Cabbage Poriyal | Muttaikose Poriyal with Coconut

square image of cabbage poriyal served in rectangular tray

5 from 1 vote

Cabbage Poriyal | Muttaikose Poriyal with Coconut

Easy Tamil Nadu-style cabbage poriyal (muttaikose poriyal) with coconut — a vegan, gluten-free stir-fry made without onion or garlic, ready in under 10 minutes.

Prep Time15

Cook Time15

Total Time30

Course: Entree, sides

Cuisine: South Indian

Keyword: Cabbage Dry Curry, Cabbage Poriyal

Servings:

Calories: 78kcal

Author: Srividhya G

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