Cook The Book: Coconut Cabbage With Chiles And Green Peas

• 1 cup shredded fresh coconut; or 1/2 cup shredded dried unsweetened coconut, reconstituted (see note)
• 4 fresh Thai, cayenne, or serrano chiles, stems removed
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 teaspoon black or yellow mustard seeds
• 1 tablespoon skinned split black lentils (cream-colored in this form, urad dal), picked over for stones
• 4 cups shredded cabbage 2 cups frozen green peas (no need to thaw)
• 2 teaspoons coarse kosher or sea salt
• 12 medium-size curry leaves

1. Pour 1 cup water into a blender jar, and add the coconut and chiles. Puree, scraping the inside of the jar as needed, to make a creamy-white, thin sauce with flecks of green.
2. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the mustard seeds, cover the pan, and cook until the seeds have stopped popping (not unlike popcorn), about 30 seconds. Add the lentils and stir-fry them until golden brown, 15 to 20 seconds.
3. Immediately add the cabbage, peas, salt, curry leaves, and the sauce. Stir once or twice, and bring the curry to a boil. Then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pan, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the cabbage is just tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Then serve.
4. To reconstitute coconut, cover with 1/2 cup boiling water, set aside for about 15 minutes, and then drain.

coconut, fresh thai, canola oil, black, black lentils, cabbage, coarse kosher, curry

Taken from www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2009/07/coconut-cabbage-with-chiles-and-green-peas-recipe.html (may not work)