Murungai keerai podi–Drumstick Leaves Chutney Powder For Rice, Idli , Dosa

Recent days I am trying to include drumstick leaves /Moringa leaves in my cooking at least once in a week as its a super food. Drumstick leaves tree is a miracle tree. It has amazing health benefits. It is one of the richest plant sources of Vitamin A, B, C, D, E, K, Anti-oxidants and vital minerals like Calcium, Copper, Iron, Potassium, Magnesium, Manganese and Zinc. The leaves, pods, seeds, gums, bark and flowers of Moringa are useful to treat mineral and vitamin deficiencies, support  a healthy cardiovascular system, promotes normal blood-glucose levels, neutralise free radicals, provide excellent support of the body's anti-inflammatory  mechanisms, enrich anaemic blood and support the immune system. It is also known to improve eyesight, mental alertness and bone strength. It has potential benefit in malnutrition, general weakness, lactating mothers, menopause, depression and osteoporosis.  

Source : https://www.healthaid.co.uk/blogs/news/wonders-moringa

Usually I make drumstick leaves soup or poriyal with it. For a change, I tried Murungai keerai podi for rice, idli and dosa so that I can pack it for Raksha’s lunch box as well. I asked my MIL for the recipe and tried it for the first time. It came out so well. This drumstick leaves chutney powder tastes yummy when mixed with plain rice adding few drops of ghee.

Friends, do try this Murungai keerai podi / Drumstick leaves powder for rice, Idli, dosa and enjoy. This podi stays good without refrigeration for a month. Lets see how to make Murungai keerai podi with step by step pictures.

How to use this powder :  Take a tsp of this powder, mix with plain rice adding a tsp of ghee and enjoy it. You can also add a tsp of this powder in rice varieties like tomato rice, lemon rice, curry leaves rice or any vegetable rice.  You can also have this powder as side dish for idli, dosa like our usual chutney powder. But use in moderation. Mix with ghee or sesame oil and enjoy with idli, dosa. Alternatively, you can sprinkle this powder over the dosa and enjoy it like podi uthappam. You can add this powder while making sambar or vathakulambu and enjoy its benefits. Tastes different and flavorful too. 

 

Murungai keerai podi / Drumstick leaves powder recipe for rice

Murungai keerai podi / Drumstick leaves powder recipe for rice, idli, dosa

 

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Side dish

Serves: 1 cup

Prep time: 10 Minutes

Cook time: 20 Minutes

Total time: 30 Minutes

 

Chitra Ganapathy

INGREDIENTS

Drumstick leaves / Murungai keerai - 1 bunch / 3 cups Or Readymade moringa powder - 2 tbsp Black gram dal / Black Urad dal - 1/4 cup Chana dal – 2 tbsp Red chilli - 5  Pepper corns - 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds - 1 tsp Coriander seeds – 1 tbsp Curry leaves - Few Asafoetida / Hing - 1/4 tsp Black or White sesame seeds – 1 tbsp Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp ( to get bright green color) Salt - as needed Cooking oil - 2 tsp

HOW TO MAKE MURUNGAI KEERAI PODI

1. Take out the leaves from the stem and discard the yellow and wilted ones.
2. Remove the small stalks and stems from the leaves and discard them.
3. Wash them and spread the leaves in a cotton towel. Let the leaves dry in shade for 2 days.
4. Heat 1/2 tsp oil in a kadai. Roast urad dal till golden in color. Transfer to a plate.
5. Add 1/2 tsp oil in the kadai and roast chana dal till golden in color. Transfer to the plate.
6. Again add oil and roast the red chilli, curry leaves, pepper corns, cumin seeds till crispy. Do everything in low to medium flame patiently.
7. Add the roasted chillies to the plate. Lastly add the black sesame seeds and dry roast till it splutters. Add the coriander seeds and roast for a minute.
8. Switch off the flame and add the hing. For variations, you can roast all the above ingredients together in low to medium flame patiently and grind it.
9. Firstly grind the chillies and salt till coarse powder. Then add the roasted dals, pepper and cumin seeds. Grind to a smooth powder.
10. Lastly add the dried moringa leaves along with turmeric powder, salt and grind to a smooth powder.
11. Transfer to a box and store it. It stays good up to a month.
12. Enjoy mixing with plain rice adding ghee. Tastes great with idli, dosa too.

