munagaku telagapindi fry / moringa leaves recipes / murungai keerai recipes /

 Cooking With Moringa Leaves / Munagaku Telagapindi Curry / Dishes with drumstick leaves 

In the previous post about til ke laddu ( chimmili ) , I have mentioned about telagapindi. When I was typing the draft for that post, it was then it strike me that there was some telagapindi leftover in the freezer section. I also had this amazing green leafy vegetable - drumstick leaves in my pantry. So as soon as I finished preparing the draft for the post, I went straight to prepare this yummy and delicious curry with the drumstick leaves and the so called telagapindi. 

Drumstick leaves also known as munagaku in Telugu and murungai keerai in Tamil are very famous for its health benefits and it is available in abundance during this season. I got hold of some fresh and tender ( soft ) leaves of drumstick tree from my neighbourhood. Previously, I posted murungai keerai idli podi (munagaku idli podi ) which was so very flavourful and tasty that I also used it as a spread on dosas for my kids.

I first tasted this munagaku telagapindi fry at my friend´s place. It was so delicious that I wanted to try it once again at home for my man. This time when I had both the ingredients ready, I did not dare to miss the chance. This curry is a kind of poriyal without the addition of coconut. It goes perfectly well with sambar, rasam or any other dal like spinach dal ( palakura pappu ) or thotakura pappu (amaranth dal ).

Preparation

Remove the leaves from the stems and wash perfectly. Keep aside. Put a pan on flame and add oil or ghee. For the tempering, add mustard and cumin seeds.

When they splutter, add urad dal.

When the dal becomes golden brown in colour, add the broken red chillies and sauté for a minute.

Now add the munagaku ( drumstick leaves ) along with salt and turmeric and mix well.

Cover with a lid and cook on a low to medium flame. Add some water and cook covered until the leaves are completely cooked.

Now add the telagapindi ( sesame seeds powder obtained after extracting the oil from them ).

Mix well. Check for salt and spice.

Add chilli powder if you want it more spicy. But this curry is mildly spiced. Switch off the flame and serve hot with rasam, sambar or dals.

Ingredients

Drumstick leaves  2 cups

Telagapindi  1 cup

Oil / Ghee  3tsp

Mustard seeds  1/2 tsp 

Cumin seeds  1/2 tsp

Urad dal  1 tsp

Red chillies  1-2

Salt  to taste

Turmeric powder  1/2 tsp

Chilli powder  optional

Method

1. Wash the drumstick leaves and keep aside. 
2. Heat oil in a pan. Do the tempering with cumin, mustard seeds, red chillies and urad dal.
3. When the dal becomes golden brown in colour, add the drumstick leaves, salt and turmeric powder.
4. Add water and cook covered until the leaves are completely cooked. Stir once in a while.
5. Once completely cooked, add the telagapindi and mix well. 
6. Check for seasoning and switch off the flame. 
7. Serve hot with sambar rice, rasam rice or any dal rice.

Notes

• Telagapindi is the leftover powder that is obtained after extracting the oils from the sesame seeds. It is available in all superstores.
• This curry is a very mildly spiced poriyal, so do not add too many ( or any other ) spices. 
• The perfect taste of this munagaku telagapindi fry is obtained only if we use the fresh and tender drumstick leaves. 
• If by any chance, you are using the not-so-tender leaves, then boil the leaves in the cooker separately and then proceed with the preparation as suggested above.