Wishing dear Readers a Happy Makar Sankranthi/ Pongal.

Intrigued by the title? I know I was when I first heard this concept of cabbage chutney.  As I have said earlier for me chutney is something that is made of coconut, chilies, spices, herbs and souring agent like tamarind etc.  And vegetables like cabbage are used for making sabjis/palya like this. So this chutney with only cabbage and raw mango came as a surprise. In this chutney there is no trace of coconut but then it has taste and texture of chutney.

I learnt this recipe from my colleague Sudha, after tasting her delicious Lauki (Bottle gourd) chutney. Inspired by that I had prepared the Zucchini Chutney which we love at home.

First we proceed to make regular cabbage bhaji/palya, then grind it along with green mango. The flavor of cooked cabbage is not felt in this chutney. It is taken over by that of roasted cumin seeds, urad daal, garlic and chillies. It feels like regular chutney, with coarse consistency and the usual spicy tangy flavors.  As a bonus this chutney is nutritious because this is just a combination of veggies and spices.

If you have never tasted this before, then I recommend you to try this once. This is simple to make and can be made with just regular ingredients on hand.  I use a bag of Cole slaw salad for this and that makes it even ore easier. You can substitute lemon instead of raw mango. This chutney goes well with Idlis, Dosas, chapathi or with rice. This can be made ahead of time and stores well in the fridge for about a week. 

Ingredients: 

• 2-3 cups chopped cabbage (packed)
• 3-4  green chillies
• 2 garlic pods (peeled)
• 1 tsp jeera/cumin seeds (add more if you like the taste of jeera)
• 2 tsp urad daal
• ½ tsp mustard seeds
• ½ cup raw mango/green mango (chopped into small cubes) [substitute with lemon juice]
• little chopped coriander leaves
• oil
• Salt

Method:

• Heat pan on medium flame, in little oil add the cumin seeds, after they are toasted then add the urad daal, mustard seeds and mix until urad daal turns light brown.
• Next add the crushed garlic, green chillies and stir, then add the chopped cabbage and stir them. Do not add salt as the cabbage will loose crunchiness. Add handful of  chopped coriander leaves and mix well.
• After it is cooled, blend this along with salt and chopped raw mango (raw). Do not add water while grinding.
• Also this should be ground coarsely and not like a paste. Check for taste and adjust accordingly. Seasoning is optional.

One last look!