Recipe credit: Darshana Muzumdar
Serves 4-6 as part of an Indian meal
This koshimbir (salad) is particularly delicious if organic cabbage is used.
Ingredients
- ½ kg cabbage
- ¼ coconut, freshly scraped/grated
- 4-6 green chillies
- ½ lemon, juiced (use more if you like a little sour in your food)
- Salt to taste
For the tempering
- ½ tbsp coconut or groundnut oil
- ½ tsp mustard seeds
- 6-8 sprigs curry leaves
Method
Wash and grate or shred the cabbage finely. It’s important for the cabbage to be really fine for this recipe. Slice the chilies if spicy and if not too spicy, cut them fine. Mix and crush together the salt and green chillies together with the back of a spoon or if not spicy with your fingers. Add the cabbage, grated coconut, and lime juice and mix well. Heat the oil in a tempering ladle. Add the mustard seeds. When they splutter, add the curry leaves and sauté for a few seconds. Pour this over the cabbage mixture. Mix well and serve. The koshimbir tastes better if allowed to rest for 10-15 minutes and all the flavors are well-blended.
For the Whole-Food Plant-Based (WFPB) version:
Do not use oil. Heat the iron tempering ladle and when hot add the mustard seeds. Once they splutter, transfer them to the cabbage mixture. Add the curry leaves to the ladle and sauté for a few seconds. Transfer them to the cabbage mixture. Alternatively, chop the curry leaves and use them without sautéing. Use rock salt instead of refined salt.
Tip: Apply a little oil, any oil, if your fingers or any part of the body start burning because of green chillies, and it will subside and go away almost instantly.
