A simple homey side dish of cabbage, peas and potatoes cooked in a very Bengali way.
Bandhakopi=Cabbage an the term Torkaari is a general term used in West Bengal for any side dishes, mostly the ones with vegetables in them. (Torkaari originated from Persian, “the word first meant uncooked garden vegetables. From this it was a natural extension to mean cooked vegetables or even fish and vegetables cooked together” – wiki)
Even the simple recipe like this one, which is part of the of the daily meals, belongs to a rather complex web of Bengali cuisine (do read this link if you want to further explore the delicious nature of the food from this region of India).
We Bengalis are very particular about the way and the order in which the food should be served and eaten. Each dish is eaten separately with a little rice so that the individual flavors, taste and texture may be enjoyed. I have written about the elaborate nature of the typical every day meal of a Bengali home. There are many different different ways to cook many different kind of torkaaris in West Bengal using the exact same combination of vegetables. The spices and the method of cooking differ and at different times different dishes are designed; they could a dalna, chorchori, ghonto or something entirely new of your own.
This is one of the (probably the only one) cabbage recipes I really would love to eat. Shredding the cabbage really fine (I would always think of a basket of flowers when I saw ma cut the cabbage so fine and so quick) and pre cooking it probably give this dish the unique taste -for when finally cooked, I did not find many big crunchy cabbage pieces. Everything blended together really well.
Cabbage with Peas and Potatoes/Bandhakopir Torkaari
Ingredients:
- 1/2 medium sized cabbage
- 3 medium potatoes, diced to about 10-12 pieces – about 2.5 cups
- 1 cup peas
- 1 big red tomato, grated – about 1 cup full
- 1.5 tablespoons ginger paste
- 2 hot green peppers, slit
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 red dry chili, broken
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 2 small green cardamom
- 2 cloves
- 2 teaspoons turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon red chili powder (optional)
- salt
- 3 tablespoons oil
- 2 teaspoons garam masala
- 2 teaspoons ghee (optional)
Preparation:Cut the cabbage very very finely; it should be about as long as a matchstick and if possible as thin. I know it sounds impossible but try to get as close. Wash the shredded cabbage.
Add salt, 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder and 1 cup of water. combine everything, cover tightly and cook at medium to low heat till the cabbage is almost cooked and tender, for about 6 minutes. Uncover and cook for 4-5 more minutes at high heat till most of the water evaporates. It is alright if there are still a couple of tablespoons of water left. Set aside.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a thick bottomed pan or wok or kadhai. Sprinkle some salt and turmeric powder on the diced potatoes and fry the diced potatoes for about 3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Add the rest of the oil in the pan. When smoking hot, add the cardamom (break them to expose seeds) and the clove. when they sizzle in a few seconds add the cumin seeds, red dry chili, and the bay leaf.
When you see the seeds sizzle, add the ginger paste, grated tomato, green chilis, the rest of the turmeric, chili powder (if you are using) and salt. Cook for about 6-8 minutes switching between medium to high heat, till the water from the tomato is all gone and the oil separates on the sides.
Add the potatoes to the pan, toss and cook for a minute. Add the peas and the cabbage and sugar and toss everything together. Cook while tossing frequently for at least 10 -12 minutes. At this time you will feel that the curry is sticking at the base of the pan. You are almost done at this time. The potatoes should be cook through; if not, sprinkle some water and lower the heat.
Keep cooking till all of the water is dried out, the potatoes are cooked and entire mass would have reduced considerably. The cabbage strands might not appear as whole, they will be quite mushed. You are done! Sprinkle the garam masala and the ghee if you are using it and toss well to combine.
Serve warm with roti or steamed rice (if you are having an Indian meal, Indian way), or serve as a side.
Related Posts:
Labra: A Festive Combiantion of Vegetable and Spices
Sauteed Cabbage with Sweet Onions and Almonds
Stir Fried “Pui” with Poppy Seeds
Eita dekhte exactly amar Ma jemon kore sei rokom lagche
Soma, this is a gourmet version of cabbage Maharashtrians make. We just cook the potatoes, cabbage and peas with some dhana-jeera powder and red chili. Occasionally, garam masala is added. But this sounds so much more elegant.
