Cabbage Rice is a tasty Indian meal loaded with vitamin-packed cabbage. It is gluten-free and vegan with the perfect spicy kicky from fresh ginger and green chilies.
This is one of my mom’s newest recipes that I got to taste and learn when she visited me this summer. When she first made it on the stove-top, I was not sure if it would be a good recipe for Instant Pot. As this recipe does not use a lot of water. The soaked rice is basically slow-cooked with little water and then all the juices from shredded cabbage. It did take us a couple of tries to achieve this perfect Instant Pot recipe!
Prep
We started with a whole head of cabbage bought fresh from the farmer’s market. After chopping it into smaller pieces, we grated them in the food processor. We had about eight heaping cups of cabbage that we used in this recipe!
This recipe uses long grain Basmati rice and is cooked mostly in the water released from the cabbage. The rice button, which is a 12-minute low-pressure setting works perfectly for this recipe. And if there is some rice browned at the bottom, just scrape it and enjoy it.
Here is a good article I recently came across that explains asafetida or hing used as an optional ingredient in this recipe!
Pro Tips
- Use long-grain white Basmati Rice. I love Kohinoor Extra long grain Basmati Rice
- Soak Rice for 2 hours. Soaking removes extra starch and also makes the rice fluffy and light
- Use fresh ginger and curry leaves for the best taste
- Allergic to peanuts? You can add cashews or even substitute with chana dal
Step by Step Recipe
- Rinse the rice 2-3 times and then soak the rice in 4 cups of warm water for 2 hours. Drain the rice and keep it aside.
- Turn Instant Pot to Saute(more) mode and heat oil. Add asafetida, mustard seeds in the oil and allow the mustard seeds to pop. It may take 3 to 4 minutes for the mustard seeds to pop. Add peanuts and sauté for a minute. Add turmeric, curry leaves, ginger, and green chili. Mix everything together and cook until peanuts are golden brown.
- Add grated cabbage and salt. Mix again. Add drained rice and gently mix everything together. Add 2 cups of water.
- Close the Instant Pot lid with the pressure valve to sealing. Press the ‘Rice’ button. Allow Natural Pressure Release. Open Instant Pot and add lemon juice. Garnish with cilantro and coconut.
Serving
The flavor-packed cabbage rice tastes amazing as is. You can also pair it with some Indian pickle and yogurt or serve it with a cooling raita.
Store any leftovers in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. To reheat simply microwave in a serving bowl for 1 to 2 minutes. This cabbage rice can also be frozen and comes in handy as a quick meal for busy weeknights.
I always keep cabbage stocked in my refrigerator. It is inexpensive, has a long shelf life and so easy to make quick meals.