Stir-Fried Drumstick Leaves - Murungai Ilai Vathakkal

Few days ago, I was lucky enough to find drumstick leaves. In spite of its label (which said yam leaves) and G’s repeated warning, I went ahead and bought a packet. As soon as I reached home I was almost (yeah, almost) sure that it was, indeed, drumstick leaves, Murungai ilai in Tamil. The uncertainty is because its been ages since I have had them. Even in India, I have hardly seen drumstick leaves sold by vendors. It is from those few neighbours who had these trees that we got leaves. But over the years, one by one, all my neighbours got rid of their trees because its a tough job maintaining them with all those caterpillars (eeewww!). When come in contact, these pests will cause allergic reactions to your skin.

Since I was not 100% sure about these leaves, I decided not to top them over adai (which is the classic way of eating these leaves). While I was googling for a recipe, I came across this stir-fry from En Ulagam of Revathi. Not only was it simple but required very few ingredients. The only variation I did to the recipe was to use roasted chana dal instead of plain chana dal. Even though it takes time to separate the leaves from the stalk, the end product is worth the effort. Mixed with rice and a tsp of sesame oil, it was perfectly lite. Did I say Lite? Then it goes to MBP - Going Lite hosted by Coffee.

Ingredients

Mustard seeds – ½ tsp
Urad dal – 1 tbsp
Roasted Chana dal (Dahlia or pottukadalai) – 1 tbsp
Green chillies - 2
Drumstick leaves – 2 cups
Grated coconut – 2 tbsp
Salt
Oil

Method

Heat a tsp of oil in a skillet, add mustard seeds, urad dal and roasted chana dal. After they turn brown, add the chillies, drumstick leaves, ½ cup of water and salt and let it cook for 3 minutes in medium heat. The leaves doesn’t have to turn mushy. Remove the skillet from heat, add the grated coconut, serve.

Stir-fried drumstick leaves with roasted plantain. Thanks Revathi, for this simple, light and everyday recipe.