Drumsticks in mild milk curry (Munagakaya palu posina kura)

I must admit that I love drumsticks or moringa pods. The inner flesh is tender, sweet, and wonderfully flavoured, and this curry highlights those flavours.

This is a light curry. The drumstick pods are cooked and then added to a mild curry scented with green chillies and garlic. The milk adds a lovely creaminess to the curry. The light curry is the perfect side of any table.

This is a wonderful cookbook packed with traditional dishes. It was written by Archana Pidathala as an ode to her grandmother's cooking. This book is so much more than a collection of recipes; it brings to my table a history of the cuisine and people. Wonderfully written and with beautiful photographs, this cookbook fills a gap in my bookshelf in a cuisine I know little about.

For more delicious and spicy dishes from this cookbook, click here.

Ingredients:

4 drumsticks, cut into 2-inch pieces

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups water

1 tablespoon oil

1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds

15 curry leaves

4-5 small garlic cloves, kept whole

1 small onion, finely diced

2-3 green chillies, thinly sliced into circles

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seeds

Salt, to taste

1 cup warm milk

Cilantro, minced, for garnish

Add the cut drumsticks to a pot with the salt and water and bring to a boil. Simmer gently for 10-12 minutes until the drumsticks are cooked. They should easily separate into thirds if pressed gently with your fingers if cooked. Drain, cool under running water and set aside.

Heat the oil in a small pot and add the mustard seeds. When they pop, in about 10 seconds, add the curry leaves and garlic cloves. Sautè for 20 seconds, then add the onions and green chillies. Sautè for 3-4 minutes until the onions are cooked through and translucent. Do not let the onions brown.

Add the turmeric, coriander and salt and turn the mix a few times. Add the cooked drumsticks back to the spice paste and sautè for 2 minutes till the drumsticks are coated with the spices and heated through.

Add the milk and turn down the heat to low. Continuously stir the curry until the milk is hot, but do not bring it to a boil. Take off the stove. If you boil the curry, the milk may split. Also, once the milk has been added, the curry should be continually stirred so that the milk does not split. Taste for salt.

Serve hot, garnished with cilantro.