Shredded Cabbage with Grated Coconut Stir Fry a.k.a Cabbage Thoran

Saturday is my new best friend! I have full freedom with her to fool around, do what I like, how I like and when I like. And on Saturdays minus Pradeep, I am in the mood for elaborate cooking. Unlike normal days, I had decided today's lunch menu yesterday night itself - Rice with fried anchovies and crab curry! (recipes will soon follow, everything is ready and I am drooling and waiting for Pradeep to show up). 

I had no plan to cook vegetable, because every time I cook it we have it the first day and it lies inside the fridge for 2 days and later I ask my maid to take it. The only instance when this does not happen is when I make cabbage stir fry, Pradeep just loves it. So anyway today I was ready to toil inside the kitchen (surprisingly everything went smooth today) and why not make him triple happy! :-) [no bad intention, it just happens that we are going out for shopping today and he is yet to deliver quite a lot of promises he made on my b'day] 

Cabbage thoran as we call it in Kerala is nothing but just cabbage stir fry with grated coconut. A must entry in most of the sadyas, this is quick and wonderful accompaniment to go with rice. 

Ingredients

Cabbage - 1/2 medium, shredded

Coconut - 1/2 cup, grated

Onion - 1 medium, chopped (shallots are what we use, as I did not have that used onion)

Green chilies - 3 large, chopped

Garlic - 5 cloves, chopped

Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon

Mustard seeds - a pinch

Curry leaf - a few springs

Olive oil - 1 tablespoon (use coconut oil, if you want it the traditional way)

Preparation

1. Heat up olive oil in a wide mouthed pan, splutter mustard seeds and add curry leaves. Stir fry for a few seconds.

2. Add the shredded cabbage, stir well to combine, close with a lid and cook covered for a couple of minutes, until the vegetable is tender.

3. In the meanwhile, coarsely grind  together grated coconut, onion, garlic and green chilies in a blender with very less or no water.

4. Open the pan, add turmeric powder, salt and then the coconut mix. Stir to combine. Cook for another couple of minutes and switch off the stove. 

5. Transfer to serving dish and pair it with rice. This will taste good as sabji for rotis too.