Cabbage thoran (or cabbage poriyal) is a healthy, yummy and easy cabbage stir fry with coconut and mild spices prepared in the South Indian state of Kerala.
This cabbage thoran is also a popular vegetable side dish served for Kerala style traditional feast like onam sadya and other celebrations.
Similar cabbage stir fries are also prepared in South Indian states like Tamil Nadu, where it is known as cabbage poriyal.
This vegetable side dish is vegetarian as well as vegan.
Cabbage thoran Kerala style recipe is pretty easy to make and you really can't find out its a cabbage based dish unless you know its cabbage.
You can also make cabbage thoran (poriyal) in instant pot even more quickly and easily!
The dish really won't look like its cabbage once its cooked, but its very delicious and it is one of the most popular dishes for Kerala style vegetarian feast.
See green beans thoran (poriyal), amaranth leaves thoran (cheera leaves), broccoli thoran recipe here, cauliflower thoran recipe here and carrot thoran recipe here, which are all similar types of South Indian style vegetable stir fry recipes with coconut and spices.
Cherupayar thoran (mung beans) and vanpayar thoran (adzuki beans) are also similar & popular Indian Kerala dishes that makes great side dishes with rice and curry, though they are made using specific beans and not vegetables.
More Easy Cabbage Recipes:
cabbage and eggs breakfast recipe
how to cook cabbage on stove top
cabbage tomato soup vegan recipe
cabbage green peas stir fry recipe
dark red kidney beans with cabbage
cabbage masoor dal curry (with red lentils)
Cabbage thoran is not just prepared for feasts, it is also often prepared at homes as a delicious vegetarian side dish with rice for lunch or dinner in South India.
You can finely chop the cabbage using a knife or to make your job easy, you can use a good quality food processor (which can finely chop the cabbage) or use this cabbage shredder which can shred the cabbage perfectly.
As I mentioned, cabbage thoran is a vegetarian/vegan dish prepared by stir frying cabbage with coconut and spices.
Sometimes, often while preparing for the feast, the dish is cooked into a lightly browned fry which is very delicious.
In fact, as you stir fry the finely chopped cabbage more and more, the dish turns more delicious. However this step is not a must.
How To Cut Cabbage For Thoran?
At home, we mostly chop the cabbages finely (as much as possible and convenient) and then cook the cabbage with coconut and spices to a desired consistency, which is also very yummy but the texture turns quite different and most delicious if we choose to roast the cabbage more so it lightly browns.
However, this is really not a must and if you can't cut them finely, just relax as it is totally fine.
You can chop or shred the cabbage using a good quality food processor, or cabbage shredder or just a good quality knife.
If you find it difficult to shred the cabbage finely, shred them as you can and you may chop the shredded cabbage further if needed.
However as I mentioned, its all about personal preference and even if you do not cut them finely, its still delicious.
So here is how you can prepare cabbage thoran following this easy cabbage thoran Kerala style recipe.
How To Make Cabbage Thoran Or Cabbage Stir Fry With Coconut & Spices?
We use the following ingredients to make the South Indian Kerala style cabbage stir fry with coconut and spices.
You may adjust the spices slighty, and you may also avoid the ingredients for seasoning (other than oil) if you do not have all the ingredients in your pantry.
Ingredients for cabbage thoran
½ medium sized cabbage head
2 cups grated or shredded coconut
2 teaspoons garlic minced or crushed
2 green chilies chopped (optional)
¼ teaspoon salt
Spice powders
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon red chili powder
For seasoning
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
4 dry red chilies broken (optional ingredient)
1 string curry leaves make sure there is no water content
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
Step By step instructions
Wash the half of a cabbage and chop it very finely. As I already mentioned above, you can use a food processor or this cabbage shredder to chop the cabbage finely, which will also make the job very easy.
Grind together the coconut, garlic and cumin seeds in a food processor for a few seconds. No need to grind this too smoothly. Keep this grind coconut aside.
Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds.
When the mustard seeds splutter add the broken dry red chilies and curry leaves, fry for a few seconds.
