This moringa leaves recipe is a typical south Indian style dry curry made with few ingredients and without any oil. Vegan, a healthy and nutritious curry goes well as side-dish with rice and dal or as an accompaniment with chapati, paratha.

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Moringa Oleifera tree is popularly known as drumstick tree in India which has been in existence for centuries. The leaves, young seed pods are largely used in Indian culinary preparations such as sambar, munagaku vepudu, murungai keerai poriyal, drumstick leaves soup and moringa dal are few to name.

Recently it has gained huge popularity in western countries and it is being named a miracle tree. It is considered as a superfood because a cup of these leaves contains a great source of protein, calcium, iron, vitamins and all essential amino acids. It is a great way to incorporate essential nutrients into the diet.

This particular dish being totally oil-free is a great advantage for weight-watchers and for people on a healthy diet. Even though it is oil-less, it tastes absolutely delicious. Once you taste it you will be hooked and you end up making it frequently.

This dry drumstick leaves curry served with hot steamed rice, rasam and pachadi make an absolute comfort and healthy weekday meals.

Moringa Leaves recipe variations

I made this curry without onion and garlic. A couple of garlic cloves makes a good addition and adds an extra flavour. Pulse them in a blender along with peanut mixture.

Lime juice makes a great addition. Add a dash of it at the end and stir.

Freshly grated coconut adds a great nutty flavour to this dish.

Health Benefits of Moringa Leaves

Reduce inflammations
Help lower blood sugar
Boost haemoglobin and iron levels
Boosts immune system
Has antifungal, antidepressant, anti-inflammatory and antiviral properties.

WATCH HOW TO MAKE Drumstick leaves curry

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Ingredients

Moringa Leaves: Fresh young leaves tastes good for this recipe. You can use frozen leaves too but make sure to thaw properly before you use them.

To Blend: Dry red chillies, peanuts and cumin. I've used blanched raw peanuts and not so hot dry red chillies. Feel free to use any variety of peanuts and red chillies. However, ensure to adjust chillies to suit your spice preference.

Instructions

Wash moringa leaves with water and keep it aside.

In a small pan, first, dry roast peanuts and keep them in a plate.

In the same pan, dry roast red chillies for a minute, then turn off the heat and roast cumin for a few seconds.

Blend peanuts, chillies and cumin in a spice blender to a coarse powder.

In a deep skillet, combine drumstick leaves, salt and water.

Cook on medium-high heat for 5 minutes or until drumstick leaves are tender and water is completely absorbed. Keep stirring.

Turn off the heat, add 2 teaspoon ground peanut-red chilli powder.

Stir until well combined.

Serve healthy and tasty drumstick leaves curry with chapatti or rice and dal.

Tips & Tricks

Do not add too much water to cook moringa leaves. Overcooking turns moringa leaves bitter.

To avoid overcooking, keep a glass of hot water aside. Just in case if more water is necessary, add a couple of tablespoons of water at a time whenever it is required while cooking.

Stir often to ensure even cooking.

Ensure to turn the heat off before you add cumin to prevent over roasting. The heat on the pan is just enough to roast cumin.

Notes

Although moringa leaves possess a wide range of health benefits, do not consume

Young leaves taste best for this recipe. If at all you plan to use mature leaves, make sure you cook them well and properly as they are somewhat difficult to digest especially for kids.

Discard all the stems that are inedible and wash these leaves 2-3 times in plenty of water to get rid of dust.

Water required to cook moringa leaves may vary depending on how young the moringa leaves are. Young leaves require less water and mature leaves need more water to cook.

I've used blanched raw peanuts. You may use any variety of peanuts.

Use peanut coarse powder as much as you want to suit your taste preference and store the rest in an air-tight container. I use it in most of the stir-fries and Kohlrabi curry.

More side-dish recipes

Jeera Aloo

Bhindi Do Pyaza

Potato Mushroom Curry

Bombay Chutney

Tomato Kurma

📖 Recipe Card

Oil-Free Moringa Leaves Curry

This moringa leaves recipe is a typical south Indian style dry curry made with few ingredients and without any oil. Vegan, a healthy and a nutritious curry goes well as side-dish with rice and dal or as an accompaniment with chapati, paratha.

4.93 from 14 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Indian

Cook Time: 10

Total Time: 10

Servings:

Calories: 9kcal

Author: Geetha

Ingredients

1 cup = 250ml ; 1 tablespoon =15ml

2.5 cups (85 gms) Moringa Leaves
¼-1/3 cup Water
2 Red Chillies
¼ cup (40 gms) Peanut
¼ teaspoon Cumin
as required Salt

Instructions

Wash moringa leaves with water and keep it aside.
In a small pan, dry roast peanuts on low heat for 3-4 minutes or until they start to turn golden brown and release nutty aroma.
Transfer them to a plate.
Now in the same pan, dry roast red chillieson low heat for a minute or until it release pungent aroma.
Turn the heat off, add cumin seeds and roast for few seconds.
Transfer them to a plate and let them cool down.
Blend it in a spice blender to a coarse powder.
In a deep skillet, combine drumstick leaves, salt and water.
Cook on medium-high heat for 5 minutes or until drumstick leaves are well cooked and water is completely absorbed. Keep stirring.
Turn off the heat, add 2-3 teaspoon ground peanut-red chilli powder.
Stir until well combined.
Serve healthy and tasty moringa dry curry with chapati or rice and dal.

Notes

Discard all the stems that are inedible and wash these leaves 2-3 times in plenty of water to get rid of dust.

Water required to cook moringa leaves may vary depending on how young the moringa leaves are. Young leaves require less water and mature leaves need more water to cook.

Tips & Tricks

Do not add too much water to cook moringa leaves. Overcooking turns moringa leaves bitter.

To avoid overcooking, keep a glass of hot water aside. Just in case if more water is necessary, add a couple of tablespoons of water at a time whenever it is required while cooking.

Keep stirring to ensure even cooking.

** Nutritional information provided here are estimated and for guidance only. Please refer my Recipe Disclaimer for more details.

Nutrition

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This recipe is a part of A to Z challenge, a challenge initiated by super active bloggers Jolly Makkar and Vidya Narayan on Facebook Group, wherein a group of bloggers come together and we choose key ingredients alphabetically to cook and post a dish every month. This month challenge is to make a dish with an ingredient name starting with letter 'M' so I choose Moringa Leaves as a star ingredient.

More related recipes

: Kohlrabi Curry

: Bombay Chutney

: Bhindi Do Pyaza

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