MORINGA LEAVES STIR FRY/MURUNGAI KEERAI PORIYAL

PREP TIME: 15 Mins

COOKING TIME: 15 Mins

Ingredients

Murungai Keerai – 1 Cup

Onion – 1

Toor dal – ½ cup

Mustard – 1/2 tea spoon

Urad dal – 1/2 tea spoon

Dry red chilli – 1

Chilli powder – ½ teaspoon

Salt – per taste

Oil – 1 teaspoon

Procedure

STEP 1: Clean the Keerai (discard the stems and the yellow leaves) and wash well.

STEP 2: Add the toor dal to a pressure cooker and cook for 3 whistles. The dal shouldn’t be mushy.

STEP 3: Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and wait till it splutters. Add urad dal, red chilli and onion.

STEP 4: Add the Keerai and cook for 5 minutes.

STEP 5: Add chilli powder and ½ cup water. Mix well. Cover and cook for 10 minutes.

TIP: Cleaning the Keerai takes time but it’s still worth the time as the leaves are the most nutritious part of the plant with lot of vitamins and proteins.

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ELEPHANT YAM FRY

PREP TIME: 20 Mins

COOKING TIME: 20 Mins

Ingredients

Elephant yam/Chenai Kilangu – 1 Cup

Turmeric powder – ¼ teaspoon

Chilli powder – 3 teaspoons

Coriander powder – 1.5 teaspoons

Tamarind extract/juice – ½ cup thick extract

Salt – per taste

Oil – 5 teaspoons

Procedure

STEP 1: Clean and chop the yam into thin squares (1 inch pieces). Heat water in a pan, add the yam pieces with little turmeric powder for 10 minutes.

STEP 2: In a bowl combine chilli powder, salt, coriander powder and tamarind juice.

STEP 3: Add in the boiled yam. Make sure the masala mixture gets coated on all the pieces. Let it relax for 15 minutes.

STEP 4: Heat a pan, add the marinated yam pieces one by one (in batches of 5 – 7 pieces each time) and sprinkle some oil and cook till the yam turns turn golden brown on all sides.

TIP: This fry tastes good with curd rice.

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KOLLU/HORSE GRAM RASAM

PREP TIME: 5 Mins

COOKING TIME: 10 Mins

Ingredients

Kollu/horse gram– ½ cup

Tomato – 1

Cumin seeds – 2 teaspoons

Pepper – 1 tea spoon

Garlic – 2 pods

Dry red chilli – 1

Tamarind extract/juice – 1 cup

Curry Leaves – 1 sprig

Mustard – 1 teaspoon

Asafoetida – ¼ teaspoon

Salt – per taste

Oil – 1 teaspoon

Cilantro – ¼ cup chopped

Procedure

STEP 1: Dry roast the kollu till it splutters.

STEP 2: Add the dry roasted kollu, 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, pepper, dry chilli, garlic and chopped tomatoes to a blender jar and blend to a coarse paste.

STEP 3: Soak the tamarind in water for 5 minutes. Extract the juice and discard the pulp.

STEP 4: Heat oil in a pan, add mustard, cumin seeds, asafoetida and curry leaves.

STEP 5: Add the spice paste and cook for 2 minutes. Add the tamarind juice and salt.

STEP 6: Allow to cook for 2 – 3 minutes, turn off the heat and add some chopped cilantro.

TIP: Kollu rasam with rice and papad/appalam on the side tastes so good.

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