Cabbage with Mustard Seeds and Moong Dal

I love simple Indian recipes which don't take up all evening to prepare!

Source: Camellia Panjabi's excellent 50 Great Curries of India

For the Cabbage:

1 medium sized cabbage finely shredded

1/4 tsp mustard seeds

1 green chilli, chopped (this made it quite spicy)

1/2" piece of ginger, chopped

ten curry leaves

1/3 tsp of sugar

Soak the shredded cabbage in water with a little salt for 15 minutes. I think this helps to retain the crunch of the vegetable.

Next, heat oil in a pan and ad the mustard seeds. When the start spluttering, add the chilli, curry leaves and chopped ginger and saute for 1 min. Add the cabbage, salt and sugar. Saute, mixing all the ingredients well. Cook uncovered, otherwise the cabbage tends to get watery and limp. It took about 1o minutes before my cabbage was done.

For the Moon Dal:

1 cup moong dal

1 large tomato, chopped

1 green chilli

1" piece of ginger chopped

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

1/4 tsp turmeric pwdr

3-4 cloves

a handful of cilantro leaves chopped (I had run out but the dal still tasted great)

curry leaves

Wash the dal well and soak for 1/2 hour (this really reduces the cooking time).

In a large pot, add 5 cups of water, moong dal, tomatoes, chilli, ginger, garlic, cloves, turmeric pwdr, and salt. Allow the dal to boil till it is done (20-25 minutes). When done, remove from heat. For a tadka, heat oil in a ladle and fry the curry leaves for 1-2 minutes. Add this to the dal, and mix well. Garnish with cilantro leaves and serve.