Cabbage Pesarapappu Koora
Everyone gets surprised to hear that from all the vegetables in the world, my favorite is cabbage. I don’t know if I have always liked it or not, but it’s one of the sweetest tasty vegetables for me. Be it in a spring roll, or as a side for rice or even in a stir fry – I will add loads of it. When I moved to the US and started living with VJ, he told me he doesn’t eat cabbage. I told him to suck it up and eat it, cause I wasn’t making anything else. To his surprise, he actually liked what I made. He told me he liked it and to always make it that way. I don’t really stick to what I made last, so I ended up making something entirely different the next time, and he liked that too. VJ is not a very picky eater, but a few vegetables – like beetroot and cabbage, he had difficulty. Being alone for five years and cooking his own food made him realize that other vegetables can taste good too.
My mom used to constantly make it when we were kids. Being a kid, I was very rude to her about it. I think once you get past the smell, it tastes heavenly. And when made with pesarapappu (split moong dal), the texture changes to crunchy which is even more amazing. My mom made it with the pesarapappu only a few times, but it’s the most favorite recipe in our home. Even Arlo loves it. I think he likes it because of all the ‘pappu’s’ in it. Pesarapappu is incredibly healthy and also doesn’t raise my blood sugar by much. I consider that a win. Cabbage also has a lot of nutrients that are lost when cooked on the stove. So I pressure cook it a little, and then add it to tempering, before mixing it all. It sure sounds like a lot of steps, but actually isn’t. It’s one of the most simple curries to make and the only prep time is from soaking the pesarapappu.
Ingredients
Cabbage – 1/2 a head
Pesarapappu (Split Yellow Moong Dal) – 1/2 cup
Green Chilies – 5 or 6 (Optional)
Salt – As needed
Turmeric – 1/4 teaspoon
Red Chili Powder – 1 teaspoon
Channa Dal – 2 tablespoons
Urad Dal – 2 tablespoons
Mustard Seeds – 1 tablespoon
Cumin Seeds – 1 teaspoon
Asafoetida – 1/4 teaspoon
Oil – 2 tablespoons
Coriander Leaves – 2 tablespoons (for garnish)
How To Make
Step 1: Wash the pesarapappu two times, add twice the amount of water and keep it aside to soak for at least two hours.
Washed to soak 
soaked
Step 2: In a big bowl take the chopped cabbage and put it in a pressure cooker. Pressure cooker the cabbage for 2 whistles or 8 minutes High Pressure in the Instant Pot.
Step 3: Once the pressure cooker cools down itself, remove the cabbage and drain the water from it. Drain the water from the now soaked pesarapappu.
Channa dalUrad Dal 
Step 4: In a pan add the oil, once hot add channa dal and urad dal. As they start to change color, add mustard seeds. Once they start spluttering add cumin seeds and at last add asafoetida.
Mustard Seeds 
Asafoetida
Cumin Seeds 
Soaked Pesarapappu
Step 5: Add green chilies and the soaked pesarapappu to the tempering and fry it a little.
Step 6: Add the cooked cabbage and fry it until the raw smell goes away.
Step 7: Add salt, turmeric and red chili powder mix it up well.
Step 8: Top with coriander and serve with chapati or rice.
| Prep Time | 2 hours |
| Cook Time | 1 hour |
| Servings |
people
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- 1/2 head Cabbage
- 1/2 Cup Pesarapappu Split Yellow Moong Dal
- 5 Green Chilies
- 1 tablespoon Salt As needed
- 1/4 teaspoon Turmeric
- 1 teaspoon Red Chili Powder
- 2 tablespoons Channa Dal
- 2 tablespoons Urad Dal
- 1 tablespoon Mustard Seeds
- 1 teaspoon Cumin Seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon Asafoetida
- 2 tablespoons Oil
- 2 tablespoons Coriander Leaves For Garnish
Ingredients
|
|
- Wash the pesarapappu two times, add twice the amount of water and keep it aside to soak for at least two hours.
- In a big bowl take the chopped cabbage and put it in a pressure cooker. Pressure cooker the cabbage for 2 whistles or 8 minutes High Pressure in the Instant Pot.
- Once the pressure cooker cools down itself, remove the cabbage and drain the water from it. Drain the water from the now soaked pesarapappu.
- In a pan add the oil, once hot add channa dal and urad dal. As they start to change color, add mustard seeds. Once they start spluttering add cumin seeds and at last add asafoetida.
- Add green chilies and the soaked pesarapappu to the tempering and fry it a little.
- Add the cooked cabbage and fry it until the raw smell goes away.
- Add salt, turmeric and red chili powder mix it up well.
- Top with coriander and serve with chapati or rice.
Tips:
- The green chilies are optional, that I forgot to use this time, you can reduce the red chilies and instead use green chilies.
- You can add half an onion if you don't have enough cabbage. Add the chopped onion after adding the pesarapappu and fry until they are transparent and then add the cabbage.
- You can add some grated coconut at the end (optional) for a little bit more taste.
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