METHOD - STEP BY STEP PICTURES

Take the drumstick leaves bunch and seperate the leaves from the stalk. Discard the yellow and wilted leaves. Remove the small stalks as well. Now wash the leaves and drain the water completely. Spread the leaves in a cotton cloth and leave it dry under the shade for 2 days. For instant version, dry it for 2 hours and then dry roast in hot kadai for few minutes till it turns crispy. Switch off the flame and let the leaves be in hot kadai for sometime. Heat 1/2 tsp oil in a kadai. Roast urad dal till golden with nice flavour. Transfer to a plate. Similarly roast the chana dal till nice and crispy. Transfer to the dal plate.  Now add 1/2 tsp oil and roast the red chilli till crispy. Remove and transfer to the plate. Dry roast sesame seeds and coriander seeds till sesame seeds splutters. Add to the plate. Let everything cool down.  Firstly grind the red chilli, salt to a coarse powder and then grind the dals and seeds. It gives a nice color to the podi. Lastly add the moringa leaves and turmeric powder, grind it smooth. Transfer to a box and store it. Use up to a month. Enjoy !

Note

Adjust the quantity of moringa leaves as per your taste. Alter the quantity of red chilli as per your taste. For variations, you can roast all the above ingredients together in low to medium flame patiently and grind it. But do it patiently without burning any.

  
  Enjoy this healthy Moringa podi with rice, idli and dosa.

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Palak Chutney For Rice, Dosa, Roti – Pasalai keerai thogayal - Spinach Chutney

Usually I make Palak paneer, Palak chapathi or Dal palak using Palak leaves( Pasalai Keerai in Tamil) / Spinach chutney. This time I tried a chutney recipe with Palak leaves. I never thought Palak chutney would taste so good with rice and dosa. I loved it very much. Its so easy to make and tastes delicious.

During busy morning hours, if you are looking to make something easy and healthy to pack for kids and husband’s lunch box, this is the one. Tastes the best when mixed with plain rice adding ghee. I tried this recipe after watching few YouTube videos. Its similar to Andhra style Palakura Pachadi/ Palak chutney recipe.

Please check my Instant Palak dosa recipe too. 

Ok friends, lets see how to make Palak chutney with step by step pictures and video.

 

Palak chutney / Pasalai keerai chutney recipe

Palak chutney / Pasalai keerai chutney recipe for rice, roti and dosa.

 

Cuisine: South Indian

Category: Side dish

Serves: Serves 3

Prep time: 10 Minutes

Cook time: 20 Minutes

Total time: 30 Minutes

 

Chitra Ganapathy

INGREDIENTS

Palak leaves / Pasalai keerai - 1 bunch Cooking oil - 2 tbsp Urad dal - 1 tsp Chana dal - 1 tsp Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp Black or White sesame seeds - 1 tsp Coriander seeds / Dhania - 1 tsp Green chilli - 1 or 2 Tamarind - 1 small piece Hing / Asafoetida – 1/4 tsp To temper Ghee or cooking oil - 2 tsp Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp Urad dal - 1 tsp Crushed garlic - 5 Red chilli - 1

HOW TO MAKE PALAK CHUTNEY

1. Wash and chop Palak leaves roughly.
2. Dry roast sesame seeds in a kadai and add oil to it.
3. Saute urad dal, chana dal, hing, methi, dhania and cumin seeds.
4. Remove in a plate. Add some oil and add in green chilli, palak leaves.
5. Add turmeric powder, sugar and salt. Saute well till palak leaves shrink.
6. Switch off the flame. Grind everything together to a smooth paste.
7. Heat oil in a kadai. Temper mustard seeds, urad dal, crushed garlic and red chilli.
8. Add to the Palak chutney and mix well. Serve with plain rice adding ghee.

METHOD - STEP BY STEP PICTURES

Wash and chop Palak leaves roughly and set aside. Dry roast sesame seeds in a hot kadai. Add little oil in the kadai and add urad dal, chana dal, methi seeds,  dhania, hing and cumin seeds. Roast till dals turn golden. Remove in a plate. In the same hot kadai, add little oil and put the green chilli, chopped palak leaves, turmeric powder and salt. Saute till palak leaves shrink in quantity. Switch off the flame and cool down. Grind the roasted dals, sesame seeds mixture and sauteed palak leaves together adding little water. Grind to a thick and smooth paste. Heat oil in a small kadai. Temper mustard seeds, urad dal and add to the palak chutney. Mix well and enjoy !

