Easy to prepare spiced Punjabi recipe of cabbage and green peas.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 15 minutes
  • Cook time: 45 minutes
  • Total time: 60 minutes
  • Yield: 3 · 3 to 4
  • Category: Side Dish
  • Cuisine: North Indian, Punjabi

Ingredients

  • 200 grams cabbage ((band gobhi or patta gobhi) or 4 cups of shredded cabbage)
  • ¾ to 1 cup of fresh peas ((matar))
  • 1 medium onion (or ½ cup of finely chopped onion)
  • 1 medium to large tomato (or ½ cup of finely chopped tomatoes)
  • ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
  • ½ teaspoon kashmiri chilli powder
  • ½ teaspoon coriander powder
  • ½ teaspoon garam masala
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • ¾ to 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste (or ½ inch ginger and 2 to 3 cloves of garlic - crushed to a paste in a mortar-pestle)
  • 1.5 to 2 tablespoon oil
  • salt as required
  • few coriander leaves for garnishing

Method

  1. Rinse the cabbage first. Then shred the cabbage with a knife or in a food processor. You can also chop the cabbage.
  2. Rinse the peas and keep aside. Finely chop the onions and tomatoes.

making cabbage matar

  1. Heat oil in a frying pan or kadai without handles (wok). Splutter cumin first.
  2. Then add ginger-garlic paste. Stir and saute till their raw aroma goes away.
  3. Add chopped onions and saute on low to medium heat till they become translucent.
  4. Add tomatoes. Stir and then add turmeric powder, red chilli powder and coriander powder.
  5. Stir and saute on low to medium heat till you see oil releasing from sides of the mixture.
  6. Add the shredded or chopped cabbage/patta gobhi. Add green peas/matar.
  7. Stir very well and season with salt.
  8. Stir again and cover the pan with a rimmed lid filled with water. Cook on low to medium heat. When using this method of cooking, you don't need to add water to the veggies. Steam is formed in the pan and the veggies cook in the steam.
  9. A couple of times, remove the lid carefully and stir.
  10. Cover and continue to cook on low to medium heat, till the peas are softened. If the water dries up in the rimmed lid, then add some more water.
  11. Once the peas are cooked, if there is any moisture in the pan, then simmer the veggies on a low flame till all the moisture is a bit dried up. I usually keep some moisture in the veggies. Lastly add garam masala powder and chopped coriander leaves. Mix well.
  12. Serve cabbage matar with chapatis or phulkas. It also tastes good with bread.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.