Another great dish sourced from the store cupboard and the famers market. This is Keralan in origin but uses that most delicious of British seasonal greens, the hispi or sweetheart cabbage. Takes no time at all to make and we ate it with some delicious dal (there are several on this website). In fact I had some cauliflower that needed eating up so blanched that and chargrilled it along with the cabbage (which does not need blanching). We felt super healthy after eating this – vegan too!
Serves 4 as a side dish
100g fresh or 80 g dessicated coconut
1/2 red onion, diced
thumb of ginger peeled and grated
2 large tomatoes (or 6-8 baby ones) diced
2 dried chillies, crumbled
juice of 1 lime
salt to taste
2 hispi cabbages, quartered
rapeseed or coconut oil
Method
First make the thoran. If you’re using fresh coconut, grate it using a blender; if desiccated, then put in a medium-size bowl and pour in some boiling water (about 40 ml) and then fluff up with a fork.
Add the diced onions, tomatoes, grated ginger, chilli and lime juice and some salt. Set on one side.
Brush the quartered cabbages with oil and place them on a very hot griddle, turning them every few minutes to make sure all sides are nicely charred and the centre softens. If your griddle is too small, take them out when cooked and then toss in the thoran mixture; if large enough simply add it to the cabbage and let it brown nicely for a couple of minutes. Whichever way you do it, it is important to let the thoran cook very sightly to give it a nutty flavour.
Pile it all on a plate and tuck in. Super-healthy!