Note

For variations, you can use red chilli instead of green chilli. You can also saute one onion before adding palak leaves. It gives a unique taste and more yield of this chutney.

Try this easy, healthy Palak chutney for rice, dosa. Enjoy !

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Pavakkai Poriyal – Bitter Gourd Curry Recipe

I love to try varieties of recipes with bitter gourd. Iam trying to include Pavakkai in my cooking at least once or twice in a week considering its health benefits. My daughter Raksha likes to eat bitter gourd only if its bitterness is less or it should be in deep fried form like bitter gourd chips with wheat flour. But I want to avoid making deep fried stuffs often. So I started exploring many side dishes using bitter gourd.

Recently I came across an easy pavakkai poriyal in pressure cooker in a You tube channel. As mentioned, my poriyal had a very mild bitter taste. We all loved it. The addition of sugar / jaggery made it more tasty. So Raksha too ate it without any complaints.

Actually this poriyal can be prepared by just sauting in a kadai with generous oil but I did everything in a pressure cooker with less oil and made it soft. It tastes good in either ways. Finally its our choice.

Lets see how to make Pavakkai poriyal without coconut in a pressure cooker.

 

Pavakkai poriyal recipe / Bitter gourd curry

Pavakkai poriyal recipe / Bitter gourd curry for rice

 

Cuisine: Tamilnadu

Category: Side dish

Serves: Serves 3

Prep time: 10 Minutes

Cook time: 20 Minutes

Total time: 30 Minutes

 

Chitra Ganapathy

INGREDIENTS

1 cup = 250ml Pavakkai / Bitter gourd - 1 ( medium sized) Big onion - 1 Garlic cloves – 10 Tamarind extract – 1 tsp Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp Sambar powder -1 tsp Jaggery or sugar - 1 tsp Salt & water - as needed To temper Cooking oil -2 tbsp Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp Urad dal - 1 tsp Chana dal - 2 tsp Hing / Asafoetida - a pinch Curry leaves - few

HOW TO MAKE BITTER GOURD CURRY IN PRESSURE COOKER

1. Wash and chop bitter gourd into thin slices. Chop onion and garlic thinly.
2. Heat oil in a cooker. Splutter mustard seeds, urad dal, chana dal and hing.
3. Add curry leaves, onion and crushed garlic cloves. Saute well.
4. Add chopped bitter gourd and saute for few minutes till it shrinks in size.
5. Lower the flame and add sambar powder, turmeric powder, jaggery and salt.
6. Mix well and add required water. Pressure cook in low flame for one whistle.
7. Open the cooker after the steam is released. If there is excess water, boil in high flame till water evaporates. Mix gently and transfer to a plate.
8. Serve with sambar, rasam rice and curd rice.

METHOD - STEP BY STEP PICTURES

Wash and chop Bitter gourd into thin slices. Chopping thinly helps to remove bitterness. Wash and chop onion. Crush garlic cloves. Set aside. Heat oil in a pressure cooker. Splutter mustard seeds, urad dal, chana dal, cumin seeds, curry leaves, crushed garlic and sliced onion. Saute till onion becomes transparent. Now add the thinly sliced bitter gourd and saute for a minute. Add turmeric powder, salt and sugar/ jaggery. Mix well. Adding turmeric powder helps to retain bright green color of bitter gourd. Add 1/4 cup of tamarind extract, sambar powder and mix well. Lastly add little water ( say 2 tbsp) and close the pressure cooker with its lid. Let the flame be high. Once the steam starts to come out, lower the flame completely and put the weight valve. Let it cook in low flame for one whistle. Switch off the flame and let the pressure release naturally. Open the cooker and add finely chopped coriander leaves. Mix gently. Boil for few minutes if there is excess water. If there is no water, you can just mix and serve with rice. Tastes good with sambar, vatha kuzhambu, kara kulambu and curd rice.

Note

Slice the bitter gourd thinly to avoid bitter taste. Adjust the quantity of sambar powder as per your taste.

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Murungakkai Kuzhambu – Drumstick Masala Kulambu For Rice

My parents were with me in Bangalore for the past one month. My father like kurma based kuzhambu varieties for rice. So I tried this Murungakkai masala kuzhambu for our lunch. We all loved it. Its a very simple recipe with tomato base.  I made it directly in a pressure cooker. So it took less time to prepare.

