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Bengali Cabbage Recipe with Potatoes and Peas (Bandha Kopir Torkari)

Bandha Kopir Torkari is a simple Bengali cabbage dish cooked with potatoes and peas, lightly spiced with cumin, coriander and garam masala. A comforting vegetarian side dish that goes beautifully with rice and dal, or with roti or paratha.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings: 4
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Bengali , Indian, vegetarian
Ingredients Equipment Method

Ingredients
  

For tadka /phoron/ seasoning the oil
  • 1 piece Bay leaf ( Tejpatta)
  • 2 pieces Dry Red chilies
  • ¼ tsp. Hing ( Asafoetida) powder
  • ¼ tsp. Cumin seeds ( Jeera)
Ingredients
  • 2 ½ cups Cabbage ( bandha kopi) chopped
  • ¾ cup Potatoes (Aloo) peeled and diced
  • ½ cup Peas (Matar)
  • ½ tsp Cumin ( Jeera ) powder. 1/2 tsp
  • 1 tsp Coriander ( Dhania) powder.
  • ¼ tsp Turmeric ( Holud ) powder.
  • 1 tsp Salt. (Namak)
  • ¼ tsp. Chili ( Lonka) powder.
  • ½ tsp Sugar ( Chini) 1/2 tsp
  • ¼ tsp. Garam masala
  • 1 Tablespoon Tomato puree ( from fresh tomatoes) Or 1 tsp. puree from a can
  • 1 tsp. Ghee
  • 3 Tablespoons Oil , it can be Mustard or any vegetable oil 3 Tablespoons
  • ½ cup water may need more

Equipment

  • 1 knife
  • 1 cutting board
  • 1 saucepan
  • 1 wok or a pan

Method
 

Preparation
  1. Cut the cabbage into thin slices, like julienne ( chopped finely). In a sauce pan put the cabbage with 1/2 tsp.of salt and 1/2 cup of water. Cover the pan and let it boil for 5 to 7 minutes. Then drain off the water. Keep the cabbage aside, save the water too.
  2. Peel the potatoes and dice it. In the US it is best to use the Yukon gold variety or the red potatoes.
  3. Make the Garam masala by grinding together ,1 inch piece of cinnamon, 4 or 6 cloves, and 5 or 7 green cardamoms..
Making the cabbage torkari
  1. Heat a saucepan or a kadai (wok) , and add the oil
  2. Saute the diced potatoes when the oil is hot, take it out and keep aside.
  3. in the remaining oil, add the Seasoning / (Tarka / Phoron) spices, hing, Jeera and Chilies and Bay leaf
  4. Once the Jeera and the Chilies are slightly brown and smell good, add the cabbage to the pan. Then, add the potatoes and stir.
  5. Add rest of the spices except the Garam masala. Add the tomato puree,Jeera (Cumin) powder, dhania ( Coriander) powder, Holud (Turmeric) powder, chili ( lonka /mirchi) powder, salt, and sugar and stir well.
  6. Add 1/4 cup of saved Water and cover the pan. Let it simmer on low heat till the potatoes are cooked.
  7. Remove the lid and add the frozen peas, stir till all the water dries out.
  8. Increase the flame a little. Add the Garam Masala and Ghee. Keep stirring until the cabbage starts to stick at the bottom. Scrape out the brownish bits and stir into the cabbage.
  9. Take it off the stove and transfer to a serving bowl.
  10. Cabbage cooked with peas and potatoes (Bandha kopir torkari) can be served as a side dish with Rice and Dal. It can also be served with Roti or Paratha.