Murungai Elai Poriyal/Drumstick leaves Curry

Drumstick is a well known vegetable in Southern part of India. It is grown in many homes in South India.The leaves of the same tree are also used in making curries and gravies. The leaves of drumstick are small and oval-round in shape.

My granny has mainly lived on natural products and uses natural methods to treat minor health ailments.Since we had a drumstick tree at home, we had very easy access to drumstick. And through my Granny, I have got to know many benefits of Drumstick.They are very rich in calcium and phosphorus.It also acts as a cleanser of the intestinal tract as it is known to have some antibacterial properties .It is also rich in Vitamin C and is responsible for developing good immunity and purifying the blood.

Drumstick and its leaves are known for their curative properties. They can be used for people of all age groups. Infants and children can also consume drumstick and its leaves as it is known to strengthen bones and develop immunity.It is also used as a natural cure for respiratory infections, Digestive disorders and also used to cure urinary tract infections. The leaves are crushed and applied on the face to get rid of pimples too.

{Extras:It is also said that while seperating the leaves from the main stalk, we should not allow the leaves to come in contact with the ground or the floor(In older days cutting of vegetables was done by a special gadget/cutting knife known as "Aruvamanai" which had to be put to use for cutting vegetables by sitting on the floor only). It is said that doing such thing would increase the bitterness of the leaves.}

Murungai elai poriyal/Drumstick leaves curry is a dry curry made of Drumstick leaves and coconut.Here is the recipe to make this.

Ingredients:

Drumstick leaves - 2 cups (seperated from stalk)
Coconut - 1 cup - grated
Dry red chillies - 4-5 (or According to taste)
Salt - According to taste
Oil - 2 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 2 tsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - A sprig of leaves

Method:

• Take a vessel and boil water by adding salt to it.Once water is boiled remove from heat and add the drumstick leaves to it and let it wilt.
• Put the grated coconut and the dry red chillies and blend it into a coarse paste.
• Take a kadai/pan and add oil. Once the oil is heated add the mustard seeds,urad dal and curry leaves.
• Once the mustard crackles, add the coarsely grated paste and fry till the raw smell is gone.
• Strain the water and add the wilted drumstick leaves to the pan.
• Saute well for a few minutes and cover and cook on low flame for 5-6 minutes.
• Serve with rice or roti.

Sweet Potato Vatha Kuzhambu (Spicy Tamarind Gravy)

Vatha kuzhambu is one of the gravies we make regularly at home. It is mixed with rice and ghee and had with some curry. When I travel for days and eat out a lot, all I crave for is, this Vatha kuzhambu and pappad. It is a perfect comfort food!

Instead of sweet potato, you can one of these veggies: capsicum, okra, onion, brinjal, drum stick

Ingredients:
Tamarind - medium lemon size ball
Sambar Powder - 3 tsp
Hing/Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp
Salt - as needed
Sweet Potato - 1 peeled and sliced into 1/4 inch thick disks
Onion (optional) - 1/2 cup sliced
Jaggery - 1/2 tsp
Rice flour - 2 tsp

Seasonings:
Sesame Oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Fenugreek seeds - 1 tsp
Channa Dal or Thur Dal - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - a few

Method:
Soak tamarind in 1 cup warm water for 10 minutes.
Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds. When they crackle, add fenugreek, channa dal or thur dal and curry leaves. I personally like to use thur dal.
When they turn golden brown, add onion and fry till it turns transparent.
Sprinkle some salt.
Add sliced sweet potatoes and saute for a minute.
Extract 3 cups of tamarind water.
In a deep pan, boil tamarind water along with salt, asafoetida, sambar powder and the sauteed veggies. Let it boil for 25 minutes. Check if the veggies are cooked fully.
Mix rice flour with 1/2 cup water and make a smooth paste.
Add this paste to the boiling mixture and stir continuously. Let it cook for 2-3 minutes.
The tamarind gravy will thicken.
Add jaggery and mix well.
Turn off the heat and serve hot with rice, ghee and some curry.

Beef Stew

Since I don't have any special baking activities recently, I decided to post up my daily cooking here to keep you remember me :) I've stew quite often at home but never think of taking any pictures of it until my hubby mention to me. 

As I don't have a proper casserole which can be used on the hob to the oven, my stew was cooked in a normal pan then transfer to a slow cooker for further cooking process. I love to make stew simply because it's a one dish meal as it's easy to prepare and serve. Furthermore, it could be turned into different type of pie dish, either bake it with mashed potato, sliced potato, pastry or just have it straight with rice, pasta or mash that would not make me bore about it. I find the stew always taste better after the day it's cooked, so I normally cook more to keep in the fridge or freezer. Some people like to cook stew with stout but it's not for me and my hubby. So I use homemade chicken or beef broth to replace it, we love  it so much! Bon Appetit!

Recipe from Jamie Oliver. (I've slightly amended the recipe to suit our appetite)

Trim the ends off 1 big stick of celery and roughly chop • Peel and roughly chop 1 onions • Peel 1 carrots, slice lengthways and roughly chop • Put a casserole pan on a medium heat, fry 2 slices of chopped streaky bacon until slightly golden brown • Put all the vegetables, 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary and thyme and the 2 dried bay leaves into the pan with 2 lugs of olive oil and fry for 10 minutes

 Add 300g beef  (cut into approximately 2cm cubes) and 1 tablespoon flour • Pour in 1 cup of chicken stock and 1 cup diced can tomatoes • Give it a good stir, then season with some sea salt and a few grinds of black pepper • Bring to the boil, put the lid on and either simmer slowly on your hob or cook in an 180C preheated oven for 3 hours • Remove the lid for the final half hour of simmering or cooking • When done, your meat should be tender and delicious • Remember to remove the bay leaves before serving, and taste it to see if it needs a bit more salt and pepper • You can eat your stew as it is with some mash potato and green peas at the side, or you can use it for pasta or even turn it into a beef pie.