No-Oil Chickpea and Cabbage Braise with Caraway and Mustard

General Fast Without Oil Published August 02, 2026

Cabbage braised long enough stops being cabbage and becomes something sweet and almost silky. With chickpeas in the pot and mustard stirred through at the end, it makes a strict-day supper that eats like cold-weather comfort food rather than penance.

Caraway is the seasoning that belongs here — it cuts the sweetness of the cabbage and gives the dish the rye-bread aroma that makes it feel substantial. Toast the seeds dry before they go in.

Whole-grain mustard at the finish brings sharpness and body. It emulsifies slightly into the braising liquid and makes a sauce out of what would otherwise be broth.

FASTING LEVEL: Fast Without Oil (strict days)
SERVINGS: 4
TIME: 50 minutes

INGREDIENTS

- 2 teaspoons caraway seeds
- 2 onions, sliced thin
- 6 garlic cloves, sliced
- 1 medium green cabbage (1kg), cored and cut into 1-inch ribbons
- 2 x 400g cans chickpeas, drained (or 3 cups cooked)
- 2 carrots, cut into coins
- 2.5 cups (600ml) vegetable broth
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 3 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
- Salt and plenty of black pepper

METHOD

1. Toast the caraway seeds in a large dry pot over medium heat for 60 seconds until fragrant. Tip out and reserve.

2. Add the onions to the pot with 1/2 cup water. Cook 12 minutes, adding water whenever it dries, until the onions are collapsed, sweet, and browning against the pot. Scrape up the brown as you go.

3. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute with another splash of water.

4. Add the cabbage in batches — it will look like far too much and will cook down by two-thirds. Stir until it begins to wilt, about 5 minutes.

5. Add the chickpeas, carrots, broth, vinegar, bay leaves, toasted caraway, and smoked paprika. Season with salt.

6. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook 25 minutes, stirring twice, until the cabbage is completely tender and the liquid has reduced by half.

7. Uncover and cook 5 minutes more to concentrate.

8. Remove the bay leaves. Stir in the mustard and dill off the heat. Season hard with salt and black pepper, and add more vinegar if it needs lifting.

NOTES

- On oil days: start the onions in 3 tablespoons of olive oil and finish the pot with another drizzle. It is worth it.
- Sauerkraut in place of a third of the cabbage makes this sharper and more Slavic. Reduce the added vinegar if you do.
- Add a diced potato with the carrots to make it heartier, or a cup of cooked barley at the end.
- White beans, brown lentils, or butter beans all work in place of chickpeas.