Vegan
Gluten freeKabichi
Fried cabbage and carrot
Kabichi: Kenyan cabbage fried with carrot, tomato and green pepper
Hardly a weekday supper in a Nairobi flat goes by without a pan of kabichi next to the ugali: it costs little, uses one cabbage from the corner duka and is on the table in twenty minutes. Thin ribbons of cabbage meet onion, grated carrot, tomato and green pepper in a hot pan, staying sweet with a little bite and soaking up just enough tomato to turn rosy. Pair it with ugali and ndengu or beans, or roll it into a chapati. Most cooks go wrong by covering the pan and letting the cabbage steam to a grey, sulphurous heap; keep the lid off and the heat up. Chef's tip: salt the cabbage only at the very end, because salt pulls out water and stops it frying.
- Prep
- 8 min
- Cook
- 12 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Serves
- 4
- Per serving
- 90 kcal
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 onionthinly sliced
- 2 tomatoeschopped
- 1 carrotcoarsely grated
- 1 green pepper (hoho)cut into thin strips
- 1 ⅛ lb white cabbagecored and shredded finely
- ¾ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil in a wide frying pan or karai over a medium-high heat. Fry 1 onion until it softens and just starts to colour.
3 minStep 2: Add 2 tomatoes and cook, stirring, until they soften into a rough sauce.
3 minStep 3: Add 1 carrot and 1 green pepper (hoho) and stir-fry for 1 minute.
1 minStep 4: Add 1 ⅛ lb white cabbage and toss with tongs over a high heat, uncovered, until it wilts by about half but the thickest pieces still have a little crunch.
5 minStep 5: Season with ¾ tsp salt and ¼ tsp ground black pepper, toss for 30 seconds and serve straight away.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 90 kcal
- Protein
- 2 g
- Carbs
- 11 g
- Fat
- 5 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does kabichi take?
- About 20 minutes in total: 8 minutes to prepare and 12 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of tomatoes?
- Tinned chopped tomatoes: a 400g tin for about 6 tomatoes (in cooked dishes, not salads).
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