Benagali Style Cabbage Stiry Fry

I came across a recipe for Bengali style cabbage and peas stir fry that came with a skillet I purchased. The booklet containing the operating instructions of the skillet had a few recipes, and one of those was this. It looked very interesting, so I decided to adapt it a little to suit my preferences and the stock in my pantry.

So here's my slightly adapted version! Thanks to the author of that slim booklet for including this recipe.

Ingredients:

1. 1/2 head of a medium sized cabbage, finely chopped
2. 2 teaspoons cumin seeds / jeera
3. 2 inch block of ginger
4. 4 green cardamoms, de-husked
5. 4 cloves
6. 1 cinnamon stick (2 inches long)
7. 1 bay leaf
8. 2 teaspoons coriander powder / dhania powder
9. 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
10. 1.5 - 2 teaspoons salt
11. 2 tomatoes, chopped
12. 1.5 teaspoons sugar
13. 2 tablespoons milk
14. 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour / maida
15. 1 tablespoon ghee / clarified butter
16. 4 tablespoons vegetable oil / olive oil / canola oil

Preparation:

1.  Grind the ginger and 1 teaspoon cumin seeds into a coarse paste by sprinkling a little water. Keep aside.
2. Using a mortar and pestle, grind the cardamoms, cloves, and cinnamon into a powder. Set aside.
3. Heat the oil in a deep pan on medium flame. Add bay leaf, the cumin-ginger paste, and 1 teaspoon cumin seeds and wait for everything to sizzle. Stir around the paste for a few seconds. Then, add the cabbage and stir on medium heat for 5 minutes. 
4. Add turmeric powder, coriander powder, and salt and stir well. Reduce the heat to low, close the pan and cook for 15 minutes. Every 5 minutes, stir the cabbage making sure it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. After 15 minutes, add sugar and stir well.
5. In a bowl, whisk together the milk and flour to make a fine paste. Add this to the cabbage, stir well and continue to cook on medium heat for another 5 minutes or until the cabbage is cooked.
6. Finally, add the ground spice powder (cardamom-cloves-cinnamom), and a dollop of ghee, stir well. 

Serve hot with rice or roti. This is a uniquely spiced cabbage stir fry that smells divine!