Drumstick Leaves Curry (முருங்கைகீரை பொறியல்)

I am not really a big fan of drumstick leaves, but really got excited when I happened to see this in Indian grocery store recently. Though I knew cleaning up the leaves is a huge task, I decided to go for it and the dish came out well.

Drumstick leaves often has a bitter taste for which we use coconut to remove excessive bitterness. This is a very basic dish from the leaves, but please take care to clean the leaves well before use.

Servings -4 

Ingredients:

1. Drumstick leaves - 1/2 pound

2. Onion - 1 finely chopped

3. Red chilies -3 to 4

4. Mustard seeds - 1/2 teaspoon

5. Urad dhal - 1 teaspoon

6. Asafoetida - a pinch

7. Oil - 1 tablespoon

8. Coconut - grated 4 tablespoons

9. Salt- to taste

Preparation:

1. The very important step of this dish is to clean and separate the leaves from stems and wash them thoroughly and drain it.

2. Heat oil in a pan and season it with mustard seeds, urad dhal, asafoetida and red chilies.

3. Add onions, drumstick leaves, salt and saute it well. Sprinkle little water and cook the leaves by closing a lid in medium flame.

4. When the leaves are cooked add the grated coconut and mix well.

Healthy, tasty drumstick leaves poriyal is ready to be served.