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.

Comments

  1. Just love this simple but yet a delicious poriyal...with rasam, this poriyal tastes absolutely divine ..

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  2. First time here..Loved your recipes..Drumstick poriyal looks yummm..Visit my blog when you have time..

    http://myhomekitchenrecipes.blogspot.com/

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  3. This vegetable is right on the top of my favorite veggies!!

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  4. Super tasty poriyal. Love drumstick. Please collect your award from my blog.

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  5. I love murungakkai in sambar... and half the joy is in scraping the pulp from the stem.. but I do agree about the messy part and this is such a cool idea :)

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  6. I can understand- it becomes chutney here the drumstick! I get fresh one but they are very thin but better than nothing! Delicious porriyal!

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  7. Havent tried poriyal with this....my fav...ur version sounds interesting!

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  8. Never thought of making poriyal with drumstick,need lots of patience I think !But sure worth a try!

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  9. I love drumsticks, but we can hardly find fresh ones in the U.S.

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  10. never tried making poriyal with drumsticks..I just make sambar..but this one looks really good and yumm..

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  11. Though it takes time to do,no doubt will taste yum.love to have with curd rice

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  12. I love drumsticks too..... That is a lovely prep...... I would love to savor with rice....

    Ash...
    (http://asha-oceanichope.blogspot.com/)

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  13. I want that, drooolllllllll droollllllll

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  14. yummyy poriyal.. nice color.. looks very tempting !!

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  15. delicious poriyal....season have started here

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  16. I've never separated the pulp from the stick - never come across it anywhere tho' i've seen some recipes which call for this.

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  17. I use drumsticks in sambar, but this looks so good and thick..must be good with paruppu sadam.

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  18. Thank you Priya.

    Shabitha, thanks for dropping by - will definitely check out your blog.

    Superchef - ditto for me.

    Thank you Latha.

    Indhu, i agree murungakkai in sambar give it a lovely flavor.

    Chams - nice to know you get fresh ones.. do you also get drumstick leaves?

    Sharmi - thanks.. you can also use them as pieces instead of this method and make this poriyal.

    Raks, when you scoop with a spoon, it's not all that time consuming. Try sometime.

    Srimathi - me neither, i resort to the frozen packs in the iNdian stores.

    Thank you Sowmya.

    Jeyashri - i love this with curd rice too.. :)

    Thank you Ash, Happy Cook, Hari CHandana & Shama.

    Sra, it's not a necessity to remove the pulp in this curry but I do it.

    Ruchika - thank you! :)

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  19. woo such a unique dish...looks fabulous lavanya..

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