The 'Everything Red' Stir-Fry
It's unbelievable how well these flavours work together with the beetroot lending a subtle sweetness to the cabbage.
Ingredients
- 100 g dried aduki beans about ½ a cup
- 2 tsp ghee or oil
- 1 tsp black mustard seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp urad dal
- 1 dried red chilli, broken into bits
- 1 fresh red chilli, sliced
- 8 curry leaves, sliced
- 100 g red onions about 1 medium to large, sliced thinly then the slices halved
- 200 g raw beetroot peeled and cut into thick matchsticks
- 200 g red cabbage, shredded
- 1/2 cup shredded coconut, divided
- salt to taste
- lemon juice & finely chopped coriander leaves if required
Instructions
- If you don't have the beans soaked overnight, then soak them in hot water for as long as possible, at least an hour. Drain, then transfer to a saucepan. Cover with fresh water to come up to about an inch over the beans, add a tsp of salt, then bring to the boil. Lower heat, simmer until the beans are tender but not mushy. This could take anything between 20 - 40 minutes depending on the size and age of the beans. Drain and set aside.
- Combine the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, urad dal, dried red chilli & fresh red chilli in a small bowl. Keep all your ingredients ready near the hob.
- In a frying pan (for which you have a lid) over a medium heat, heat the ghee, then add the mustard seed mixture, when it starts spluttering, add the curry leaves. Fry for a few seconds, then add the onion and fry for about 5 minutes until it softens.
- Now add the beetroot, aduki beans, salt to taste & 1/4 cup water. Stir, cover with the lid and cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the beetroot is almost done, about 6 - 8 minutes. Some of the water would have evaporated by now.
- Uncover, add the red cabbage, stir. Season if necessary. Cover and cook for another 5 minutes until all of the water evaporates and the red cabbage is beautifully tender.
- Stir in ¼ cup of the coconut. Taste and adjust seasoning. If you so prefer, you can add some lemon juice at this stage. This will also brighten the colour of the stir-fry.
- Garnish with the rest of the coconut & coriander leaves, if using.
Notes
Adapted from one of my favourite first generation blogs, Indira's Mahanandi