I
There is no mother in the world who has neither scolded, nor forced, nor scolded or at least asked her child not to eat vegetables. Given that green leafy vegetables have been repeatedly proven to be superior foods, which are of great value to the brain and body, why is there so much resistance to eating them? I often meet people who come up to me and say, “Oh, how would I like to have a nice juicy burger”, or “I miss home-made rajma-chawal” or, “I I want to eat a good “curry and rice or butter chicken and naan”, but I have yet to meet someone who came up to me and said, “Oh, I’m dying too much to eat cabbage”.
Speaking of cabbage, I grew up hating this vegetable. Every time the cabbage ripened in our houses, our house, the neighbor’s house, smelled of rot, and may I dare say two floors above me and two floors below us. It was as if everyone in the building knew that cabbage was cooking in our house. The dish itself would be limp and wet, despite being generously spiced with onions. Overcooked cabbage is always gross. The longer it cooks, the more bitter and sulphurous it becomes. And then you’re left with a soft pulp that tastes like a fart. I thought it was rebelling. It kept me away from cabbage for the rest of my life. My only other encounter with cabbage would have been with coleslaw.
My mom would sometimes make a slice with shredded cabbage and mayonnaise to fill with chicken sandwiches. It was nice and crunchy and the mayo disguised most of the cabbage, but the cabbage has a distinctly bitter sweet taste, a deep and lasting flavor that lasts even after you’ve finished eating. I would much prefer lettuce in my slaw.
It was during the shooting of my “Food Show” that I finally changed my mind. In front of me was a pure vegetarian traditional homemade Gujarati thali. Khandvi and ghugra for farsan, chutney, salt, a slice of lemon, a slightly sweet Gujarati-style tur dal, another spicy, spiced chapati, steamed rice, a potato curry, bitter gourd curry, ivy gourd (Tendli) vegetable, and the main vegetable was cabbage. The camera rolled, and I began the show by eating and describing the dishes one by one in the most honest and praiseworthy words.
Speaking and describing the meal, I finished the meal, licking my fingers and wiping the plate clean. But I did not touch the cabbage. I was about to finish the scene when my director requested me to finish everything on my plate. Reluctantly, I took a piece of bread and shredded the cabbage, all while pretending to the rolling camera, that it was all in a day’s work. I was hoping I’d swallow the bite whole before I was nauseous and hugged with disgust. But the bite was huge and I had to start chewing, and suddenly the cabbage crunched in my mouth. As soon as I thought of cabbage, I realized that it is actually quite good. The chopped cabbage was half cooked raw, just put in a tempering of oil, asafoetida, green chillies and turmeric along with salt. The key is to barely cook the cabbage and keep it from becoming a mushy, smelly pulp. It was crunchy, fresh and quite delicious I have to admit.
So, what can we do with cabbage that is delicious? This Gujarati Cabbage Ka Shaak, if rolled in flour, makes this Cabbage Paratha very good. Actually, it’s a great way to use up leftover cabbage.
Of course, there’s always a fresh and vibrant coleslaw, made with a combination of sharply sliced red and green cabbage, sautéed in creamy mayonnaise with apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, chopped celery, salt, and pepper. is changed. Goes great with sandwiches and burgers and with fried fish accompaniments.
We can also use raw cabbage in salads, such as Crunchy Mandarin Orange-Chicken Salad, Shredded Cabbage, Crispy Rice Noodles, Cashews, Roasted Peanuts, Roasted Sesame, Mandarin Orange Slices, Rice Wine Vinegar, Honey Dressing In, with sesame oil, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, minced ginger and garlic. Quite tasty.
There is also “handvo” or “kobiche bhanole” (plateau lord style), both fermented and made from lentil batter, usually stuffed with gourds but quite good with cabbage. The cake is first steamed and then baked in the oven. With green chutney, this delicious cake is very tasty.
All Konkani families make a simple and innocent dish called ‘upkari’, which is a side dish of fried vegetables, with soaked chana dal, tempered and garnished with coconut. Like the famous Gobhi Thoran of Kerala. Kerala-style Thoran and Konkani Upkari, both do not use garam masala. Shredded cabbage is slowly fried or steamed al dente, and garnished with cayenne pepper, mustard, maybe turmeric, curry leaves maybe cumin, and then lots of freshly grated coconut.
Even Veg Manchurian in any Indian Chinese restaurant is made with cauliflower dumplings in Manchurian sauce, or the most delicious Veg Kofta curry dipped in a gravy of onion, spices and cashew paste.
This is how cabbage went from my worst vegetable to my most versatile vegetable.
Kunal Vijaykar is a food writer based in Mumbai. He tweets @kunalvijayakar and can be followed on Instagram @kunalvijayakar. What is the name of his YouTube channel? The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the stand of this publication.
read all Latest Lifestyle News Here