Steamed cabbage recipe
By Swasthi on August 8, 2022, Comments, Jump to Recipe
Steamed cabbage recipe – Simple, healthy and quick recipe to make spiced steamed cabbage. This easy dish makes for a great side in any meal. Simply serve it on the side to perk up your vegetable intake and the nutrition of your meal. Steaming is one of the healthiest cooking methods to preserve nutrients in vegetables. During steam cooking since the vegetables won’t be in contact with water, the chances of the nutrients being retained is higher as they won’t leach to the water.

This steamed cabbage recipe is from my mom and this was the most common way we would eat cabbage at home. So this is made much in the Indian style but with only a few spices to add some flavour. To make it more spicy or hot, you may up the quantity of spices.
Serve this steamed cabbage with rice, roti or bread. This goes well even in the lunch box and can also be used to make roti rolls or sandwiches. To make this, apart from cabbage I have not used any other veggies, not even onions. But steamed potatoes, peas, carrot or sweet potatoes too go well in this.
How to make steamed cabbage
1. Wash and shred or chop cabbage as desired. Drain the water completely. Add it to a steam basket. Sprinkle some salt and turmeric. Lightly mix it. Spread evenly in the basket. Steam in a pressure cooker (without whistle) or in a steamer until tender. It takes around 5 to 7 minutes.

2. Heat a kadai or pan with oil. Crackle mustard and cumin. Then add red chilli and hing. My mom also adds a pinch of urad dal (skinned black lentils) for a nutty flavor.

3. Add curry leaves.

4. Keep the flame to very low. When the leaves turn crisp, saute ginger garlic until the raw smell goes off.

5. Add red chili powder and garam masala. Taste the steamed cabbage and check the salt. If needed add it to the oil now.

6. Add steamed cabbage.

7. Stir and saute on a medium heat for 2 mins. Switch off the stove. It can also be sauteed further to make it more tasty.

Serve steamed cabbage curry with rice or roti.

More Cabbage recipes
Cabbage kootu
Cabbage curry
Chinese Cabbage stir fry
Andhra style cabbage fry
Related Recipes
Recipe card

Steamed cabbage
For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card
Ingredients (US cup = 240ml )
- 250 grams cabbage or about 3 cups chopped
- 1 tbsp oil or as needed
- ½ tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
- ½ tsp mustard seeds
- 1 red chili broken or green chili
- 1 sprig curry leaves (optional)
- ¾ tsp ginger or garlic
- ¼ tsp salt or as needed
- ¼ tsp turmeric
- ¾ tsp red chilli powder or slit green chilli
- ¾ tsp garam masala or curry powder as needed.
Instructions
- Place chopped or shredded cabbage in a steamer basket. Sprinkle salt and turmeric. Toss it well.
- Steam in a steamer or pressure cooker (without whistle) until tender for 5 to 7 mins.
- Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard and cumin, when they splutter add red chilies and curry leaves.
- Lower the flame. Saute ginger garlic until the raw smell disappears.
- Add red chili powder and garam masala. Add more salt to oil if needed. Stir and add the steamed cabbage.
- Saute well for 2 mins. It can be cooked further as well if you like very soft cabbage.
- Serve steamed cabbage as a side with rice or chapati.
Alternative quantities provided in the recipe card are for 1x only, original recipe.
For best results follow my detailed step-by-step photo instructions and tips above the recipe card.
NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)
© Swasthi’s Recipes

About Swasthi
I’m Swasthi Shreekanth, the recipe developer, food photographer & food writer behind Swasthi’s Recipes. My aim is to help you cook great Indian food with my time-tested recipes. After 2 decades of experience in practical Indian cooking I started this blog to help people cook better & more often at home. Whether you are a novice or an experienced cook I am sure Swasthi’s Recipes will assist you to enhance your cooking skills. More about me
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Comments
Hi Swasthi,
I just wanted to compliment you and say thank you for this recipe.
It couldn´t be simpler, but it couldn´t be tastier either.
Even though I cook a lot of recipes from your website and have never been disappointed so far, I don´t usually comment. But since only one person has commented five years ago, I wanted to make an exception.
Very tasty! Cabbage, few spices, good rice, it can be that simple. Since we are harvesting a lot of cabbage atm, I make this quite often and like to try different masala with this, since there is nothing to mask the taste.
Greetings from Germany
Philipp
Hello Philip,
That’s really nice of you! Thank you so much! If you can find meat masala try with that. Tastes really good.
Thanks again
Dear Swasthi,
I think you forgot, by accident, to note down the amount of red chilis en curry leaves when adding the recipe to this site. I saw them on the pics. Made this with chili and curry leaves and it was good! Thank you.
Welcome Sari
Thanks for the mention. I will update it. Glad to know you liked it.