A delicious, quick and easy to make cabbage stew with turmeric and lots of other spices, a perfect vegan/vegetarian meal or a wonderful side dish for many other dishes.
I am sure I did mention it before how much I like cabbage. Any recipe made with cabbage is a winner in my book, I don’t think I have ever had anything with cabbage I didn’t like. One of my favorite and most common ways of eating cabbage is to stew it, Romanian style so to say, the way my grandmother used to do it. Have a look at this recipe, this is exactly what I mean: Healthy Romanian Stewed Cabbage or Varza calita.
So when I started experimenting with the Turmeric Paste for Golden Milk it was only natural that I would think about making a spicier, kind of Indian style cabbage stew where I could add a generous amount of turmeric paste. So I did cook such a recipe, what could be easier? And I have to say I loved every bit of it and, most importantly, I was even able to convince the kids to give it a try, and after trying it, they did polish off their plates without any further complaint. (Their main complaint during me cooking this entire Turmeric Paste series was: “Why is our food always yellow?”)
Even the fact that I was very generous with the spices in this dish, especially with the dried chili, that didn’t stop them eating the cabbage. My son added a bit of yogurt to make it more palatable and my daughter a bit of cooking cream and they were happy, a slice of bread (or some spicy potatoes) on the side and you hardly need anything more.
But just in case you want to serve the cabbage as a side dish, think about pairing it with a nice filet of fish or some oven Baked Chicken Thighs, I do love the way cabbage goes with fish or chicken. Of course, beef or pork would be just as fitting, anything actually, I cannot think of anything that wouldn’t go well with cabbage right now. If you want to keep the meal vegan, try these Crispy Baked Cornmeal Potatoes with Paprika or these Potato Wedges with Sweet Chili Sauce.
I used my turmeric paste to make this vegan cabbage stew, but if you don’t want to make that, do feel free to substitute it with 1 or 2 teaspoons ground turmeric, about 1 teaspoon grated ginger and some freshly ground black pepper.
And if you would like to know more about turmeric, turmeric paste and its health benefits, make sure to read this article: 10 Health Benefits and Uses for Turmeric Paste.
Simple and Spicy Cabbage Turmeric Stew – Vegan Recipe
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Ingredients
- 700 g/ 25 oz white cabbage
- 1 large carrot
- 1 onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 large tomato
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¾ – 1 teaspoon dried chili flakes (more or less to taste)
- 1 tablespoon turmeric paste for golden milk
- 3 teaspoon tomato paste
- 1 ½ teaspoon honey, divided
- 125 ml/ 1/8 cup water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 teaspoons cider vinegar
Instructions
Core the cabbage and slice it thinly. Slice the carrot rather finely as well. Chop the onion and the garlic finely.
Heat the coconut oil in a large stewing pan. Add the chopped onion and garlic and cook shortly until translucent. Add the cabbage and the carrot and cook, stirring quite a few times in between, for about 5 minutes until it begins to get soft.
In the meantime chop the tomato into fine cubes. Add the tomato to the cabbage stew together with the coriander, cumin, chili flakes, turmeric paste, tomato paste and 1 teaspoon of honey. Stir well to coat the cabbage with the spices and let cook stirring for another 3 or 4 minutes.
Add the water and the salt, cover the pan, turn down the heat and simmer the stew for about 30-35 minutes or more until the cabbage is cooked to your liking, I prefer it rather soft but not mushy. Add the cider vinegar, stir well again and taste. If necessary add the remaining honey, some black pepper and a bit more salt.
Serve immediately or reheat again later.
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12 comments
I’m loving your turmeric series Adina. Another idea to cook cabbage:)
Thank you so very much for all the turmeric recipes😀
It’s such a great idea, a new way to cook cabbage stew. Love it.
I love cooked cabbage. This cabbage stew makes a great side dish. I like turmeric for its benefits and use it when I can, but I have never seen turmeric paste. Now I know it exists, I’ll have to look for it!
I just bought a small cabbage from our farmer’s market yesterday. My husband and I love it. This is a new way of preparing it for me. Looks as good as it tastes, I’m sure.
This sounds yummy!! My family loves cabbage as well. I’m not sure if they would like the coriander but it’s a small amount. Love your photos! 🙂
Okay, Adina. I MUST make this dish – and your turmeric paste. Cabbage and sausage is one of our go-to meals, I’m sure your recipe will be a new family favorite!
The Recipe had a really good taste & looks amazing.This one is my favorite.Last night I made Chicken Malai Boti for my family and all enjoy.
I love the cabbage recipe. I also made parathas from it and that was also delicious. Thanks for the recipe
Thank you for your feedback. I’ve made parathas with cabbage as well, but never though of using this cabbage recipe. It is a great idea, I will try it for sure.
Most of my childhood memory includes getting yelled at by my mother, eat your veggies; but I used to pay no heed to it. However as time passes, most of us come around to eating vegetables as we are aware of the countless benefits they have for our health.
Cabbage is especially one of the world’s most nutrient dense vegetables readily available for us to enjoy, rich in essential vitamins such as C, B6, K, saturated fat, thiammin, calcium, iron, magnesium phosphorus and a good source of dietary fibers.
But I never liked any cabbage recipe other than in noodles.
This cabbage recipe when I tried at home was not really appreciated by my family but it was really yummy too. Thanks for sharing this delicious preparation. Keep posting wonderful recipes like this.
Thank you for your comment. I am glad you liked the cabbage. My husband and I love it as well, but I have to admit that it was kind of a battle to get the kids to like cabbage. They are still not particularly happy when I cook something with cabbage, but they have learned to accept it and hopefully they will get to love it as much as we do when they are older. I used to love cabbage as a child as well, not made with turmeric, which was totally unknown in my country then, but cooked in almost the same way just using other spices and herbs.