Murungakaai Poricha Kuzhambu

At home we usually make only the traditional arachu vitta sambhar and don't even keep stock of any sambhar powder. But for the sake of my experiments on different types of sambhars, mom made sambhar powder and this Murungakaai (Drumstick) Poricha kuzhambu was my first attempt with it and it turned out to be a success and all of us at home loved the taste and the flavour of drumstick just enchanced the kuzhambu even more! I came across the recipe of poricha kootu/kuzhambu in many blogs and this is an inspiration from two or three such recipes! Apart from drumstick, many other veggies like carrot, capsicum, white pumpkin etc can be added too but here I have used only drumstick.

INGREDIENTS

• Drumstick - 2
• Tomatoes - 2, Chopped
• Moong Dal - 1/2 cup
• Sambhar powder - 2 Tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 Tsp
• Asafoetida - 1/2 Tsp
• Salt - as needed

To grind:

• Grated coconut - 3/4th cup
• Rice flour - 1/2 Tsp

To temper:

• Mustard - 2 Tsp
• Urad Dal - 2 Tsp
• Cumin seeds - 2 Tsp
• Curry leaves - 6-8
• Finely chopped onions(preferably small onions) - 2 Tbsp
• Hing (Asafoetida) - 1/4 Tsp
• Oil - 2 Tsp

METHOD

1. Wask and soak moong dal for 15-20 minutes
2. Grind coconut and rice flour with very little water and keep aside
3. Boil drumstick and keep aside
4. Boil moong dal with tomato, turmeric, sambhar powder (You could also pressure cook it for 2 whistles)
5. Add salt and the boiled drumsticks to the cooked dal
6. Add the ground coconut + rice flour paste to the cooked dal and give it a boil
7. Remove from fire and season it with the items under "To Temper". I used shallots (onions), finely chopped them as they give a special flavor
8. Serve hot with rice and some curry or roasted pappad