Murangakkai(drumsticks) Theeyal

Many households in Kerala are self-sufficient when it comes to fruits and vegetables. If you have some land around your house, you are sure to find not only coconut trees, but also trees/plants bearing papaya, guava, jackfruit, gooseberry, mango, chicoo, banana and drumsticks.

Keralites tend to use coconuts in every which way possible. Tender coconut, grated coconut, dried (copra) coconut, coconut oil, coconut milk, etc. The other tree that is used just as much is the Moringa pterygosperma, M. oleifera or otherwise know in Malayalam as Murangakkai (drumstick). This bean is long, and its rigid pod grows on a tree rather than a vine. It's hard, green outer covering is rigid enough to earn its common name of drumstick. Both pods and leaves are relished in Kerala. Drumsticks are delicious when cut into finger lengths and cooked in a spicy gravy.

Theeyal is a traditional Kerala dish, the coconut and spices are roasted and then ground to a paste. You can make Theeyal with any vegetable you prefer. The gravy has the sweetness from the coconut and a slightly sour flavor from the tamarind which balances the kick you get from the dry chilies and peppercorns.

Ingredients:

• 14oz/400g Drumsticks (string & cut into 1 ½ pieces) *
• 200g/7oz Potatoes (cut into quarters)
• 200g/70g Shallots sliced
• ½ tsp Turmeric powder
• 1 ½ oz Tamarind pulp
• Salt

Masala:

• 1 cup grated coconut
• 1 tbsp Coriander seeds
• ½ tsp peppercorns
• 2 tsp Cumin seeds
• 2 Dry red chilies
• 1 tbsp Oil

Tempering:

• 1 tbsp Oil
• ½ tsp mustard seeds
• 2 Dry red chilies
• Few curry leaves.

Preparation:
Cook the potatoes with a little salt and turmeric powder till they are ¾ cooked. Now add the drumsticks and shallots. Cook till the drumsticks and potatoes are cooked. You may need to add some more water. Keep aside.

Masala:
Heat a pan and dry roast all the ingredients separately over low heat till it emits its own aroma. Transfer to a blender; add a cup of water and pulse to obtain a coarse paste. Remove and keep aside. Heat oil in a pot and stir fry (bhunno) over a medium heat till it acquires gravy of Khoya consistency and completely devoid of moisture. Add this masala to the potato and drumsticks. Bring it to a boil. Stir in the tamarind pulp; bring it to a boil again. Simmer it gently till the potato and drumsticks are cooked. Adjust the seasoning.

Tempering:
Heat oil, add mustard seeds, when they begin to pop, add the dry red chilies, when their color changes add the curry leaves. Take it off the heat and pour it over the curry. Serve it hot with rice.

* Since I don’t get fresh drumsticks in the Indian/Asian stores here. I have used frozen drumsticks.

Coconut dal okra curry

My husband is the kind who says that he likes simple food. The reality is that it's very hard to please him, as he is a real fusspot. He is more of a vegetarian than a non-vegetarian; he doesn’t like Indian non-vegetarian food, as we tend to boil the meat. But he loves a big piece of steak – medium rare (now, isn’t he weird for an Indian).

In his house, there was (rather still is) always a big pot of Sambar especially for him. If I serve my husband Sambar 365 days a year, he will be the happiest person in this world. After we got married, we continued this 'tradition' of having Sambar every day. Needless to say, it wasn't long - two days - before I was sick of having Sambar. It took a little work, but I've weened him off Sambar. Now, especially on weekends, I try to cook something different, although vegetarian. The base of the curries that I cook on weekends are usually experiments with different kinds of dal (lentils).

Today, I came across this Okra curry recipe from Flavours of the spice coast by Mrs K.M. Mattew. Okra is one of my favorite vegetables. I love it as a suki (dry) sabji with chapatti (an Indian bread). I also love it fried till it’s crispy. The original recipe by Mrs K.M. Mattew is Okra in coconut milk gravy; the only change I made to the recipe was I added Toor dal to it. The dal gives the curry some texture and thickness, which is great on a mountain of rice.


Ingredients.

• 1 tsp coriander powder
• ¼ tsp chili powder
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder
• ¼ tsp pepper powder
• ¼ tsp aniseed powder
• ¼ tsp garam masala
• 2 tbsp oil
• 2 cups okra (washed, dried with a paper towel, cut the top and bottom)
• ¼ cup onions sliced
• 1 tsp ginger
• 3-4 green chilies
• 1 ½ cups thin coconut milk
• ½ cup thick coconut milk
• 2 tbsp Lime juice
• ½ cup cooked Toor dal
• Few curry leaves
• Salt to taste

Method:
Heat oil in a vessel and sauté the okra, till you see small bits of brown color on
them. Keep aside.

In the same vessel sauté the onions, ginger, chilies and curry leaves. Add the spices and sauté till the spices are well incorporated. Pour in the thin coconut milk and bring to a boil.

Add the cooked dal, okra, salt, and lime juice. When the gravy thickens add the thick coconut milk. You might need to add a bit of water if the gravy thickens too much. Serve hot with rice.

Tomato rasam

There are probably thousands of recipes for tomato rasam online. Some recipes are with crushed tomatoes, some with dal water, with or without coriander seeds, etc. My tomato rasam has a few teaspoons of tomato paste. It gives the rasam a beautiful red color, thickens it a bit and adds to the sour flavor. This is a wonderful spicy/sour/peppery drink that will clear your sinuses for sure!

Ingredients:

• A small lime size piece of tamarind
• 2 cups water
• 1 dry red chili
• ½ tsp black pepper
• ¼ tsp asafoetida
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 button onions or a small piece of onion
• ½ tsp coriander seeds
• ¼ tsp cumin seeds
• 1/4 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 pinch of fenugreek
• Few curry leaves
• 2 tomatoes
• Few sprigs of coriander
• 1 ½ tsp tomato paste
• Salt to taste
• 1 tsp Oil

Method:

Dissolve the tamarind in water. In a mortar and pestle or a grinder, crush chili, garlic, onions, peppercorns, cumin and coriander seeds.

Heat oil; add asafoetida and the mustard seeds, when the mustard seeds splutter, add the fenugreek seeds. Add the crushed spices and fry a little. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook a little. Pour the tamarind juice, tomato paste and salt. Bring it to a boil. Turn off the heat; puree it with a hand blender till the tomatoes are crushed and soupy (optional). Garnish it with fresh coriander.