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.