Drumstick leaves with dhal

Green has never been a fussy thing in my repertoire. I just remember having in form of Poriyal (stir fry), Masiyal (Coarsely ground green with chillis & garlic) and with dhal (lentil). My mom makes sure; we all get green (called Keerai) in any form on a everyday basis. Being kid, I enjoyed the Masiyal served in hot plain rice and a dollop of ghee (clarified butter) or with dhal & green.

If you were someone from Tamil Nadu (Southern India), the drumstick leaves or vegetables (drumstick) would be a very familiar green. The tree thrives well in hot and arid region, pretty much many houses own in their backyard. The branches are so slender after slight wind or rain they just broke apart. Usually, after a rainy day, everyone shares with their neighbor this nutritious packet leaves and vegetables.

Yes, the leaves are highly nutritious in beta-carotene, Vitamin C, protein, iron and potassium.
In US, the tree is know as Horseradish tree and in India Drumstick tree or (murungai maram- in tamil). Moringa Oleifera is biological name given to the tree.
Well, In South –Africa, the tree is used to combat malnutrition especially among nursing mothers and children. The tree is locally grown and is much cheaper than go and buy some milk and egg for them.
For more detailed information visit here.



Left sideshown is younger leaves (pale green) : usually used with dhal or even flavor the ghee
Right side: mature (darker green) good for preparing stir fry

In US, I get this drumstick leaves on and off in Indian stores. So whenever, I see, I just buy a big bunch, clean, rinse, use and even store in my freezer for later use. The leaves tastes great with dhal, I share one of my mom simple and delicious recipe.

Drumstick leaves with dhal



Ingredient:


Dhal (toor dhal):
1 /2 cup
Drumstick leaves (murungai keerai): 1 cup (loosely packed) -leaves only rinsed
Salt: ½ tsp more or less according ur taste bud

Seasonning:
Oil: ½ tsp
Urad dhal: ½ tsp
Dry red chillis: 4 Broken into small pieces or more

Method:

Cook the dhal with 3 cups of water in a pressure cooker ((3 whistles in high flame) or in in stove top until they re soft to touch.
Now add the rinsed leaves only and cook until they turn colour (about 6 to 7 minutes).
Now, do the seasoning , heat the oil in small pan, add the urad dhal and chillis.When they are little fried pour into the cooked dhal and leaves.
Using a hand blender, try to blend the chillis with the leaves.Adjust the salt at the end.

Serve with hot rice and little ghee on top.

Tamil Nadu strong belief about this tree and vegetable (drumstick)
1.Eating drumstick will increase sexual mood.
2.Night time, the tree is owned by the ghost!

He he, in my opinion, both are funny! After knowing about this leaves are you going to skip not buying :)
In India and even in South –Africa , the leaves are cheaper than milk and egg. But in US, is totally the reverse!

My drumstick dhal is ending to Weekend herb blogging started by Kalyn and this week Divya will be hosting gladly.

Comments

kamala said…
We are missing here the drumstick leaves Cham..I am drooling over the pic..It is funny huh!! How much the film influenzes the people with that famous Murugaikai scene!!!!
Cham said…
He he, thanks for the super fast comment. Right, whenever i cook, it reminds all this movie associated with the vege :) Crazy !
Richa said…
so r the beliefs to be taken very seriously...lol
dal looks yummy! btw hv u posted any masiyal rcp, do post if u get a chance, it sounds so good :)
Cham said…
Tamilian takes very seriously :) Sure, i will post the masiyal soon Richa :)
Laavanya said…
Oh you are so lucky that you get these.. I love these and we always had this often (esp. as a poriyal) when I was young. and keerai masiyal with ghee with some pulikuzhambu - really good. Dhal with this must be so nutritious.
Sum Raj said…
gud and healthy leafy dish..looks delicious and good combo with chappathi..
Kalai said…
Lucky you to get murungai keerai!! Looks delicious! Sorry I haven't been able to comment. Things have been crazy for me. Will post in detail. :)
Rachel said…
I like the dhal with drumstick leaves....served with rice and ghee....

