Murungai Keerai (Drumstick leaves) Porucha Kuzhambu

Thanks to all my friends and readers who continuously support me and they are the reason for me to make this post after a,most 2years.

Murungai Keerai is native to India, but now available in more parts of the world. It is the most powerful health enhancing plants. It is a natural energy booster without sugar, a multivitamin providing, vitamin c, calcium, vitamin A, potassium, and protein too.

Keerai or Spinach has never been my favorite when I was a kid or before marriage. Well, for sure things changed after marriage. And when I got kids, my liking for the healthy foods grew more. I am one happy person as my kids like these healthy ones unlike me.
My love for Murugai Keerai grew with the murungai keerai adai. So mouth watering..My friend Priya's mom used to make it and I get to eat it there. Staying away from your hometown, you cannot expect to get all your hometown foods. So I used to make the Ragi adai without the murungai leaves. And suddenly one day, I got the murungai leaves in my town. Now, I regularly buy and try different recipes.

It is very important to pick murungai keerai. Do not pick any yellow leaves, or any leaves with black ones. The leaves has to be removed nicely from the stems. This is the more time consuming work.

Murungai Keerai Poricha Kuzhambu

You need:

Murungai Keerai - 1 cup
Toor dhal - 1/2 cup (uncooked)
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
salt - to taste
Crushed pepper - 1 tsp

For grinding
Coconut - 1/4 cup
red chillies - 2 to 3 depending on your spice level
cumin seeds - 1 tsp
raw rice - 1/2 tsp

To tamper

oil - 1 tsp
mustard - 1/2 tsp
Urad dhal - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - few

Method:

1. Soak the raw rice. Remove the leaves from the twigs. Discard any yellow leaves. Wash the leaves nicely. 
2. Take drumstick leaves, add turmeric, crushed pepper, salt and add a cup of water to cook in a pan. 
3. Cook the toor dhal separately in the pressure cooker. It has to be cooked so you can mash it.
4. Heat a pan, add a tsp of oil and fry the red chillies. Add the roasted red chillies, and the rest from the "for grinding" and grind in the mixer.
5. Meanwhile, once the toor dhal is cooked. Try to mash it and add to the cooked murugai keerai. Mix this nicely. 
6. Add the ground paste to the keerai dhal mixture. Now, cook this in low flame for 5 mins. 
7. Tamper mustard, urad dhal, and curry leaves. Add the tampered to the kuzhambu. 
8. Now the porucha kuzhambu is ready to eat with rice. 

This is a nice recipe, as it has dhal also. This is very rich in iron and protein. Along with rice it serves as a perfect meal.