Murungakkai Masala (Moringa mash)

Kootu recipes, Side dish for rice, South Indian Lunch recipes

Moringa trees are the most common trees grown in almost every house here in South India. Despite the facts that moringa trees attract pests and they are so fragile that they can not withstand strong winds, we grow this tree mainly to enjoy the benefits of nutritious leaves, flowers & pods. Normally, we don’t allow the children to go near this tree as woolly caterpillars found on it may cause itchy skin hives when contact with their strands. Also it is a common phenomenon that branches of drumstick trees break apart and falling down during windy or rainy season.

moringa-tree Murungakkai Masala (Moringa mash)
Murungai maram (Moringa tree)

During such events loads of drumstick leaves & pods are available with us for consumption and we prepare murunga keerai curry & murungakkai masala utilizing those plentiful leaves & pods.

moringa-recipes Murungakkai Masala (Moringa mash)
Recipes using moringa leaves & pods

Generally, we use drumstick leaves, flowers & pods for both culinary & medicinal purposes, you may refer the chart below for their nutrient values.

drumsticks-nutrients Murungakkai Masala (Moringa mash)
Nutrition data of murunga keerai & murungakkai

It is a painstaking process to steam the whole pods and scrape out the flesh & seeds from them. But it is really worth the effort as it would encourage even the kids to enjoy this nourishing dish. So we can prepare masala dosa or sandwich liked by children by stuffing delicious murungakkai masala and serve for breakfast. Also we can serve this for lunch as a side dish for rice as shown below. Now lets look into the recipe for murungakkai masala:

murmash-1 Murungakkai Masala (Moringa mash)
Lunch with murungakkai masala, vazhakkai poriyal,
paruppu, rasam, thayir, manathakkali vathal & appala poo

Murungakkai masala recipe:

murmash-5 Murungakkai Masala (Moringa mash)
Murungakkai masala

Yields: 1 cup (200 ml)

Ingredients:

  • 7 drumstick pods
  • 1 tsp of coconut oil
  • ½ tsp of cumin seeds
  • A sprig of curry leaves
  • 1 onion
  • ¼ tsp of turmeric powder
  • 1 tsp of red chilli powder
  • 1 tomato
  • ¾ tsp of salt
  • Fresh coriander leaves for garnishing
murmash-4 Murungakkai Masala (Moringa mash)

Mise en place:

  • Wash drumstick pods and chop them into 3-4″ pieces.
  • Steam them for 7 minutes & scrape the flesh out as shown below.
  • Keep the seeds & pulp aside in a bowl.
  • Chop onion & tomato finely and leave aside.
murmash-2 Murungakkai Masala (Moringa mash)
How to separate the flesh & seeds from drumstick pods

Preparing murungakkai masala:

  • Heat a cooking pan with oil in medium flame.
  • Add cumin seeds, chopped onion & curry leaves into the hot oil and saute until onion turn translucent.
  • Then add turmeric powder & chilli powder and fry for few seconds.
  • Add chopped tomatoes & salt (¼ tsp) and saute until mushy.
  • Finally, add drumstick seeds & pulp followed by salt (½ tsp) and stir to combine.
  • When the mixture is well amalgamated remove from heat.
  • Garnish with finely chopped fresh coriander leaves.
  • Now murungakkai masala is ready to serve.
murmash-3 Murungakkai Masala (Moringa mash)
Murungakkai masala recipe

89 comments on “Murungakkai Masala (Moringa mash)”Add yours →

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  1. Love drumstick flavour…tasty, healthy and so pleasing to palate too?
    Beautifully presented by the way ❣️ lovely weekend Megala ?

  2. I tried this version and it really has become a favourite! Thanks Megala.
    And btw I recently showed a bit of your blogs to my mother … and she remarked, on how well presented your articles were, and sends you fond wishes for much more !

    1. I’m so delighted to hear this, thank you so much. Please convey my special thanks to your mother. 🙂

  3. What an interesting blogpost. I love that drumstick leaves, flowers and pods are used for both culinary & medicinal purposes. I really enjoy when you combine these two topics in one post.

  4. All of us at home are big fans of drumsticks, my 4-year-old daughter included. I’ve never tried using drumsticks this way – it looks absolutely delicious. I’m so going to try this out. Have bookmarked your recipe. 🙂

  7. Amazing! The nutrients are great!
    I did a little research, and found that moringa contains very high levels of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds. great herbal medicine!

  8. We had a moringa tree in our backyard and seeing your photo brought back memories. Love your idea of moringa mash!

  11. It’s been long since we know each other… would love it if you read and review my book soldiers girl love story of a Para Commando available on Amazon and Kindle

  13. Hello , Megala, is any setting has been changed [inside ] in your blog. ? WordPress made a lot of changes in the pattern & today i have a lot of confusion to publish post, as there is no any option to add images in the post & product. Do u have any idea please share with me.

  14. Commenting a second time.
    Just read that the moringa seeds are being researched by University of Massachusetts to be used in filtering polluted river waters for drinking.

    1. Oh! I’ve failed to recognize their sounds so far, and I would pay close attention to them henceforth.
      Thanks Tracey!

  25. Beautiful dish!! We also prepare the similar dish, but instead of pulp boiled drumstick pieces are used. Remaining procedure is almost the same! We call it as mulakkada tomato curry !! Loved your version as well!! Thanks for sharing!!

    1. It is indeed a delightful experience relishing the whole drumstick pieces than taking the pulp, but children today don’t enjoy them as we do. I would always prefer the one you have mentioned than this recipe. 🙂 Thank you.

    1. You are most welcome! By the way, I just want to know whether drumstick leaves & pods are available in your part of the world.

      1. Yes Megala , luckily we do get the drumstick leaves and pods here in the Indian grocery store but only during the summer months . I’m pretty sure there may be farms growing them here .In winters, we have to be contended with the frozen ones .I know in South India esp, Kerala almost all backyards have them and they taste so good..miss that a lot!

        1. Good that you could buy them in your locality, and I heard that people living overseas find it difficult to source these.

  37. Wow – I didn’t know drumstick grew on trees or that its leaves were edible also. I’ve had drumstick before (I admit, I’m not a huge fan) but for some reason I imagined it growing on a bush – like maybe a bigger version than a green bean plant. How interesting!

    1. We use these leaves as green-leaf vegetables, and I heard that moringa leaves are used in powder form as a soup thickener in non-tropical regions. Wish you could source this nutritious powder in Canada as well.
      Thank you!

  39. Megala, I love that not only do you post wonderful recipes but I love that I learn something new every time I visit your blog 🙂 thank you. LORD, thank You for Megala, and thank You for continuing to bless her 🙂

    1. I’m so glad to hear this, thanks a ton!
      By the way I will fulfill your wishes soon by posting the recipe for naan. 🙂

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