Drumstick Leaves Dal

I love love love Andhra food. I was exposed to Andhra food much later in life in my early 20s. I loved going to this one Andhra restaurant in BengaLuru which served vegetarian lunch menu on a banana leaf. Their pickles, chutneys and pappus were out of this world. I was frequenting that restaurant quite often. After a while my body just couldn’t handle the heat and I had to forcefully stop myself from going there. Once in a while I crave that kind of food, but how much ever I try I can’t bring myself to make it that spicy at home.   

Coming to the recipe, Drumstick leaves(moringa leaves) is considered super potent and healthy. I find separating leaves from the stalks painful, but I still get it for its health benefits. This dal is very flavorful and made in Andra style. Do try! 

Ingredients

Toor dal

Drumstick leaves

Tomato - 1

Green chilies - 5

Tamarind paste - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder

Red chili powder - optional

Salt

Tadka 

Oil 

Mustard seeds 

Jeera

Red chilies

Garlic - 1-2 (big)

Method

Separate leaves from the stalks - this is a painful process. You can pull out leaves from the main stalks and then take out little stalks attached to the leaves. Wash and drain the water.  

This is the given recipe - In a pressure cooker add toor dal + drumstick leaves + slit chilies + chopped tomato. Close the lid and pressure cook for 4-5 whistles. After the pressure comes down, open the lid and mash dal nicely. 

But from my observation, toor dal doesn’t cook properly with drumstick leaves. If cooked together, even though dal is cooked it doesn’t come to mash-able consistency. Here is a picture when dal and leaves are cooked together. 

I prefer cooking dal and leaves separately. You can also cook leaves on stove top if they’re tender. But I personally don’t like getting tiny stalks while chewing and so I prefer pressure cooking drumstick leaves. In a pressure cooker I put dal(and water of course) + slit chillies in one container and leaves and tomato in another. 

After the pressure comes down put them together in a pot. Add water to get dal consistency. Add salt, turmeric, and red chili powder and tamarind paste. Bring it to boil. 

Make tadka - oil/ghee + mustard after it starts splattering add jeera and red chili and either crushed or chopped garlic. Sauté till garlic is roasted. Add this to the dal.  Serve hot with rice. 

Recipe Source - “https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xsWBIPj9XU”