Spicy drumsticks from Mangalore (Nurge gashie)

Drumstick vegetables, also called moringa, are very traditional in South India. During the season, the tree is laden with delicious, long stick-like vegetables. It is a family favourite at our house, where my daughter loves to peel them apart and suck out the tender, sweet flesh and seeds. The leaves are also delicious and highly nutritious.

Drumsticks are available in any Indian store, either fresh during the season or frozen always.

This is another cookbook from Chandra Padmanabhan that I adore. The recipes vary across India's southern states, and each turns out very well. Like this one, the recipes are authentic and wonderfully flavoured. This cookbook is for those who want to go beyond the ordinary and enjoy very localized cuisines from the South.

For more recipes from this cookbook, click here.

Ingredients:

Drumsticks, 12 oz, cut into 2 inch pieces if fresh

Spice powder:

2 dried red chiles, or to taste

3 tablespoons coriander seeds

1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds

1 tablespoon split black gram (urad) dal

1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 cup grated fresh coconut (frozen okay)\

Tempering:

1 teaspoon black mustard seeds

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon black gram (urad) dal

8-10 curry leaves

Sauce:

1/2 tablespoon tamarind paste

2-3 cloves garlic, minced fine (Optional)

1 medium onion, diced fine

1 tablespoon jaggery

3 tablespoons cilantro, minced

Salt to taste

3-4 tablespoons oil

Boil the drumstick pods in just enough water to cover them for 10 minutes with a touch of salt. Cool and set aside with the water.

Toast all the spice powder ingredients individually on a pan until lightly browned. Cool and grind in a coffee mill to a fine powder.

Add the grated coconut to a mini blender with 1/2 cup of water the drumsticks were boiled in. Puree to a fine paste. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a pot, add the tempering ingredients, and cook on medium till the dal is light brown and the mustard seeds start to pop. Add the onion and cook till lightly browned about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, if using, and cook for 1 minute. Add the spice paste and mix. You should have a very wet mix; if not, add some oil. Fry till the ingredients are browned lightly. Add the tamarind and the coconut milk and simmer till the paste is thick and the oil begins to shine in the paste, about 10 minutes. Add the cooked drumsticks, salt and some of the water. Simmer gently for 5 minutes or till you have the desired consistency for the curry. I prefer this thick curry, where the paste coats and sticks to the drumsticks.

Serve topped with fresh cilantro.