Friends, if you are looking for some easy Drumstick kuzhambu recipe with mild masala flavor, this is for you. Do try it and share your feedback with me.

 

Murungakkai kuzhambu recipe / Drumstick kulambu

Murungakkai kuzhambu recipe / Drumstick kulambu for rice

 

Cuisine: South Indian

Category: side dish

Serves: Serves 3

Prep time: 10 Minutes

Cook time: 20 Minutes

Total time: 30 Minutes

 

Chitra Ganapathy

INGREDIENTS

1 cup = 250ml Drumstick - 2 Ripe Tomato - 2 Small onion - 15 OR big onion - 2 (finely chopped) Garlic - 10 cloves Curry leaves - few Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp Sambar powder - 1/2 to 1 tsp Salt - as needed To temper Cooking oil - 1 tbsp Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp Urad dal - 1/2 tsp Cinnamon – 1 inch piece Cloves - 2 To grind Grated coconut - 1/4 cup Fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp

HOW TO MAKE MURUNGAKKAI KUZHAMBU

1. Wash and chop drumstick, onion, tomato, garlic.
2. Heat oil in a pressure cooker. Splutter mustard seeds, urad dal, Cinnamon and cloves.
3. Saute onion, garlic, curry leaves till transparent. Add tomato and saute till mushy.
4. Add turmeric powder, sambar powder and salt. Saute for a minute.
5. Grind coconut and fennel seeds to a smooth paste. Add to the cooker.
6. Add required water and mix well. Keep the chopped drumstick in a box and place it inside the cooker without adding water.
7. Pressure cook in low flame for one whistle. Open the cooker after the steam is released.
8. Take the drumstick bowl and add to the kuzhambu. Mix well and serve with rice.

METHOD - STEP BY STEP PICTURES

Wash and chop Drumstick into finger size pieces. Chop onion, tomato and garlic finely. Keep the chopped drumtsick in  a bowl.  Heat oil in a pressure cooker base. Splutter mustard seeds, urad dal, Cinnamon and cloves. Saute onion, garlic and curry leaves till transparent.  Add tomato and saute till mushy. Add turmeric powder, salt, sambar powder and mix well. Grind coconut and fennel seeds to a smooth paste. Add to tomato mixture. Mix well. Add required water. Take chopped drumstick pieces in a bowl and keep it inside the cooker. No need to add water to drumstick pieces. Close the pressure cooker and cook in low flame for one whistle. Switch off the flame and open the cooker after the steam is released. Remove the drumstick bowl and add to the cooker. Mix well and check for consistency. Boil for few minutes if its watery OR add little water if its too thick. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with rice.

Note

Adjust the quantity of spice powders as per your taste. For variations, you can grind cinnamon and cloves along with coconut instead of sauting in oil.

Try this easy and tasty Murungakkai kuzhambu for rice and enjoy !

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Snake gourd kootu – Pudalangai Kootu Recipe

I learnt this Snake gourd kootu / Pudalangai kootu recipe from my MIL during my recent trip to Salem. Its a simple and easy one pot recipe. Its a good side dish for Vatha kuzhambu / Kara kulambu and sambar. We all loved it.

Friends, do try this easy Tamil nadu style Pudalangai kootu recipe. You will love it too.

 

Pudalangai kootu / Snake gourd kootu recipe

Pudalangai kootu / Snake gourd kootu recipe for rice

 

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Side dish

Serves: Serves 3

Prep time: 10 Minutes

Cook time: 20 Minutes

Total time: 30 Minutes

 

Chitra Ganapathy

INGREDIENTS

1 cup = 250ml Snake gourd - 250gms Moong dal - 1 tbsp Cooking oil - 1 tbsp Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp Urad dal - 1 tsp Curry leaves - few Hing / Asafoetida - a pinch Red chilli - 1 Onion - 1 (finely chopped) Ginger - 1/2 inch piece (finely chopped) Tomato - 1 ( finely chopped) To grind Grated coconut - 1/4 cup Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp Green chilli - 1 Rice flour - 1 tsp

HOW TO MAKE SNAKE GOURD KOOTU

1. Wash and chop Snake gourd into small pieces.
2. Heat oil in a pressure cooker. Splutter mustard seeds, urad dal, red chilli, curry leaves, hing, ginger, onion pieces and saute well.
3. Add snake gourd, tomato pieces and mix well.
4. Grind coconut, chilli, cumin seeds adding rice flour to a smooth paste adding required water.
5. Add in the cooker. Mix well. Add salt, moong dal and turmeric powder. Mix well.
6. Pressure cook in low flame for one whistle. Open the cooker. Boil for a minute to adjust consistency.
7. Serve with rice, sambar, vatha kuzhambu and rasam. Enjoy !

