He : Honey..I am so hungry! Whats special for dinner tonight?
She: mm..Usual Rasam but I made Cabbage Upkari..(looking at him with happy bright eyes!)
He : Oh cool! Sounds new! Lemme take a taste.....
(comes into kitchen, scoops a spoonful of the upkari ...chews..chews some more and now there is a small frown in his forehead!)
He : Ok Ok..I am tired but not that tired to not even notice that you are trying to cheat me with the same old cabbage that you make by giving it a different name! Its the boring cabbage after all!
She (grinning) : yeah - This same old boring cabbage (for you that is!) that I made is actually called Upkari and its not boring! I love it..
....And thus goes the conversation/ Has it ever happened to you that what you thought was "your creation" actually exists with a name to top it off? It has happened quite so often. I have posted the other famous egg-in-a-hole which was supposedly my creation until I saw the same being made on TV!!!! I have been cooking cabbage this way ever since..mm..I started cooking and only last year, thanks to bloggers I got to know that it is actually called Upkari - a Konkani dish meaning "side dish" in that language. It is called so when any vegetables are cooked with coconut and in water. So much for my originality! (smirking!) Anyways here is my version(!Duh!)
Method
In 1/2 tsp of oil, saute the lentils , chillies until lightly golden, add the mustard seeds
and once they start popping add the onions
Add the cabbage along with little salt, asafoetida and turmeric.
Saute for 2 minutes, sprinkle slightly with water (I dont like my cabbage too mushy!), close the lid and cook until the cabbage is slightly soft.
Add the coconut and curry leaves.
Cook for another 2 minutes in open flame and serve warm.
Am sending this over to Recipes for Rest of Us event hosted by my gal pal Siri
