Braising is awesome! I just learned how to do it last year. Very easy and minimal hands on time. Ayurvedic spices warm the body and takes the air out of cabbage. This spice combination is perfect for the transition from vata season (fall and winter) to kapha season (spring), as both vata and kapha are happy with heating spices: those that have a warming effect on the body but aren’t actually spicy. I paired this with similarly spiced chickpeas for a beautifully beige dinner.
As with all simple food, high quality ingredients amplify the results. This recipe made good use of a smallish cabbage from my local farm pick up. I’ll link my favorite ghee, spices, and salt in the ingredient list.
Ingredients:
1 Tbsp ghee
1/8 tsp hing
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp soma salt
a few grinds of fresh black pepper
1/2 head of cabbage, diced
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup water
Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Set a dutch oven on the stovetop and melt ghee. Add all the spices and toast for about 10 seconds. This is like making a dry curry.
Add cabbage and saute for about 5 minutes so it gets a little color. Add bay leaf and water, cover with a lid and pop in the oven for 30 minutes.
Taste and add a sprinkle of salt if needed.