This Ethiopian, one pot, cabbage stew (i.e. Atakilt Wat or Atkilt Wot) is vegan, gluten-free, and comes together in just 30 minutes. Flavored with turmeric, it's a great way to use pantry veggies!
1cupwateror vegetable broth - see note for color differences
½cabbagemedium head (chopped finely)
1teaspoonsalt
1teaspoonblack pepperfreshly ground
Instructions
In a cast iron skillet or Dutch oven, heat olive oil on medium flame
After about 30 seconds, add garlic paste (or minced garlic), ginger paste, 1 teaspoon of turmeric, and cumin powder - be careful to add before the oil gets too hot, otherwise it will splatter!
Saute for 30 seconds to infuse the oil - when done, it should look dark throughout
Now, add the chopped onion and saute for about 1 minute until the onion gets brown
Then, add carrots, potatoes, water and turmeric and mix well to infuse with spices
Cover and cook for 10 minutes on medium flame. Then, open and check if the carrots and potatoes are cooked by piercing them with a fork. If not, cook for a few more minutes until they're soft.
Then, stir in the cabbage, add salt and pepper (to taste) and cook covered again until the cabbage is properly cooked, but not too long that it becomes mushy (I've found this takes roughly 5 minutes)
Serve hot with rice or flatbread!
Video
Notes
Cabbage tastes delicious even when it's cooked minimally - cooking for 5 minutes softens the cabbage but still leaves a bit of the crunch
Using vegetable stock or broth instead of water will result in a deeper color than a bright yellow (than if you just use water and turmeric) - both are totally okay
If going the more traditional route, instead of olive oil, use a clarified butter like ghee, and add spices to it. Then, use 2-3 tablespoon of infused clarified fat instead. This is a vegan recipe, so I've used olive oil - using a clarified fat like ghee will make the recipe vegetarian but not vegan.