Add the chopped cabbage, green chilies and salt, mix well and stir fry in medium heat for about 4 to 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat as needed in case the leaves are getting browned quickly.
Cover the pan with lid and cook in very low heat for about 10 to 12 minutes or until the cabbage is cooked enough.
Once the cabbage is cooked, add the grind coconut (grind with cumin seeds and garlic) to the pan, mix everything well.
Add the turmeric powder and red chili powder and stir the contents very well.
Close the pan with the lid and cook again for another 2 minutes.
After 2 minutes, open the pan and stir fry the contents for another few minutes (2 minutes is enough) so the dish gets slightly roasted. You can roast this for more time if you wish.
If you stir fry the thoran for more time, the dish will get more crispy and more delicious (but that is not necessary).
Cabbage thoran is ready to be served, enjoy this as a side dish with rice for lunch or dinner! (See the pictures from the preparation of cabbage thoran below).
Cabbage Thoran For Onam Sadya
Cabbage thoran is a very popular side dish served for onam sadya in Kerala (South Indian state).
Onam is a traditional festival of Kerala and the traditional feast with a lot of dishes (mostly vegetarian feast but it may depend on the region) is served in a banana leaf.
The main dish is rice and it is served with a lot of side dishes made of vegetables including Kerala parippu curry, thoran, upperi, Kerala avial, kootu curry, sambar, pulissery etc and also pickles (like green mango pickle, lemon pickle, ginger pickle etc), papadam (crackers made of rice and urad dal) and also delicious desserts like semiya payasam, palada payasam, paal payasam & many more payasam as you like.
As I told, cabbage thoran makes one of the most simple and popular side dishes for Onam sadya or Onam feast and you can almost always see this dish served for any Kerala style feast for other celebrations as well.
However, cabbage thoran is not served only for special occasion as this is a very popular everday dish prepared in Kerala and other South Indian states as well.
How To Serve Cabbage Thoran?
As I described above, cabbage thoran is served for onam sadya and other celebrations along with rice and so many other side dishes.
However, when we make the cabbage thoran at home, you can serve it simply with rice and any gravy like sambar, pulissery or parippu curry and some pickles or papadam if you wish.
It goes very well with rice and yogurt & coconut based curries like vellarikka moru curry, thakkali moru curry etc.
Also it's just delicious with even just yogurt or moru curry without coconut and rice as well!
Below you can get the recipe for cabbage thoran in detail.
Cabbage Thoran (Poriyal) - South Indian Kerala Cabbage Stir Fry
Ingredients
- ½ medium sized cabbage head
- 2 cups grated or shredded coconut
- 2 teaspoons garlic minced or crushed
- 2 green chilies chopped (optional)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Spice powders
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon red chili powder
For seasoning
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 4 dry red chilies broken
- 1 string curry leaves make sure there is no water content
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
Instructions
- Wash the half of a cabbage and chop it very finely. As I already mentioned above, you can use a food processor or this cabbage shredder to chop the cabbage finely, which will also make the job very easy.
- Grind together the coconut, garlic and cumin seeds in a food processor for a few seconds. No need to grind this too smoothly. Keep this grind coconut aside.
- Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds.
- When the mustard seeds splutter add the broken dry red chilies and curry leaves, fry for a few seconds.
- Add the chopped cabbage, green chilies and salt, mix well and stir fry in medium heat for about 4 to 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat as needed in case the leaves are getting browned quickly.
- Cover the pan with lid and cook in very low heat for about 10 to 12 minutes or until the cabbage is cooked enough.
- Once the cabbage is cooked, add the grind coconut (grind with cumin seeds and garlic) to the pan, mix everything well.
- Add the turmeric powder and red chili powder and stir the contents very well.
- Close the pan with the lid and cook again for another 2 minutes.
- After 2 minutes, open the pan and stir fry the contents for another few minutes (2 minutes is enough) so the dish gets slightly roasted. You can roast this for more time if you wish. If you roast this for more time, the dish will get more crispy and more delicious (but that is not necessary). Cabbage thoran is ready to be served, enjoy this as a side dish with rice for lunch or dinner!
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