Cabbage

Turmeric as a cooking ingredient and flavor spice is very much in vogue these days, given recent scientific proof about it's anti-septic and anti-carcinogenic properties. So I thought I would post a dish that has turmeric as a star flavoring ingredient.

Ingredient List:

• Green Cabbage.

• 3 or 4 Asian Green Chili peppers: I generally use the asian or east indian green chili peppers. These are always available in east indian stores and in some asian grocery stores as well.

• Mustard Seeds (1 tablespoon).

• Turmeric (2 tablespoons for half a head of cabbage, 3 tablespoons for one full head of cabbage).

• Olive Oil for cooking.

• Salt (1 or 2 teaspoons).

• Peas (1 cup, optional).

• Cilantro (for garnish).

Prep Work:

1. Chop Cabbage - Remove one or two outer layers of the cabbage if they are damaged or bruised. Cut the cabbage in quarters first, then chop length-wise. Sort of how you would for coleslaw. Once chopped, rinse the cabbage in a colander and drain.
   
   

2. Chop Chili peppers - Chop into one inch long pieces, then slit each one (be careful not to slit through the chili pepper).
   

Cooking:

1. Put some olive oil in a pot/deep pan along with the mustard seeds. Cover and set the stove on medium heat. Once the mustard seeds start popping (you can hear them), you know the oil is hot enough.

2. Put in the chili peppers and the turmeric powder. Stir around so all the turmeric powder is in the oil.

3. Once the chili peppers and turmeric are fried in the oil for a couple of minutes, put in the chopped cabbage. Add one to two teaspoons of salt.

4. Mix the cabbage well with the oil and turmeric powder. Cover the pot and let it cook for a few minutes.

5. Eventually, the cabbage releases it's water. Remove the pot cover and Stir periodically to ensure nothing is burning underneath.

6. When all the water is gone, your cabbage dish is ready. How long you want to cook this is a matter of choice. If you like it crunchy, you can cook this for a shorter period of time. If not, you can cook it a bit longer.

7. Optionally mix in the peas. If you get frozen peas, defrost them separately in a cup of water. Once defrosted you can just mix them in once the cabbage is cooked. Do not cook the peas with the cabbage, they will turn to mush. You can also add carrots if you'd like.

8. Garnish with cilantro.

How To Eat: Eat it with rice, pasta, or as a crunchy sandwich in a burger bun.