Kerala-inspired Coconut-Cabbage Soup

From Kent Lambert
Serves “a decent Soup & Bread-sized crowd”

Says Kent:

My favorite and most frequently used recipe of 2016 was Cabbage Thoran by Denise D’Silva Sankhé’ for Serious Eats. I hadn’t been to Devon in at least a year when the recipe caught my attention, and it has prompted me to return there frequently to stock up on curry leaves. But I have vivid memories of the February 15, 2003 antiwar rally on Devon Avenue. Residents and shop-keepers shouted and waved their support, if they weren’t  in the street with us. There were more wonderful smells in the air than at any other protest I’ve attended. When Martha mentioned the Sanctuary Soup theme, I thought of that 2003 day on Devon, of the sanctuary I felt in that vibrant crowd of fellow dissenters, in one of Chicago’s most richly multicultural locales. The thoran dish is pretty much perfect as is, so I made very few tweaks, I more or less just turned it from dry to wet via coconut milk, and added a crunchy garnish.

Ingredients

1/2 cup coconut oil
3 tablespoon brown mustard seeds
3/4-1 cup roughly chopped curry leaves
12-16 small green chilis (thai, cayenne or similar), slit lengthwise
8-12 shallots (or 2-3 medium red onions), thinly sliced
1 heaping tablespoon ground turmeric
1 heaping tablespoon ground cumin
3 heads green cabbage, finely sliced
1 teaspoon salt
6 heaping cups unsweetened coconut chips
4 cans (~6 cups) full-on or light coconut milk
More salt to taste

Topping:

1 tablespoon coconut oil
1/4 cup urad dal (split black lentils)
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1-3 green chilis (serrano, thai, etc.), minced
salt to taste

Preparation

Make the soup first. Heat the coconut oil in a large stock pot at medium-high until shimmering. Add the mustard seeds and reduce heat to medium. When mustard seeds start popping and sputtering (should be after 30 seconds or so), add curry leaves and stir continuously until fragrant, 30-60 seconds. Be careful in this stage to not burn the aromatics or the oil.

Add the chilis and stir for another 30 seconds or so. Then add the onions and stir continuously until they are softened and very slightly browned, 3-4 minutes. Add the turmeric and cumin and stir heartily, making sure the spices don’t burn.

When everything is yellow and aromatic, add the cabbage in heaps, coating each heap with the ingredients already in the pot. Add a 1/4 teaspoon or so of salt with each heap. When all the cabbage has been added and is coated with the other ingredients, cover the pot and cook on medium-low for 8-10 minutes, until the cabbage is wilted.

Add the coconut chips and stir until evenly mixed, then add the coconut milk. Stir occasionally until the milk comes to a light simmer. Salt to taste. Turn heat to warm or off and make the topping..

Heat the oil in a skillet at high heat (but don’t let the oil burn). Add the lentils and let them sputter and fry. Turn the heat down if the oil starts to smoke.

When the lentils have browned and are crispy/crunchy-fried (as opposed to chewy–the only way to know is to eat a couple) add the minced chilis and stir until they release their aromas, then add the shredded coconut and some salt.

Stir everything constantly until the coconut is golden brown and the mix is salty and crunchy and delicious.
Kent Lambert (b. 1976, Colorado Springs, Colorado) is a Chicago-based musician and media artist. His creative output primarily consists of 1) vocal driven art-pop music and 2) pop-inflected video art made from repurposed industrial and commercial media. His ever-mutating band Roommate has been performing stateside and abroad for over a decade. Their fourth album MAKE LIKE was released in 2015.