Kaachi-paaki, easy-peasy

No peas in this one. But easy it is.

Kaachi-paaki, literally translated from Gujarati, means uncooked-cooked. Or raw-cooked. That's what this sabji is all about. It's partly cooked to retain the inherent flavor of the vegetable, in this case cabbage, as well as a fresh crunch. For best results, the cabbage needs to be shredded very fine so that the fiery tempered oil can coat every strand of the vegetable. I usually buy a bag of Angel Hair Coleslaw and ignore the fact that some brands also contain carrots. When I am in one of my moods though, I do spend some time slicing the cabbage into fine strands with a sharp knife.

Kaachi-paaki

Cabbage salad

• 1 packet Angel Hair Coleslaw
• 1-2 tbsp oil
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• pinch asafetida
• 7-8 kadipatta
• 2 green chillies, sliced vertically and deseeded
• 1 tsp urad dal
• salt to taste
• 1-2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• cilantro to garnish, if you like

1. Heat oil in a large pan
2. Add mustard seeds and when they start to pop and splutter, add asafetida. Keep a splatter screen ready to prevent a mess on your stove.
3. Add cumin seeds, curry leaves, green chillies and urad dal. Lower the heat and fry till the urad dal turns golden in color but without burning any of the other seasonings.
4. Turn up the heat, add the coleslaw, salt and lemon juice and toss quickly till the coleslaw is nicely coated in the oil. The more time you spend on this, the less crunch you get.
5. Take the pan off the stove and garnish with cilantro, if you are using it. Allow the flavors to meld and serve with hot rotis or eat it by itself! It's great warm or cold.

Notes:

• Use more green chillies to up the heat. You can slice them vertically to blend with the cabbage. I avoid this because it gets too spicy for Medha.
• I have made this with dried red chillies as well and it is just as good.
• Add as much lemon juice as you like. I tend to make this a little on the sour side, sometimes adding as much as the juice of half a lemon.
• Depending on the amount of crunchiness you like, adjust the time you spend tossing the coleslaw on the stove. I've had it several ways: less crunch, easy to chew and less noise at the dinner table! More crunch, more noise, more flavor! We like it crunchier.
• With Angel Hair Coleslaw, this Kaachi-paaki takes about 5 minutes to make!

Try it with red cabbage, too! And yes, I buy Ready-Pac shredded red cabbage if I can find it.

Trivia: This is what we had for dinner exactly a year ago today. (And, several times every month since it's so easy to make and a real favorite with us.) It's kind of interesting how my photo archives are more focused on food and landscapes than on portraits! I need to fix that! Or do I?

Update: I am sending this to Kalyn's Kitchen for this week's Weekend Herb Blogging, which calls for recipes and/or informative posts featuring any herb, plant, vegetable, or flower. Veggie, it is. Cabbage.