Drumstick leaves-Dal Curry/Muringayila-Parippu Curry

Muringayila is one of our favourite. My hubby likes muringayila in any form. We have a drumstick tree at the backyard of our home in Kerala and my mom used to make muringayila parippu curry quite often. Woww...mouth watering!!! My mom used to ask for my help to remove the leaves from the stem. As its a tedious task, I always try to give excuses. However I help her at times because I love this curry a lot. I love to mix this curry with rice&curd and any home made pickle. But after coming to Singapore, I thought I won't get this here, but to my surprise I got it from Mustafa. Now a days its a common item in the normal Indian grocery shops too.

Muringayila has got a lot of benefits. It acts as a very good digestion aid and it helps in proper metabolism.It helps the body to fight against germs and infections. It also controls and balance the sugar level. So diabetic people could have this regularly.

OK! Now I will post my method of preparing this curry which I learnt from my sweet mom....

Ingredients
Toor Dal/Parippu – 1 cup

Drumstick leaves/Muringayila – 2 cups

Turmeric powder – ½ tea spoon

Water – 3 cups

Salt – as required

For grinding

Coconut -

Green Chillies – 3 nos

Cumin seeds – ½ tea spoon

Shallots – 3

For tempering

Mustard seeds – ½ tea spoon

Dry Chilly – 2

Curry leaves – a few

Oil – as required

Method

Remove the drumstick leaves from the stem and wash a few times.

Pressure cook dal with 2 cups of water up to 3 whistles and low the fire for 5 minutes.

Add the cleaned drumstick leaves to the cooked dal.

Add 1 cup water, turmeric powder and salt to it.

Cover the pressure cooker (not tightly) and allow it to boil for 5-10 minutes

Meanwhile grind the ingredients except shallots listed ‘for grinding’ to a smooth paste. Now add shallots to the smooth paste and just beat once. (No need to grind shallots finely)

Add the grounded paste to the boiling mixture and let it cook for 5 minutes.

Heat oil and fry the ingredients listed ‘for tempering’ and pour it into the curry.
Serve the yummy Muringayila parippu curry with rice.

Pulpy Grape Juice

Ingredients

Black Seedless Grapes – 500 gm

Sugar – ½ cup

Water – 2 cup

Lemon Juice – 20 ml

Method

Wash the grapes well and soak in salt water for 1 hour. This is to kill germs in the grapes if any. Boil the grapes until the skin get separated. Allow it to cool and remove the skin (You don’t need to remove the skin if it is thin). Squeeze the pulp lightly. Now add sugar to it and mix well. Add lemon juice and refrigerate. Serve chill.

Note

I just used the red grape for decoration only.
You can also pressure cook the grapes with water up to 3 whistles and separate the skin.

Paneer Butter Masala

Ingredients

Paneer – 1 cup (250gms)

Onion – 1

Tomato – 2

Ginger – a small piece

Garlic – 2 cloves

Turmeric powder – ½ tea spoon

Chilli powder – 1 tea spoon

Coriander powder – 1 tea spoon

Milk – ½ cup

Cashew nuts – 6 nos ( Soak in hot water for 20 minutes and grind to paste)

Kasuri methi/dry fenugreek leaves – 1 teaspoon

Cardamom – 2

Cinnamon Stick – a small piece

Cloves – 2

Butter – 1 table spoon

Salt – as required

Method

Cut onion into cubes and boil in water for 5 minutes. Allow it to cool and grind together with garlic and ginger into smooth paste. Put the tomatoes in boiling water, cover the pan and switch off the fire. Keep it for 10 minutes. Peel off the skin of tomatoes and grind it to puree.

Melt butter in a pan and fry cardamom, cloves, cinnamon stick for 1 minute. Add the onion - ginger-garlic paste and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add turmeric powder, chilli powder and coriander powder to it. Saute for a minute and then add tomato puree. Put salt and mix well. Add milk to it and allow the mixture to boil. Now add the cashew nut paste and crushed kasuri methi. Add paneer cubes to it and boil for 1 minute. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Serve hot with chapati or naan.

Notes:-
You can just toast the paneer in a little butter if you prefer. I did not fry paneer cubes.

You can use fresh cream instead of milk. 

It is good to add a pinch of sugar if you like your paneer butter masala a little sweet.

You will get thick gravy when it cools. You can add a little water together with milk if you want more gravy. 

Gothambu (broken wheat) Payasam

Ingredients

Gothambu/broken wheat – 1 cup

Jaggery – 1 ½ cups, grated

Cardamom – 4 crushed

Medium thick coconut milk – 1 ½ cups

Thick coconut milk – 1 cup

Ghee – 2 tablespoons

Cashew nuts & Raisins – as required.

Water – 3 cups (to cook broken wheat)

 

Method

Pressure cook broken wheat up to 6 whistles and simmer the fire for 10 minutes. Melt the jaggery in a little water and allow it to cool. Strain the melted jaggery. Mix the melted jaggery to the cooked broken wheat. Add the crushed cardamom. Cook it in very low fire. Now add the thin coconut milk. Boil until it gets a medium thick consistency. Add the thick coconut milk and boil for 2-3 minutes.

Fry cashew nuts & raisins in ghee and pour on to the payasam. The delicious payasam is ready to serve.

“I have used only cashew nuts in my payasam. You can also fry coconut pieces in ghee and mix in the payasam.”

Beetroot Kichadi

Ingredients

Beetroot – 1 grated

Turmeric Powder – 1 teaspoon

Salt – as required

For grinding

Coconut – 1 cup

Mustard Seeds – ½ teaspoon

Green Chillies - 3

Curd – 1 cup

Water – ½ cup

For Frying

Oil – 1 table spoon

Mustard seed – 1 teaspoon

Dry Chilly – 2

Curry leaves – 1 sprig

Method

Cook the grated beetroot with turmeric powder, salt and a little water in a pan with lid closed. Grind the ingredients listed above and add it to the cooked beetroot and mix well. Fry mustard seeds, dry chillies, curry leaves and pour on to the beetroot-coconut mixture. Serve with rice.

Notes:

Alternatively, you can beat the curd and add separately to the beetroot without grinding together with the coconut. I prefer curd to blend together with coconut to get the pachadi thicker.