I’ve completely gotten into this mode of cooking a proper vegetarian meal every night this week. Thankfully I had the ground coconut masala and cooked tur dal in the fridge already. All I needed to do was cook the vegetables and bring it together with the dal and masala. The cabbage palya barely took 7-8 minutes to cook, so it wasn’t an elaborate process.
The drumstick curry
Yield: Enough for 4 people Ingredients: Drumstick - 2 medium ones cut into 2 inch pieces Red shallots (sambar onions) - 7-8 Tomato - 1 quartered Masala - 3 tbsp of previously ground masala + 3 dried red chillies + 3 cloves garlic + 1 tsp tamarind pulp all ground together Cooked tur dal - 1/2 cup Jaggery - 1 tbsp crushed Chilly powder - 1 tsp Tamarind pulp water - 1/4 cup Coriander leaves for garnish Salt - to taste Tempering: Ghee/oil - 1 tbsp Mustard seeds - 1 tsp Urad dal - 1 tsp Curry leaves - 2 sprigs
Method: Cook drumsticks in water for 6-7 minutes or till it's slightly soft when you poke it with a fork/knife (I didn't know how else to check) and keep aside with the water it was cooked in. Heat oil/ghee and add all the ingredients for tempering and let them splutter. Now add the tamarind water and let it come to a boil for about 3-4 mins. Add the masala and dal along with tomatoes and shallots. Let this bubble on medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the drumsticks, salt and chilly powder. Take it off the heat and garnish with coriander leaves.
The cabbage palya
Ingredients: Cabbage - 1 small, shredded Oil - 2 tbsp Mustard seeds - 1 tbsp Channa dal - 1 tsp Curry leaves - 1 sprig Chilly powder - 1 tsp Turmeric - 1-2 tsp (depending on how you like it) Salt - to taste Method: Heat oil and add mustard seeds, channa dal and curry leaves. Let them splutter. Add the turmeric and chilly powder. Add cabbage and stir well. Add salt and cook for 5 minutes. I like mine slightly on the crunchier side. If you want it to be cooked though completely cook it longer.
I served the curry and cabbage with rice and a side of yoghurt and mango pickle.
