Cabbage Bake Recipe on Food52 (2024)

Cabbage

by: Lavanya Narayanan

July9,2021

4.7

19 Ratings

  • Prep time 15 minutes
  • Cook time 45 minutes
  • Serves 3 to 4

Jump to Recipe

Author Notes

When my parents first moved to Indianapolis, they—like the many people who also immigrated here from India—didn't have much of a community. As time passed, we built our own little Indian community, one that is as close-knit as ever today. On one occasion, we went to a family friend's house where a lady named Nandini (my mother's friend) made what she called a "Cabbage Bake." My mother had never seen nor heard of such a dish, and Nandini Aunty (as I call her) told her that it was something her housekeeper used to make for her family back in New Delhi.

My mother immediately asked her for the recipe, which she was kind enough to write on an index card (that we still have today). Ever since, Nandini Aunty rarely makes the dish, while my mother began to make it during Dussehra, a ten-day festival where we invite many women and children to our house to celebrate. We often put out a large spread of food and it always includes this dish. It's a dish from nowhere: Though it has South Indian flashes and contains many common North Indian spices, I've never come across anything quite like it.

While my mother will sometimes make it when we have extended family visiting or for a special occasion, the dish is still reserved for that ten-day festival and we make batches upon batches, as people flock to the dish like horses to water. It runs out almost instantly.

For more stories, memories, and extended histories behind your most-loved, treasured family recipes from the column, check out our new podcast My Family Recipe.Lavanya Narayanan

Test Kitchen Notes

Featured in: The 'Cabbage Bake' That Brought Together a Community of Immigrants. —The Editors

  • Test Kitchen-Approved

What You'll Need

Ingredients
  • 3 cupsfinely shredded cabbage
  • 1 1/2 cupsgram flour (kadalai maavu)
  • 1/2 cupbuttermilk, plus more as needed
  • 1/2 teaspoonground turmeric
  • 1 pinchasafetida
  • 1 medium green chile, finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoonred chile powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoonskosher salt
  • 1 teaspooncumin seeds
  • 1/2 teaspoonground cumin
  • 1 teaspoonground coriander
  • 1 (2-inch) piece ginger, grated
  • 1 small handful chopped fresh cilantro
  • 2/3 cupvegetable oil
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
  2. In a large bowl, mix together cabbage, gram flour, and oil and let sit 5 minutes. Add buttermilk and all of the spices (save for the fresh cilantro), and mix well. If mixture is too thick, add water as needed. Batter should have the pourable consistency of cornbread batter.
  3. Bake 45 minutes, or until cabbage and flour are cooked through. Let rest, cut into squares, and garnish with chopped fresh cilantro. No condiments required—though you can serve this with cilantro chutney if you'd like.

Tags:

  • Casserole/Gratin
  • Indian
  • Cabbage
  • Side

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • Sarah Danner

  • Kaiju

  • Kaite

  • Sarah Greenblatt

  • Rebtile

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26 Reviews

Sarah D. December 13, 2023

I had some cabbage that I needed to use up. I had all of the ingredients, but made vegan buttermilk in place of the real thing. This turned out really delicious. Kind of like a large baked pakora. I cooked mine for the 45 min and it looked crispy, but after eating some I probably could have cooked it a little longer. I really love Indian food, and I would definitely save this recipe to make again some time.

pmporter March 1, 2023

I didn't have cabbage for some reason but had to try this immediately. Used thinly sliced brocolli instead (in the same family, cruciferous). Divine.

Kaiju April 24, 2022

I think I'll try this with coconut cream as rich dairy upsets my stomach. Looks delicious!

Cheryl T. October 14, 2021

Question - has anyone made this with red cabbage?

Kate July 9, 2021

Yummy healthy goodness! Next time I’ll use cashew milk with lemon in place of buttermilk so I can share it with my vegan friends. Will be on regular rotation

Kaite June 8, 2021

This was absolutely delicious! I added sauteed onion as I had half left in the fridge that needed used up. I too had to add more liquid than called for as my flour quickly soaked up the half cup. Next time I would make it in a small dish so it would be a little thicker. I am curious about how the photo for the recipe was achieved. Looks like the cabbage was cut thicker and with much less liquid added. And also baked in a smaller dish. I can't imagine that was pourable. It looks really good though! Like it may have more crispy bits. This recipe is getting saved to my favorites.

Susan F. March 25, 2021

Can you recommend a substitute for buttermilk to make this a vegan dish?

VA April 9, 2021

On Nandini's original index card is written "water or buttermilk". Though I'm wondering how this would taste with coconut milk.

scyudits December 25, 2020

Does this dish freeze well? Looking forward to making it!

Tam May 26, 2020

Wow it's a lot easier than I thought. I chopped all by hand and it was quick. I added about another cup of water in the soup, my risotto was old, so maybe tougher and took a little longer to cook. So yummy. I could see a thick slice of cheezy toast topping on this soup. Thank you.

Tam May 26, 2020

sorry my mistake, this was a review or the Marcella Hazan Smoothered Cabbage soup.

Sarah G. May 16, 2020

Interesting dish - not sure what I was expecting, but somehow, it surprised me. It tastes exactly like what I would imagine an Indian version of Thanksgiving stuffing would be, if they celebrated that holiday in India. I was amazed by how the cabbage kind of disappeared into the breading-pudding like dish. I will make again.

kathryn J. March 12, 2020

We like this a lot. My eyebrows rose at the amount of ginger, but it isn't overpowering. I do question the amount of buttermilk in the recipe. 1.5 c garam flour and .5 c buttermilk? I always end up doubling the buttermilk and probably adding a bit more. I don't think the oil adds much in the way of liquid consistency as it just coats the cabbage and then is absorbed by the flour. Just my experience. Lovely dish. I will sometimes add grated carrots for fun.