lol at the beliefs!!!
Swati said…
I've had a lot of drumsticks in my childhood.. Just dont get it now where I live..
Missing it now :))
Cooking Station said…
I love drumstick leaves dhal too..very healthy and tasty. Nice one Cham..
Unknown said…
I remember plucking drumstick leaves from our backyard and also supplying it to our neighbours..My grandma used to make soup with it..Thanks for sending it to WHB Cham..Am so happy I have got tamil recipes for the event.
lubnakarim06 said…
Till now i never knew that drumstick leaves are edible and they can b cooked. Thanks for the recipe. Nice blog Yaar.
ST said…
Healthy and delicious dhal Cham:))Just don't get it now in Paris.
Missing it now :))
Uma said…
I saw these leaves in a chinese supermarket. When I was at my sister's place, her neighbour gave these leaves to us. We didn't know what to do with them and my hubby came to the rescue. He prepared Stir fry with it. It was yummy! And I forgot to take the photos (sad)!

Your dal is quite handy Cham! Looks so delicious. Thanks for the nice info. reg the drumstick leaves.
Swati said…
Hey Cham, I have something to share with you..
Cynthia said…
I love drumsticks but never had the leaves cooked before. Your dhal looks simply delicious, it is one of my favourite dishes.
Hi,
first time in ur blog...urs is really very good ...giving a brief info abt murungai keerai ...
Is murungai keerai available in US?
Cham said…
Piar welcome. Murungai keerai can be found in Vietnamese Store (if u live in East Coast) at the west, they re easily available through out the year in Indian stores (But on and off- I even get in month of Dec-Jan)
Unknown said…
check my blog.. surprice is there...
Unknown said…
dal looks fab..
i am seeing lot of recipes with drumstick leaves...time for me to try it out!!
vandana rajesh said…
Thats a real healthy treat. Drumstick leaves are truly healthy and tasty:)
Beyond Curries said…
I too miss drumstick leavs Cham. Here we don't get gongura and many others too! Nice comforting daal.
ST said…
A Treat is waiting for u at my blog:))
Anonymous said…
This looks so good! We used to make this in India. Unfortunately I have not seen the leaves here.
EC said…
I have never tasted drumstick leaves...this dal looks superb
Indian Khana said…
Drumstick leaves with dal looking sure for healthy and tasty..
Anonymous said…
Very nice. I have never tried drumstick leaves, thinking that it'll be bitter. After seeing yours, i definitely wanna try.
mitr_bayarea said…
Cham-

LoLed at the Tamil Nadu beliefs that you mentioned, all that is true of murunga ellai. I don't know how you get the texture and color (as shown in ur pic) for this keerai by adding dhal, since mine tuen out to be purely yellow.
Mansi said…
I have never cooked with these, but will keep an eye out for them next time I visit the indian store:) looks good cham!
Cham said…
Nithu: Stir fry brings little bitter taste, but when u mix with dhal definetly u cannot find out. My 7 years old son loves so sure u will.
Mitr.Bay If it is yellow, may be the leaves and dhal ratio are not right! Don't overcook once u added the leaves also.
Kalyn Denny said…
Would you believe that in one of the very earliest weeks of Weekend Herb Blogging someone wrote about drumstick leaves. I've been wanting to taste them ever since then. I've never seen them here, not even on the menu in an Indian restaurant.
Cham said…
Thanks for the valuable comments
I have two murungai trees in my garden.But very lazy to take and pluck the leaves without nerves. The nerves will cause stomach pain.But your picture of the curry and its cost in US has created an eager to cook the curry tomorrow.THankyou dear.these leaves are very good for the nerves.That is why all the A jokes about this.It is known to be good for BP too.
Anonymous said…
Wow. Something I've absolutely never heard of before. Thanks for introducing me to this.
Sunshinemom said…
Nice one! I love the aroma of the leaves. Makes yummy adais too! We generally add ground coconut as for mologootal at our place. I love the leaves but hate drumsticks!