Finally, no studying or exams for me for one whole month. You know how precious it is. Its summer holidays for me and so i have ample time on my hands these days while working in the computer lab- Time to browse through mouthwatering recipes that make me hungrier by the minute. And this time i have decided to serve a South Indian side dish- the Cabbage pachadi- inspired from Nupur's recipe.

The word pachadi has different connotations in Southern India. For example, in Andhra Pradesh, pachchadi- yes, with an emphasis on "ch" means chutneys or pickles (a spicier version) which can be preserved for several months. They are generally fried and made using tamarind sauce.In Kerala and Tamilnadu, pachadi stands for raita wherein the veggies are not fried and the base is yoghurt. So cabbage pachadi is nothing else but a salad with a base of yoghurt or tamarind sauce, and tempered with dals and spices. Nupur's pachadi is a Tamil version of the recipe. The only variation that i made to Nupur's recipe was to exclude the milk and the mint (i didnt have any in my pantry).

Makes 4 cups

2 cups finely chopped cabbage (the cabbage is actually supposed to be shredded, but i made a short job of it)

1 cup yoghurt

salt to taste

sugar to taste (optional)

2-3 tsp oil

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp whole black urad dal

1/2 tsp chana dal

5-6 curry leaves

2 chopped green chilies

1 dried red chili

1. Mix the yoghurt, chopped cabbage, salt and sugar.

2. For tempering, heat oil and add the mustard and cumin seeds. When they start crackling, add the chana dal and urad dal, green and red chilies and curry leaves and pour this mixture onto the cabbage-yoghurt mix. Mix well, garnish with cilantro and serve with rotis.

I served it with gujarati dal, cabbage sabzi and hot rotis.

How it turned out?- The crunchiness of the salad is the best part about it. You can savor the flavors of the cumin, chana and urad dal, curry leaves and chillies individually and collectively as a part of the pachadi.

A closer look at the gujarati dal that i made.

Subsitutes: You can make variations by substituting the cabbage for tomato, cucumber, mango, pineapple, carrot or squash.

I always love reading Nupur's blogs. She beautifully and linguistically showcases recipes in such a manner that compel you to keep reading on and on and on....Another thing about Nupur's blog is that many of her recipes are an everyday, simple fare- easy and quick to make yet very delicious. Here's a list of the recipes that i want to try out from Nupur's recipe index. I wish i could have added many others, but being a pseudo-eggetarian (yes i like my eggs only in cakes), i will have to pass over till i find a substitute.