Cabbage and Moong Dal Stir Fry

I had this dish at my sis in law's place in the UK it was made by Amma (my mum in law). She is a fantastic vegetarian Indian cook and my hubby adores her food, as I am sure most folks do. Her recipes are very healthy and really make vegetables shine. One of the things I have in common with her is our love of shopping at farmers markets. This recipe is high in protein from the little yellow lentil, fiber, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Vitamin B6, Folate and Manganese from the cabbage. I confess I don't use cabbage all that must but when I do this will be my go to recipe.

Ingredients:

• One cup of moong dal
• a few mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1-3 green chillis depending on your taste 
• a few curry leaves if available 
• 2 cloves of chopped garlic 
• a little minced ginger, or finely chopped
• one small onion finely chopped
• salt to taste
• a little coconut if desired
• one small cabbage chopped

In this picture you can see my Mum and Father in law preparing Pongal this January a South Indian harvest festival, click for a post.

Method:

1. fry the moong dal for only a minute, then wash it and boil it in hot water for 8-10 minutes( moong dal gets cooked very quickly, make sure it doesnt become soggy). 
2. Add 2tsp oil in a pan, fry some mustard seeds until it pops, add 1/2tsp cumin seeds, 3 chopped green chillies, curry leaves, 2 cloves of garlic - finely chopped , 1 inch of ginger finely chopped, finely chopped onion...fry all this for a minute or so and then add finely chopped cabbage
3. saute it for about 10 minutes in medium flame, I cover with a lid to steam it, add salt to taste and finally add the boiled moong dal- mix it well and it is ready( you can add dessicated coconut on top and fry for less than a minute for added flavour). 
4. Eat this with rice and dal or with flat bread.

A beautiful sunrise from my inlaw's rooftop in Chennai.

Have you learnt any great recipes from your mum in law?