Mulakkada Tomato Curry (Drumstick & Moringa)

Moringa (drumstick) trees grow in almost every Telangana backyard. The long pods are cooked until the inside turns soft and sweet – you scrape it out with your teeth – in a tomato gravy thickened with roasted peanuts and sesame. Moringa leaves can be added too.

Video by Saroja’s Kitchen on YouTube. Our recipe below is our own home-style version, written in our own words – quantities and steps may differ from the video.

• Serves 4
• Prep 15 min
• Cook 30 min
• Vegan · gluten-free
• Famous in Telangana

Ingredients

• 3–4 drumsticks (moringa pods), cut in 7 cm pieces (fresh or frozen)
• 1 handful moringa leaves (optional) or 1 tbsp moringa powder
• 3 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 10 curry leaves
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
• 3 tomatoes, chopped
• ½ tsp turmeric
• 1½ tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tsp salt
• For the masala: 2 tbsp peanuts, 1 tbsp sesame seeds, 1 tsp coriander seeds – dry-roasted and ground

Method

1. Heat the oil, add mustard and cumin, then curry leaves and onion and fry until golden.
2. Add ginger-garlic paste, tomatoes, turmeric, chilli powder and salt and cook until the tomatoes are completely soft.
3. Add the drumsticks and 300 ml water, cover and cook for 12–15 minutes until soft.
4. Stir in the ground peanut-sesame masala and the moringa leaves and simmer for 5 minutes until thick.
5. Serve with rice or jonna rotte (sorghum roti).

Tip: Frozen drumsticks from the Asian freezer work very well and need only 8–10 minutes.

Shop the ingredients

Everything you need for this recipe is in stock at Farmah’s – order online or pick it up at Annenstraße 41, Graz.