Margaret W. November 11, 2019

The recipe I have in front of me had no oil in the the ingredient list. Having no guideline, I guesstimated 1/4 cup and found the result dry but tasty. I note another reviewer indicates that 2/3 cup is called for. I’ll try again with the larger amount

JenJack November 8, 2019

Was not expecting this to be as delicious as it is. I had a bunch of shredded cabbage left over from another recipe, and needed something to use it up. I used buttermilk powder, and added jalapeno powder as I had no fresh green chili. Scrumptious! Will make again soon.

Rebtile October 11, 2019

What an amazing and unique recipe! It's very forgiving as well -- I had two old cabbages about to turn on me, and I threw them in this, recklessly and very disproportionately tripling the recipe, relying only on the directive to make the batter the "pourable consistency of cornbread batter." I also swapped the asafetida for a leek+garlic clove (per the internet).
Turned out great! I look forward to making it again as written.

Dana W. October 9, 2019

Don't mean to argue but 2/3 cup of oil sounds like a lot. Does it absorb into the cabbage? Can I skip the asafoetida as I don't cook Indian food very often?

eileen October 8, 2019

what is gram flour?

Eric K. October 8, 2019

Hi Eileen, it's chickpea flour, aka "besan flour." You can find it in Indian grocery stores or online: https://www.amazon.com/Spicy-World-Besan-Chickpea-Flour/dp/B004LJSXN2?tag=food52-20

Hope that helps!

susan November 17, 2019

Maybe you could add "chickpea flour" in parentheses to the ingredient list--it would save people from having to look it up.

NancyT44 May 7, 2022

For someone who can’t have any grains, would you be able to substitute cassava flour for the chickpea flour?

jenny May 7, 2022

Hi Nancy,
Chickpea is actually a bean, not a grain, so besan flour is gluten free! It can be used in place of regular flour in a lot of recipes (like fritters, for example). Hope that helps!

NancyT44 May 7, 2022

I know chickpea is a bean. I’m unable at the moment to eat beans also so that is why the question.

Ctgal May 9, 2022

I can't eat beans either right now. I was planning to use almond meal instead. Either that or a gluten free flour.

gorzd October 7, 2019

No oil is listed with the ingredients. Type and amount?

Eric K. October 7, 2019

2/3 cup vegetable oil! Thanks for catching-

Cabbage Bake Recipe on Food52 (2024)

FAQs

How do you cook cabbage Jamie Oliver? ›

Whatever cabbage you are using, cut off the dry end of the stalk. If using Hispi, quarter the cabbage lengthways through its core. If using a regular white cabbage, cut it into manageable wedges, again through the core. Steam for about 10 minutes until it looks rather relaxed and easy to cut through.

How to cook cabbage Delia Smith? ›

The secret is to shred it quite finely and cook it briefly in rapidly boiling water. What I do is pack it down quite tightly into a saucepan, sprinkle with salt, then place the pan over a high heat, pour in boiling water from the kettle, which re-boils instantly, and time it for 3-5 minutes.

Why do you put baking soda in cabbage? ›

Baking soda does help green vegetables retain color, but it causes undesirable color changes in red cabbage—it turned blue. The science can be distilled to this: Adding baking soda to cooking water makes it slightly alkaline, which stabilizes the green color of chlorophyll.

Why do you put vinegar in cabbage when boiling it? ›

Green is the heartiest variety; it takes well to all cooking methods. Red can turn a funny blue color when cooked, so it's best used raw. If you do want to cook it, add a touch of acid like lemon juice or vinegar to lessen the effect. Savoy can be used in any recipe that calls for green cabbage.

Why do you soak cabbage before cooking? ›

Crisp it up: Shredded cabbage stays perky if it's soaked in cold water. This also helps cut the pungent edge. Drain well before combining with other ingredients.

Why do you soak cabbage in vinegar? ›

Douse the cabbage in vinegar water, if desired.

Vinegar kills some types of bacteria and helps killing mold and mildew that could have grown on the cabbage.

How do you take the bitterness out of cabbage? ›

Salt is your friend: Salt acts as a natural counter to bitter tastes. Adding a bit more salt or something salty like capers to bitter-tasting cabbage will dampen the bitter tastes and increase the sensation from the natural sugars.

How do you take the bitterness out of cooked cabbage? ›

Salt is your friend: Salt acts as a natural counter to bitter tastes. Adding a bit more salt or something salty like capers to bitter-tasting cabbage will dampen the bitter tastes and increase the sensation from the natural sugars.

How long does it take to boil cabbage to eat? ›

How long should I boil cabbage? Shredded cabbage will be done in around 5 minutes; for wedges, it'll be done around 10. You want to cook until tender, but err on the side of caution—overcooked cabbage will turn limp and give off a less-than-pleasant smell. Tip: Make sure to drain your cabbage to prevent overcooking!

How do you cook cabbage without making it soggy? ›

Giving sliced wedges of cabbage a quick roasting session in the oven will help them to caramelize and get nice and crispy. Instead of getting soggy and overcooked, the cabbage will have a nice crisp texture and a more complex flavor than raw cabbage. You can also infuse cabbage with tons of flavor by braising it.

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