Murungakkai (Drumstick) Poriyal

This vegetable used to be one of my favorites and something we had in abundance thanks to the large tree that my grandparents had in their home. My grandma made good use of this veggie and the leaves and there was always plenty to hand out to the neighbours too. Now, of course, I don't find these fresh anymore and I stick to what I find in the freezer section of the Indian stores and sometimes they are very sorry looking and thin... :(

When you see the picture below though you will notice that it doesn't look like a trademark drumstick curry - you might even think - where is the drumstick?! They have been cooked and the pulp inside has been separated to use in this curry so it will be easier and less messy to eat this veggie. I don't mind eating this in the typical way but sometimes that's not ideal when you have to pack lunch for work so nowadays this is how I make this. This recipe is from Mallika Badrinath.

This tasty curry is one of the many ways we enjoy this vegetable besides adding to sambar , avial or thengaipaal kuzhambu.

MURUNGAKKAI CURRY


Ingredients:
Frozen Drumsticks - 1 pack
Onions - 1, big
Tomatoes - half, chopped
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Coriander Powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Sombu (Fennel) - 1/2 tsp
Coconut - 2 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - few
Salt - to taste

Oil - 2 tsp

Method:

1) Cook the drumsticks in a microwaveable bowl with few tbsp of water and some salt for about 7 to 10 minutes (covered) till soft. Allow to cool, peel, and scrape the fleshy insides with a spoon. Keep aside.

2) Chop half of the onion into big cubes and chop the other half finely. In a tsp of the oil, fry the big cubes of onion for a few minutes till light brown. Grind this with sombu & coconut to a paste with some water.

3) Heat the remaining oil in the pan and season with mustard seeds & curry leaves, once they splutter add the finely chopped onions and saute until cooked, then add the tomatoes with some salt and allow to cook till mushy.

4) Add all the spice powders at this stage and the ground paste and cook for a few minutes.

5) Add the scraped flesh of the murungakkai and some water, cover and allow to cook on low for about 5 to 7 minutes. Once the flavours have been absorbed cook the curry in an open pan until almost dry. Serve with rice for a delicious curry.