Curried Purple Cabbage with Peas

Curried purple cabbage curry is going to become your favorite Indian vegan / vegetarian curry once you try it. Green cabbage is used in Indian cooking very often, but I love seeing the reaction when I serve purple cabbage in its place – The “Oh, you can do that with purple cabbage” look.

Unlike green cabbage, purple cabbage takes time to cook and soften. It has a very distinct flavour and I happen to love it.

The Ingredients for Curried Purple Cabbage

Curried purple cabbage requires a few Indian spices that can be found in most pantries, but it requires one additional ingredient that you will need – curry leaves. These are essential for this recipe.

The Ingredients List for Curried Purple Cabbage:

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon whole black mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
• 5 green curry leaves
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon grated ginger
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon red chili powder (or to taste)
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 2 field tomatoes
• 4 cups chopped purple cabbage
• 1 cup green peas
• Salt to taste

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Flavouring the Indian Cabbage Recipe

Let’s start with the falvouring of the eggplant.

• In a large pan, add 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil and heat it to the point where it’s almost smoking.
• Turn down the heat to a medium and add 1 teaspoon of mustard seeds, 1 teaspoon of whole cumin seeds, and about 10 or 15 fresh curry leaves. Allow about a min for the seeds to pop.

TIP: I usually buy a bag of fresh curry leaves from the local Indian grocery store. I can’t use them all in one go, so I take the whole bag and freeze it as is. I remove them from the freezer, wash them and they are good as new.

Adding the Fresh Ingredients and Spices

Now that our initial spices are ready, we can add the fresh ingredients to the pan.

• Finely chop 3 cloves of garlic and add it to the pan along with 1 teaspoon of grated ginger.
• Cook for about 2 to 3 mins till the garlic starts to brown.
• Once it has browned, add 1 tablespoon of curry powder, 1 teaspoon of turmeric, and 1 teaspoon of red chili powder, and mix. The amount of chili powder you add will depend on how much heat you can take.
• Add a couple of tablespoons of water to prevent the spices from burning.

Once the spices have cooked, it’s time to add some tomatoes.

• Finely chop 2 field tomatoes and add them to the pan.
• Mix well and let them cook for about 2 to 3 minutes. The tomatoes need to soften and let their juices out and mingle with the spices.

Making the Vegetarian Recipe

Now let’s move on to the cabbage.

• Finely chop a small purple cabbage and add it to the pan.
• Mix everything well and lower the heat to a medium-low and cover the pan.
• Let cook for about 5 mins. Continue to stir the pan occasionally.

Sometimes the cabbage can start to get dried out. This will depend on the size and juiciness of the tomatoes you use.

• If it gets too dry, add about 1/4 cup of water to the pan. Make sure to stir the pan properly, so that the cabbage does not burn.
• Continue cooking for a further 7 to eight mins. By now the cabbage should have started getting soft, but not too soggy.

Adding the Green Peas to the Vegan Recipe

Now we can add the green peas. You can either use fresh green peas or use frozen peas. If you use frozen peas, you will need to defrost them first. If you add frozen peas to the pan, the temperature will come down quickly, and then it will take time for it to come back up. This will slow the cooking time.

• Add 1 cup of green peas into the pan and mix them well into the cabbage.
• Continue to cook for another 2 mins or until the peas are softened. Again, this will depend on whether or not your peas are frozen.

Serving Suggestions:

Once cooked, serve warm with a sprinkling of fresh coriander. Enjoy with:

• A side of Indian soft bread, such as roti, paratha, naan, or even pita.
• A side of Indian spiced yogurt.

Tried and Liked the Recipe?

Scroll to the bottom of the page, and past the recipe to find the comment form. Please fill out details of what you liked and what you would like to see improved. Comments are loved! I look forward to hearing how much you enjoyed the recipe!

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