A lovely combination! That dish looks so appetizing!
Cheers,
Rosa
love this combination very much ….ur ‘s looks very delicious n tempting …beautiful click
Satya
http://www.superyummyrecipes.com
Love the combo of cabbage and potatoes.Excellent dish Soma
Hi Soma, been a while; hope you are doing well. Cabbage potato and peas is a classic combination and is a comforting dish for us. Love the color combination of bowl and the sabji.
Love the spices that has been used to make this elegant dish. And I agree with others, this is one dish that has umpteen variations and I absolutely lov this one.
Soma, this looks so delicious. The cabbage I make is much simpler without garam masala, powdered and whole. I have a visitor this week so I’m going to make this for dinner one of these nights. Of course, I will cheat and use angel hair coleslaw or finely shredded cabbage in a packet. 😀
You always make the most delicious recipes Soma. They always make my mouth water 🙂
Lovely side dish Soma. Starting from name on I like everything about it. A great way to use the niggling cabbage.
Looks so gud Soma….I love this combo too
Perfect for rotis looks tasty
Ahhhh…bhadha kopir takari manei mayer hater ranna….ki tempting lagchhe je ki bolbo…
Great combo of cabbage and potato, looks appetizing!!!
http://vegetarianmedley.blogspot.com/
Beautiful and tempting stir fry, lovely dish..
I Simply love this combo. Must have tasted great as well.
Deepa
Hamaree Rasoi
This looks absolutely delicious! I love cabbage curries 🙂 Will definitely try this one!
i just know one way to prepare cabbage sabji this one looks gorgeous,.
Soma,
Bhadhakopir tarkari is one of my favorites, I just can’t resist the temptation of having it. This one looks awesome 🙂
I love this Bandhakopir with porotha. 🙂
Soma how wonderful looks this cabbage, with peas and potatoes. You said homey yes – ideal for my winter 🙂
Cheers,
Gera
What a great vegetarian dish! I only cook a few recipes with cabbage, but I might try this one sometime. It’s a different way of using cabbage. Thanks for sharing Soma.
Bandhakopir torkari ta khub sundor kore baniyechho. Darun lagchhe dekhte r ekhoni khete ichhe korchhe.
A lovely way to cook cabbage!
This dish is a much loved staple in my home. Its great with rice or chappathis. 🙂
Hi Soma,
Tried this recipe yest. Made a shortcut version of it thought Loved it !
http://thespiceracks.blogspot.com/2010/08/cabbage-with-peas.html
Thanks for posting it !
-Suparna
What would you recommend as the best way to incorporate some sort of lentil or bean into this dish?
Hmmm… with some creativity anything can be done 🙂 It already has the peas.
One thing I am thinking is adding of Indian Chana dal/Bengal gram dal, something similar to yellow split peas. You can half cook or precook them till they are cooked but firm and add them to the dish towards the end of the cooking process so they cooked, looks and feels whole and not mushed up.
Or add cooked chickpeas or cooked and drained black beans… like I have done here
http://www.ecurry.com/blog/curries/dry/butternut-squash-with-black-beans-and-walnuts/
Hope these ideas help you some
Cheers
Soma
Hi… I tried this recipe and it came out very well. I am not a bengali but i love bengali dishes, just became nostalgic about my childhood days( the fragrance of mustard oil and spices coming from my neighbour’s house). Thanks for the wonderful recipes. Will try others one by one. 🙂
Thank you 🙂
Thanks for this awesome recipe. I am not a Bengali but am married to one and happened upon this recipe while searching for Bong vegetarian dishes. Tried it and it turned out great. I just substituted the cloves for cinnamon – not a big fan of cloves. All in all, an easy to make, tasty recipe. Thanks again.
Thank you 🙂
I loved this receipe. it turned out well. now whenever i cook cabbage, i cook it this way. loved by everyone
Thank you!
Awesome dish.we enjoyed a lot. Thanks for the recipe
Thanks much!
Super!!super!!!Super Dish.. Love Bengali food