Cabbage poriyal, or muttaikose poriyal, is a simple Tamil Nadu-style cabbage stir-fry with coconut, made without onion or garlic. It’s a perfect side dish for rice, and honestly, it’s great as a salad too.
This is my cabbage poriyal with coconut in a simple coconut oil tempering—minimal ingredients, and it works as both a side for rice and a salad. It pairs beautifully with sambar rice or any of your kuzhambu varieties.
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My love for cabbage
My love for cabbage is no secret. I’ve already shared quite a few cabbage recipes here — a dry North Indian-style cabbage sabzi that goes perfectly with roti or dal rice, a cabbage coleslaw, my cabbage kootu without coconut, and a green and purple cabbage kootu with coconut. So how could I skip this simple cabbage poriyal, which, in my opinion, is the king of all poriyals? :-)
I really do love cabbage, and this poriyal pairs with just about anything — sambhar, kaara kuzhambu, or vathal kuzhambu, as I mentioned above. The only real task here is chopping the cabbage. Once that’s done, the poriyal comes together in less than 10 minutes. You can even chop the cabbage ahead as part of your weekend meal prep and put it together quickly whenever you need it.
Growing cabbage at home
This cabbage recipe is special to me because I grew and harvested the cabbage at home. Growing cabbage turned out to be much easier than I thought. I tried it once from seed back in the Bay Area, and it worked, but starting from seeds was a bit tricky. This time, here in NJ, I bought 8 saplings from a nursery — and guess what, it was super easy. All 8 saplings gave me fresh, nice cabbage without fail. I share my gardening experiences as vlogs on my YouTube channel, so if you’re interested, do follow along.
Ingredients overview
For the tempering, I use coconut oil with the classic tempering ingredients—mustard seeds, urad dal, chana dal, and asafoetida. To spice things up, I add green chilies and ginger.
Cabbage — I used one medium-sized cabbage (about 500 grams), which yielded about 470 grams after chopping (roughly 7 cups). You can use purple cabbage too.
Coconut — a Tamil Nadu-style poriyal is incomplete without coconut. I went with ¾ cup here. You can use more or bring it down to ½ cup—anywhere between ½ and 1 cup works.
Along with these, you’ll need curry leaves, salt, and cilantro to garnish. I didn’t use cilantro today. Please check the recipe card below for exact measurements.
Dietary specifications
This muttaikose poriyal is naturally vegan, gluten-free (use gluten-free asafoetida), and nut-free, making it perfect for everyone. I always add ginger to my cabbage, since some people find that cabbage can cause bloating.
How to store cabbage poriyal
I always chop the cabbage ahead and make this poriyal fresh when I need it. Once cooked, I store it in the fridge for up to 2 days, but not longer. Since we add coconut, reheat only the portion you need and use a fresh spoon each time.
Serving suggestions
This cabbage stir-fry goes really well with:
- Rasam, especially jeera milagu rasam
- Tamarind rice
- Sambar, especially my favorite drumstick sambar or onion sambar
- Kathirikai puli kuzhambu or manathakkali vathal kuzhambu
If you enjoy it with any other recipes, do share them in the comments!
How to make cabbage poriyal
- Heat a kadai or tawa and add the coconut oil. Once it’s hot, add the mustard seeds, urad dal, chana dal, and asafoetida. Let the mustard seeds splutter.
- Next, add the green chilies, ginger, and curry leaves. Sauté for about 30 seconds.
- Add the cabbage and stir gently. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring a couple of times—no need to add water or cover it. If your cabbage is still hard, sprinkle in 1 tablespoon of water, cover, and cook for a couple more minutes.
- You want the cabbage soft yet crunchy — that’s how we like it. Now add the coconut and salt and mix well. As soon as the salt goes in, the cabbage will ooze out water, so increase the heat to medium-high and cook for 2 minutes, or until the moisture is absorbed. Turn off the heat.
- That’s it — your cabbage poriyal is ready! Garnish with cilantro (I skipped it today) and enjoy with rice.
Recipe notes & variations
- Adjust the salt and spices to your taste. I used 3 small green chilies; adjust as needed based on their size, variety, and your spice preference.
- Instead of coconut oil, you can use regular oil too.
- You can grind the coconut and ginger together and add them in, instead of adding them separately.
- For tender cabbage, 7 minutes of cooking is enough. If the cabbage is hard, or you like it softer, cover and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, then cook for 5 more minutes until the water oozes out — a maximum of 10 minutes, but no more.
