So many folks think of curry, or gravy when thinking of eating Indian food. But, the fact is that we rarely make a meal without a sabzi on the side. These are vegetables cooked with a variety of spices that are stir-fried and then left to cook through in their own steam. Okra, Cauliflower and Potatoes, and eggplant are examples of sabzi. You can make a sabzi out of just about any vegetable. My dadi once showed us how to make it from watermelon rind. These dishes are eaten on the side of our meals, stuffed into bread when leftover, and sometimes rolled into roti sandwiches as a quick lunch the next day. Below, I've tested a favorite sabzi made from white cabbage, called bandh gobi. It was tricky converting it to the pressure cooker, because these dishes should be a bit dry. But, with limited added water and realizing that your vegetables also release moisture in the cooking process, you'll have a delicious dish in no time. It only took me about twelve tries to get it right! Now, you've got my perfected recipe. Let me know what you think.
Desi Corner: Gobi is the word used to refer to several vegetables in the cauliflower family in Hindi. Cauliflower is often referred as just gobi, but when a differentiation has to be made as to what kind, it's usually called phool (flower) gobi. Cabbage, meanwhile, is called bandh (closed-referring the closed leaves) or patta (leafy) gobi. Then, there is also kohlrabi, or gatt or ganth (knot) gobi. Again, all generally gobi, but so different in terms of how they look and how you would cook them up. (Source: mom!)
My Instant Pot recipes are from my upcoming cookbook, The Indian Instant Pot. If you try them, please post a photo on social media with the hashtag #indianinstantpot and tag me @indianasapplepie (Facebook/Instagram) and @indianapplepie (Twitter). For every share and tag you'll be entered in my weekly drawing for a copy of my first book, The Indian Slow Cooker.
Punjabi-Style Cabbage
Pressure Cooker Size: 3 quart or larger
Warm Up: 9 minutes
Cook: 3 minutes
Cool Down: Manual release
TOTAL: 12 minutes plus manual release time
Makes: 4 cups
2 teaspoons oil or ghee
1 pinch hing (asafoetida) (optional)
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 (1-inch) piece ginger, minced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
½ - 3 Thai or serrano chiles, stems removed and minced
1 small potato (russet or yellow), peeled and roughly chopped
¼ cup frozen peas, slightly defrosted
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon red chile powder or cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons salt
5 cups white cabbage, finely shredded
¼ cup water
1. Place the inner cooking pot in your Instant Pot. Select the SAUTE setting and adjust to MORE. When the indicator flashes HOT, add oil. Once hot, add hing and cumin. Stir well and cook 40 seconds until the seeds are reddish brown. Because the oil pools to the sides, push the spices into the oil along the border of the inner pot so they can cook fully.
2. Add turmeric. Cook 30 seconds.
3. Add onion. Stir and cook 1 minute.
4. Add ginger, garlic, and fresh chiles. Stir and cook 1 minute.
5. Add potato. Stir and cook 2 minutes. Press CANCEL.
6. Add peas, garam masala, coriander, black pepper, red chile, salt, cabbage, and water in that order. Stir, gently scraping off anything stuck to the bottom of the pot.
7. Lock the lid into place. Make sure the pressure release valve is set to the sealing position (upwards). Press the PRESSURE COOK button until the panel indicates LOW pressure, set the cooking time to LESS, and adjust the time to pressure cook for 3 minutes.
8. Once the cooking is complete, manually release the pressure. Stir contents until the cabbage is coated with spices evenly. Eat with Indian bread like roti or naan or serve with rice.
Here is a video taking you through the process. It's a little longer than most, but it will show you how to switch your functions from Sautee to Pressure Cook. Enjoy! And, remember to subscribe to my YouTube Channel for more instructional videos.
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