METHOD - STEP BY STEP PICTURES

Wash and chop snake gourd into small pieces and set aside. Grind coconut, green chilli, cumin seeds and rice flour to a smooth paste adding required water. Set aside. In a pressure cooker base, heat oil and splutter mustard seeds, urad dal, curry leaves, hing, ginger bits and onion pieces. Saute till onion becomes transparent. Add Snake gourd, tomato pieces and saute well adding salt, turmeric powder. Lastly add the coconut paste, moong dal, required water and mix well. Pressure cook in low flame for one whistle. Open the cooker after the steam is released. Mix well and boil for a minute if necessary to adjust the consistency. Serve with plain rice, sambar rice, rasam rice and vatha kuzhambu. Enjoy !

Note

Adjust the quantity of chilli as per your taste. You can use sambar powder instead of grinding green chilli.

Try this easy Snake gourd kootu in a pressure cooker and enjoy with rice !

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Vazhaithandu Sweet Pachadi – Banana Stem Pachadi Recipe

Vazhaithandu inippu Pachadi – Banana Stem sweet Pachadi Recipe is our family favourite recipe using banana stem. Usually we make Vazhaithandu poriyal, Vazhaithandu sambar and Kerala style Vazhaithandu pachadi with curd. But among all these recipes, we love this banana stem sweet pachadi more. It tastes so good with sweet and mildly sour taste. Its a good side dish for sambar and rasam.

Recently I went to Salem and stayed with my in-laws for a month. We made few banana stem recipes. I asked my MIL and prepared this sweet pachadi easily in a pressure cooker. It tasted so good. I enjoyed it with sambar sadam and appalam.

 Friends, do try this Vazhaithandu sweet pachadi for a change and enjoy with your family.

Vazhaithandu sweet pachadi recipe / Banana stem pachadi recipe

Vazhaithandu sweet pachadi recipe / Banana stem pachadi recipe

 

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Side dish

Serves: Serves 3

Prep time: 10 Minutes

Cook time: 20 Minutes

Total time: 30 Minutes

 

Chitra Ganapathy

INGREDIENTS

1 cup = 250ml Banana stem - 1 cup Powdered jaggery - 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup Green chilli - 1 (finely chopped) Tomato - 1 (finely chopped) Salt - a pinch Water - as needed To grind Grated coconut – 1/4 cup Rice flour – 1/2 tsp To temper Coconut oil - 1 tsp Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp Urad dal - 1/2 tsp Red chilli - 1 Curry leaves - few

HOW TO MAKE VAZHAITHANDU SWEET PACHADI

1. Wash and chop Vazhaithandu into small pieces.
2. Immerse in buttermilk till use.
3. In a pressure cooker, drain and take chopped vazhaithandu, green chilli, tomato, salt and little water.
4. Pressure cook in low flame for one whistle. Its cooked well. Mash it slightly and set aside.
5. Grind coconut and rice flour to a smooth paste. Add to vazhaithandu.
6. Add grated jaggery and boil everything well till it becomes thick like pachadi.
7. Lastly temper in oil and add to the pachadi. Mix well and serve with sambar, rasam rice.

METHOD - STEP BY STEP PICTURES

Wash and chop Banana stem into small pieces. Immerse in buttermilk till use to avoid discoloration. Squeeze the vazhaithandu and add to pressure cooker. Add finely chopped green chilli, tomato, a pinch of salt and little water. Pressure cook in low flame for one whistle. In the mean time, grate jaggery. Grind coconut and rice flour to a smooth paste adding water. Open the cooker after the steam is released. Add ground coconut paste and jaggery along with some water if needed. Mix well and boil till thick.  Lastly temper mustard seeds, urad dal and red chilli in little oil and add to pachadi. Mix well and serve hot with sambar rice, rasam rice etc.

Note

You can skip tomato and add little tamarind extract instead. You can also use sugar instead of jaggery but jaggery gives a better taste and healthy too. Tempering one red chilli at the end gives a mild spicy taste and flavour to the pachadi.

Try this easy, healthy and yummy Banana stem sweet pachadi. People who don’t like banana stem too eat with pachadi without any complaints !

 

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