- I usually don’t pressure cook cabbage for poriyal. But if you’d like to, pressure cook for 1 whistle and quickly release the pressure after 5 minutes. If you’re using an Instant Pot, cook for 1 minute using the pot-in-pot method and quick release after 5 minutes. You can check my beans poriyal for that cooking method.
- To make it thoran style: skip the ginger, grind the coconut with green chilies and cumin, add it after about 3 minutes, and cook for 4 minutes.
- Adding peas and shallots: I usually add a handful of green peas to my cabbage poriyal, though I skipped them today — it’s a perfect combo. You can also add 4 to 5 finely chopped shallots. After tempering, sauté the shallots until soft, then add the cabbage and follow the same steps.
Frequently asked questions
Muttaikose poriyal is a simple Tamil Nadu-style cabbage stir-fry made with coconut and a coconut-oil tempering, without onion or garlic. It works as a side for rice or even as a salad.
Yes. This poriyal is naturally vegan, nut-free, and gluten-free — make sure you use gluten-free asafoetida.
Yes, purple cabbage works well in this recipe too.
Some people find that cabbage can cause bloating, which is why I always add ginger to mine.
Yes. I like to chop the cabbage ahead as part of my meal prep, and the poriyal itself comes together in under 10 minutes. Once cooked, it keeps in the fridge for up to 2 days — reheat only the portion you need with a fresh spoon.
A Tamil Nadu-style poriyal isn’t complete without coconut. I use ¾ cup, but anywhere between ½ and 1 cup works depending on your preference.
More Poriyal Recipes
Loved This Recipe?
If you try this cabbage poriyal, please leave a comment and rate the recipe. If you have questions, drop them in the comments, and I’ll respond as soon as possible. Follow me on Pinterest for more healthy, delicious ideas, and on Instagram for regular updates, behind-the-scenes moments, and a peek into my kitchen!
📖 Recipe
Cabbage Poriyal | Muttaikose Poriyal with Coconut
Ingredients
Measurement Details: 1 cup = 240ml; 1 tbsp = 15ml; 1 tsp = 5ml;
- 2 tsp coconut oil
- ¾ tsp mustard seeds
- ½ tsp urad dal
- ½ tsp chana dal
- ¼ tsp asafoetida
- 3 green chilies small ones, finely chopped
- 1 inch ginger finely chopped
- 5 to 6 curry leaves
- 470 grams cabbage chopped, approx 7 cups
- ¾ cup coconut
- 1.25 tsp salt
Instructions
- Heat a kadai or tawa and add the coconut oil. Once it’s hot, add the mustard seeds, urad dal, chana dal, and asafoetida. Let the mustard seeds splutter.
- Next, add the green chilies, ginger, and curry leaves. Sauté for about 30 seconds.
- Add the cabbage and mix well slowly. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring a couple of times. No need to add water or cover it while cooking. If your cabbage is still hard, sprinkle in 1 tablespoon of water, cover, and cook for a couple more minutes.
- You want the cabbage soft yet crunchy — that’s how we like it. Now add the coconut and salt and mix well. As soon as the salt goes in, the cabbage will ooze out water, so increase the heat to medium-high and cook for 2 minutes, or until the moisture is absorbed. Turn off the heat.
- That’s it — your cabbage poriyal is ready! Garnish with cilantro (I skipped it today) and enjoy with rice.
Video
Notes
- Adjust the salt and spices to your taste. I used 3 small green chilies; depending on their size, variety, and your spice preference, adjust as needed.
- Instead of coconut oil, you can use regular oil too.
- You can grind the coconut and ginger together and add them in, instead of adding them separately.
- For tender cabbage, 7 minutes of cooking is enough. If the cabbage is hard, or you like it softer, cover and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, then cook for 5 more minutes until the water oozes out — a maximum of 10 minutes, but no more.
- I usually don’t pressure cook cabbage for poriyal. But if you’d like to, pressure cook for 1 whistle and quickly release the pressure after 5 minutes. If you’re using an Instant Pot, cook for 1 minute using the pot-in-pot method and quick release after 5 minutes. You can check my beans poriyal for that cooking method.
- To make it thoran style: skip the ginger, grind the coconut with green chilies and cumin, add it after about 3 minutes, and cook for 4 minutes.
- Adding peas and shallots: I usually add a handful of green peas to my cabbage poriyal, though I skipped them today — it’s a perfect combo. You can also add 4 to 5 finely chopped shallots. After tempering, sauté the shallots until soft, then add the cabbage and follow the same steps.
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It varies depending upon the product types or brands.
One of my favorite curry!
Yup comfort food :-)
Traditional and delicious curry:-)