A bowl of zunka, a hot bhakri and a cup of chai—as any Puneri, and you’ll know this pairing is the best thing your taste buds will taste, especially when it comes to vegetarian options. I first came across this amazing combination at that paragon of Indian food, the roadside dhaba on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway. While bhakri is a kind of flatbread made with millet flours, zunka is a spicy, dry mixture of vegetables like cabbage, gram flour or besan, and a medley of spices.
The whole combination of a gluten-free bread and a vegan sabji sounds like it should find its place on the global culinary scene, right? Yes, it certainly should, but for now, your dinner table will suffice.
A zunka, also known as jhunka, is packed with dietary fibre, plant protein, vitamins and minerals. But that’s not all. After that first experience of eating zunka, I looked up the recipe and discovered that it’s one of the easiest recipes out there. All you need to do is fine chop all the veggies—and trust me, nothing is easier to chop up than cabbage—heat oil, temper it, and cook up the dish by simply stir-frying everything.
The trick with the cabbage zunka is this: The finer the chop, the crispier the final dish will turn out to be. This is because bigger cuts of veggies retain more water and tend to turn moist. With that in mind, here’s the easy-peasy zunka recipe for you to try.
Ingredients:
2 cups cabbage, finely chopped
½ cup onion, finely chopped
½ cup gram flour or besan
1 tsp garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
¼ tsp asafoetida
¼ tsp turmeric powder
½ tsp chilli powder
½ tsp coriander powder
½ tsp garam masala
Salt, to taste
3 tbsp oil
Coriander leaves, to garnish
Method:
1. Heat the oil in a wok, then add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds and asafoetida.
2. Once the tempering stops spluttering, add the onions and saute until they become transcluscent.
3. Add the cabbage, the turmeric powder and salt to taste. Saute the mix, cover, then cook for 3-4 minutes.
4. Check to see if the cabbage is almost cooked. If not, add a dash of water, cover and cook until the cabbage is tender.
5. Once the cabbage is almost cooked, add the red chilli powder, coriander powder, garam masala and mix well.
6. Continue cooking until the water completely evaporates, then add the gram flour and mix quickly.
7. Saute the mix for 2-3 minutes, until the mix is cooked and giving off a roasted aroma.
8. Switch off the flame, garnish with coriander leaves, and serve hot.