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.
