicious.” So says a cookbook of mine, and I thought it was so till I read your blog.
We make the same version at home. I love the combo of cabbage and carrot. will post my version soon. Do check out my site anzzcafe.wordpress.com
Thanks for the excellent recipe. I am going to cook it again today. My family loved it soooo much!
Its a simple dise