Madhur Jaffrey's Stir-Fried Cabbage with Fennel Seeds
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Author Notes: Maybe the mistake we're making with cabbage is that we cook it to death or don't cook it at all. By skating somewhere down the middle, Madhur Jaffrey's stir-frying method crams in an incredible amount of flavor in very little time. Note: If you can't find garam masala, you can make your own with Jaffrey's recipe, or approximate it with pinches of ground cardamom, black pepper, cumin, cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Recipe adapted very slightly from Madhur Jaffrey's Quick & Easy Indian Cooking (Chronicle Books, 2007). - Genius Recipes
Serves 4
- 1 1/2 pound green cabbage (half a large head)
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
- 1 medium-large onion (about 7 ounces), peeled and cut lengthwise into fine half rings
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/8-1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
- Remove coarse outer leaves of the cabbage. If you have a cabbage half, cut it in half again lengthwise, and then core the sections. Cut each section lengthwise into very fine, long shreds. A bread knife or chef's knife is ideal for this. (You can also use a food processor.)
- Put the oil in a wide, preferably nonstick or cast-iron pan, and set over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, put in the cumin, fennel, and sesame seeds. As soon as the sesame seeds begin to pop, put in the onion. Stir and fry for 3 to 4 minutes or until the onion has browned a bit.
- Put in the cabbage. Stir and fry for about 6 minutes or until the cabbage has browned somewhat. Put in the salt and cayenne. Turn down the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring now and then, for another 7 to 8 minutes or until the onions appear caramelized and soft. Note: you may need to do this in a couple batches.
- Add the lemon juice and garam masala. Stir to mix. Taste and adjust seasoning.
- This recipe is a Community Pick!
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2 days ago vivavo
I made this with some shrimp and brown rice and absolutely loved it. I don't know that it would feed 4 without the rice, but with it's a perfect light and healthy dinner. My version here:
http://www.thingsimadetoday...
2 days ago adele93
i have some Chinese cabbage to use up - not sure its the same type specified in the recipe, but ill give it a go
about 1 month ago Daniel Decline
I didn't have all the ingredients as I was cooking out of a military barracks but I had enough that I tried to pull it off. Instead of sesame seeds, I used sesame seed oil and I increased the fennel seeds and used a ground cumin spice. I didn't have marsala either so I used a madras curry powder. From what little I remembered about marsala, I tried to replicate a more savory flavor by also adding bay leave, ginger and cinammon (because why not?). Anyways, it came out delicious. It was a good exercise in cooking with what you got which I frequently have to do and I thank you for providing such an awesome starting point! xx
2 months ago MadChef
The taste was fantastic. I used crushed red pepper in place of cayenne and added a little mustard seed to the spice fry. The cabbage and onion caramelized together was beautiful in color. I topped my serving with a crispy fried duck egg.
3 months ago Andarte
This was AMAZING!
3 months ago darksideofthespoon
I am having this for lunch right now. Fried sunny side egg on top, AMAZING.
3 months ago Blork
Very delicious! But I'm curious about something: why is the garam masala added at the end? Usually dry spices are added early on in a recipe such as this.
3 months ago Kanimozhi Selvarangan
When commercially ground garam masala is used in dishes, it is often added at the end of cooking so that the remaining aroma is not lost. Whole garam masala, however, is added early to the cooking fat, oil, or ghee for a more pungent flavour.-Source wiki
I usually add it when I add the other spices, but now I am going to add it at the end of the cooking and see the difference
3 months ago Blork
I'm not sure what you mean by "whole garam masala," as garam masala is a blend of spices, not just one item ground up. Do you mean "freshly ground?"
3 months ago Kanimozhi Selvarangan
Whole garam masala means you add the "whole",not ground cardamom,cinnamon,bayleaf,clove,fennel etc to the oil at the very start of the cooking to bring out its flavors and then add onions,ginger garlic paste,tomatoes etc.
3 months ago Kanimozhi Selvarangan
Garam masala is a collection of spices namely cardamom,cinnamon,bay leaf, clove. This list is basic. You can add star anise,fennel,black cardamom,dry ginger,cumin,black cumin,etc. This collection of spices varies from region to region.Some regions have their own special ingredient along with the other spices.
So garam masala need not be a ground masala.Some people don't like the wholes spices in their dish as they can accidentally bite it.So,they add the ground masala at last or make a bouquet garni of these spices and add it to the oil.
4 months ago shs
Thought this recipe was great. Inspired me to buy Jaffrey's cookbook.. On a side note, most of her recipes that include chicken refer to pounds of "chicken pieces". Do you know whether "chicken pieces" refers to boneless or bone in?
3 months ago Kanimozhi Selvarangan
In India the whole chicken is cut into small pieces by the butcher.Some pieces will be boneless and some with bone. It doesn't matter.
3 months ago shs
Thank you! This is helpful. I made this recipe with all boneless chicken, but I think it might be more flavorful with partial bone-in. Also, there was a lot of liquid that I had a hard time reducing. Perhaps I should have drained the canned tomatoes? I think the excess liquid took away from the intensity of the spices. Will try again or another recipe!
3 months ago Kanimozhi Selvarangan
I don't know about canned tomatoes.We don't use it here.You adjust the amount of water you add for cooking instead of draining the tomatoes. You can check out recipes from vahchef in you tube.He is my favorite chef.Learning recipes from videos is better than reading from books for beginners.
4 months ago dusty516
I'm making this right now to pair with Jaffrey's Salmon in a Tomato-Cream Sauce and I'm loving the way the kitchen is smelling. Thanks for the inspiration; like Alexandra, I get a lot of cabbage in the CSA box!
4 months ago alexandracooks
Made this tonight and loved it! What I loved about it (besides it being delicious) is that you don't have to grind all of those spices (which, when I'm not feeling lazy I am happy to do) and they impart such a wonderful flavor. I am so grateful to have another cabbage recipe to add to the rotation because we get boatloads of it in our CSA all winter. Thank you! Making that Torisi condiment this weekend...thinking it might be fun to serve with a steak for Valentine's Day. Cant wait to try it!
4 months ago EmilyC
I made this over the weekend (served alongside sauteed salmon) and LOVED it. It's great leftover, too. I really like the details of adding whole spices -- and the lemon juice and garam masala at the end really transform an already good dish into a great one.
4 months ago kayrob
This is fantastic. In stirred in some pre-cooked shredded chicken breast at the end. Great meal with interesting flavors.