Add the ingredients for the spice paste to a blender, and blend to a fine paste. Set aside. (You can also skip the blending, and just combine in a bowl.)
Finely slice the cabbage and the onions. Keep them separate. Get out all the spices and have them ready by the stove. Notice how the spices are added in stages. Many are optional for those just getting into cooking with spices. (See the Recipe Notes for more details about optional spices.)
Cook the coconut cabbage
Heat a large sauté pan or skillet on medium heat. You want something with a lid. Add the vegetable oil, mustard seeds, and fenugreek seeds into the oil. Sauté until the mustard seeds begin to pop.
Add the red chili and curry leaves, and stir until aromatic, then add the onion. Stir, and cook for 1-2 minutes, then add the turmeric, and stir again.
Add the shredded cabbage with ½ teaspoon salt, and mix well.
Turn down the heat to low, cover, and cook the cabbage over low heat with the lid on, checking every few minutes and giving it a stir. Do not add extra water unless absolutely needed. The cabbage should cook in its own juices, and it should not brown much.
Once the cabbage is cooked, but still a bit crisp, add the coconut paste, mix well, and continue to cook for 2 minutes with the lid off.
Turn off the heat, and garnish with fresh cilantro and lemon just before serving.
Black mustard seeds: Known as a digestive, and good for alleviating stomach discomfort, such as gas or cramps.*If you don’t have black mustard seeds, just leave them out.Fenugreek seeds: A warming bitter that helps to drive our cold and damp, especially from the lower part of the body. Also famous for reducing cholesterol.* If you don’t have fenugreek seeds, just leave them out.Curry leaves: bitter and pungent in taste, to me curry leaves are very similar to citrus peel. Pacifying and supportive for the liver. Substitute with fresh cilantro, but add the cilantro at the end.*If you don’t have curry leaves, just leave them out.>> Click here for more information about Indian Spices, and where to buy them. Ref: Thanks to Maunika Gowardhan for sharing this recipe. I have modified it slightly.