Drumstick Leaves Lentil Curry/ Muringayila Parippu Curry

Drumstick leaves are packed with full of flavors, iron,  proteins and nutrients. Drumstick trees are a common sight in most of the south Indian homes. Almost all the parts of this drumstick tree are used in one or the other way. Fresh leaves are richest source of vitamin A.

Drumstick leaves have been a part of Indian cuisine for a long time. They are widely used in making soups, curries, snacks and are also very tasty. They are rich in antioxidants and controls cholesterol  and blood glucose levels. It's surprising that these small round leaves has lots of medicinal value.

I remember my mom used to include this magical greens into every dish and I refused to eat. But somehow she will make sure that I finish of my food by adding them in my favorite dishes like eggs, in the form of pakodas and so on…. Now as I grew, I simply love any food made by my mom and this is one such. Luckily I don’t have to struggle much with my little one, as she loves all the greens in any form.

Its very rare to get these leaves in Indian store here. But one day when I saw this, I was excited  and grabbed a bunch.

As easy as a dish is made with these leaves, it is hard to pluck the leaves without the stem, which is very time consuming. But we will forget about all the hard work when  once we taste this curry. This is a healthy recipe of drumstick leaves in which lentils and ground coconut are added. Hope you all will enjoy this.

Ingredients:

1. Drumstick Leaves/ Muringayila- a Bunch
2. Toor dal- 1 Cup
3. Coconut- ¼ Cup
4. Garlic- 2 cloves
5. Cumin Seeds- 1 tsp
6. Dry Red Chillies- 2 nos
7. Turmeric Powder- ½ tsp
8. Red Chilli Powder- 1 tsp
9. Green Chillies (slitted)- 2 nos
10. Oil- 1 tbsp
11. Mustard Seeds- 1 tsp
12. Red Chillies- 1 no
13. Curry Leaves- few
14. Salt- as required

Method:

1. Cook toor dal with required amount of water in a pressure cooker and keep this aside.
2. Clean the drumstick leaves by removing the leaves from the stem and discarding the stem. Wash couple of times and drain.
3. In a bowl cook the cleaned drumstick leaves along with slitted green chillies, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and salt.
4. Meanwhile grind the coconut along with garlic cloves, cumin seeds and red chillies to a fine paste.
5. Add the cooked dal and the ground paste to the above boiling drumstick leaves. Adjust salt accordingly.
6. Heat oil for tempering, splutter mustard seeds, red chillies and curry leaves. Pour this to the curry and mix well.
7. Enjoy this yummy, delicious curry with a dollop of ghee along with hot steaming rice.

Prawns, Drumstick Raw Mango Curry / Chemeen Muringikka Manga Curry

This is my M-I-L’s preparation, which was a hit among our friends and family. This is a perfect combination of prawns and drumstick with the perfect balance of the tanginess from  raw mangoes, which makes this curry irresistible.

In Kerala each and every household, has one or two drumstick plants in their backyard. The flower, fruit and leaves of this plant is used in many ways in cooking. The leaves are the most nutritious part of the plant. This dish is simple to make and has now became a favorite dish in our family. Raw mango can be substituted with kokum, which is usually used in Kerala dishes.

Ingredients:

1. Prawns- 250 gms
2. Drumsticks- 2 nos
3. Raw Mango- 1 no
4. Coconut (grated)- ½ no
5. Green Chillis (slitted)- 3 nos
6. Turmeric Powder- ½ tsp
7. Red Chilli Powder- 1 tsp
8. Curry Leaves- few
9. Shallots- 2 nos
10. Oil- 1 tbsp
11. Mustard seeds- 1 tsp

Method:

1. Clean the prawns and keep it aside. Meanwhile cook the drumsticks adding little water, green chillies, salt and red chilli powder.
2. Grind the coconut to form a smooth paste.
3. Add the cleaned prawns and raw mango pieces to the drumstick mixture and boil till it gets cooked well.
4. Add the ground coconut paste and mix along with turmeric powder and salt.
5. Bring this to boil and simmer for about 5 - 10 minutes. Keep this aside.
6. For tempering add oil to a kadi and splutter mustard seeds, sliced shallots and curry leaves.
7. Pour this over the above made curry and serve this along steaming hot  rice.

Avial- Vegetables in coconut and curd gravy...

Avial is the most popular and traditional dish of Kerala. Onam is incomplete without this dish.

This is a very healthy and nutritious dish. In this recipe, all the vegetables are cut in the same length and then cooked to a crunchy consistency along with salt. This is a perfect blend of different vegetables in a coconut and curd gravy. Instead of curd you can also use raw mango for tangyness.

As my husband who is choosy about vegetables, is not bothered about the vegetables I added in this, coz the flavors are well blended in coconut gravy. My kid who is very particular about rasam with rice was opposing to try this avial, but after one bite she liked it and for the next two days she insisted me to give avial for rice (avial lasted for two days.. :) I am happy that she liked it. Now on I will make it regularly just that I am lazy to cut the veggies.. :)

Ingredients:

1. Drumsticks- 2 nos
2. Carrot- 1 no
3. Raw Banana- 1 no
4. Yam- 100 gms
5. Beans- 5-6 nos
6. Potato- 1 no
7. Ash gourd- ¼ Cup
8. Turmeric Powder- ½ tsp
9. salt- as required
10. Coconut- 1 Cup
11. Cumin seeds- 1tsp
12. Green Chillies- 3 nos
13. Curd- 2-3 tbsp
14. Coconut oil- 1 tbsp
15. Curry Leaves- few

Method:

1. Grind the grated coconut, cumin seeds and green chillies coarsely and keep it aside.
2. Wash and cut the vegetables into 2 inch long pieces. Boil the vegetables by adding little salt and turmeric powder till all the vegetables are cooked.
3. Add the ground coconut paste and cook for few more minutes and switch off the flame.
4. In the above, add curd and mix well. Season it with coconut oil and curry leaves.