Drumstick Recipe | Drumstick Curry
Just like coconut and banana, the entire trees of which are beneficial and super useful in a balanced and wholesome Indian meal, same is the case with the drumstick or moringa tree. From the leaves, flowers to drumsticks, each part of the moringa tree has many health benefits. Thus, also categorized as a super food. Here, I have shared an easy and simple Drumstick Recipe. This is a no-fuss and yummy North Indian style Drumstick Curry made with drumsticks. The recipe is also vegan and gets done within half an hour.
About Drumstick Curry Recipe
First things first, to avoid any confusions, the drumsticks used in this Drumstick Recipe are the pods of the moringa oleifera or moringa tree, and not the chicken drumsticks. In Hindi, drumstick pods are also known as saijan ki phalli. So, which obviously makes this preparation of Drumstick Curry as a vegetarian plant based one.
Like I mentioned in the beginning, moringa has many health benefits and the consumption of the various parts of the moringa tree is quite common in Indian cuisine. In this recipe post, you have the lovely Drumstick Curry with North Indian flavors.
Other regional cuisines like Bengali cuisine has crispy fried, lightly salted moringa flowers. Top some steaming hot rice with these fried flowers, a dollop of ghee, mix and have it. This is a delicacy in the Bengali food culture.
Another Drumstick Recipe is a simple stir-fry with some mustard seeds, turmeric and salt, and also drumsticks cooked with posto (poppy seeds or khus khus).
In this particular North Indian style Drumstick Recipe, a paste is made of onion, tomato, ginger and garlic. You begin preparing the dish by cooking this paste with cumin seeds first. This paste adds a body to the Drumstick Curry besides making it flavorful.
In addition to the paste and drumsticks, other ingredients that go in this Drumstick Curry are turmeric powder, red chili powder, asafoetida (hing), garam masala powder and some fresh coriander leaves for garnishing.
These spices can be adjusted according to your personal preferences. Also, since this Drumstick Recipe is Punjabi style, I would suggest using the Punjabi garam masala powder in it. However, if you don’t have it, you can use your regular garam masala powder too.
This onion-tomato based Drumstick Curry is thin, light and a bit spicy. There are full-on flavors of the drumsticks in it, and really pairs well with steamed rice or a rice-based dish like dal khichdi. This curry can also be paired as a side dish with dal-rice combination. Overall, it is a healthy side dish.
If you have drumsticks at home, this Drumstick Recipe is an easy and quick dish that you can prepare with them. Usually, I also add drumsticks in a South Indian Avial, Sambar or in dals. I also make a special Drumstick Sambar with it, which is one of those few recipes that I make with drumstick only.
Expert Tips
- Make sure to rinse, peel and then chop the drumsticks into the desired size. Better to use tender drumstick pods, as if the pods are matured, they cake more time to cook and do not taste that good.
- You can adjust the quantity of spices, as per your likings and taste preferences.
- Ensure cooking the drumstick till tender and well-cooked. They should not become mushy or break.
- Also, better to use a homemade garam masala powder in this dish. For the recipe, you can refer to this Garam Masala Powder post.
Step by Step Photo Guide Above
Ingredients
For making curry paste
- 1 onion, – medium to large sized, roughly chopped or ½ cup chopped
- 2 tomatoes – medium to large sized, roughly chopped or 1 cup chopped
- 1 inch ginger – peeled and chopped
- 4 to 5 garlic cloves – small to medium-sized, peeled and chopped
Other ingredients
- 4 to 5 drumsticks – medium-sized
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon Kashmiri Chilli Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Garam Masala or Punjabi garam masala
- 1 pinch asafoetida (hing)
- 1 to 1.5 cups water or add as required
- 2 tablespoons oil
- salt as required
- 2 tablespoons coriander leaves – chopped, (cilantro) – for garnish
Instructions
Preparation
- Rinse the drumsticks a few times in water. Peel lightly and chop the drumsticks into 3 to 4 inches pieces long sticks or batons.
- Make a smooth and fine curry paste paste without adding any water with the onions, tomatoes, ginger and garlic.
Making drumstick curry
- Heat oil in a pan. Crackle the cumin first on low. Then add the ground curry paste.
- Be careful when adding the paste. It might splurge.
- Stir to mix well and then add the turmeric, kashmiri red chili powder and asafoetida.
- Sauté stirring often till you see oil leaving the sides of the masala.
- Add the drumsticks and stir so that the masala coats them well.
- Pour water and season with salt. Cover the pan and let the drumsticks cook till they become tender and well cooked. They should not break and become mushy.
- Do check when the curry is simmering and the drumsticks are cooking. If the water reduces and the curry looks very thick and the drumsticks are not yet cooked, add some hot water.
- Lastly sprinkle garam masala and stir. Garnish the drumstick gravy with coriander leaves.
- Serve drumstick curry with steamed rice or any khichdi.
Notes
- You can adjust the spices and seasonings as required.
- Remember to make this drumstick recipe with fresh, tender and green moringa pods. Avoid using woody or dried or matured pods as they take a lot of time to cook. You might also have to discard them if they are too woody or dried.
- For a slightly thicker curry add less water and for a slightly thin pouring consistency, add more water.
Nutrition
This Drumstick Curry recipe from the archives first published in January 2014 has been updated and republished on December 2022.
Lovely curry dassana ji, I added potato with some raw mango, it became more tasty, thank so much, god bless you
Welcome Simi. Thanks for sharing your positive feedback and for your best wishes.
Hi Dassana, the drumstick masala curry is simply awesome. Have tried twice and everyone at home loved it. Thanks for this
Welcome Mittal. Glad to know this.
So nice and u r work is terrific so that elders like me are also getting rejunivated thank u once again
welcome kplata ji. thanks for your encouraging feedback.
Great Recipe.I tried this one just lyk the others from your website and it turned out very well..had a hearty meal..ur recipes are very precise and perfect. I added the homemade masala to give it an extra spicy punch..the best part of this recipe is how the drumsticks flavor belnds in the tomato onion paste and takes away that raw tangy taste..lovely! keep cooking keep posting!
thanks deepa for the feedback. this curry is a simple curry with a homely feel. true the drumsticks really blend well with the onion-tomato paste.
Nice Curry, Cooked and Served Happy!!! Thanks.
welcome vinod
i love drum sticks very much. can u cook drumsticks in dry pattern with crushed peanuts dry curry
alok, yes you can.
I’ve never seen this type of vegetable before… how interesting! I’ll have to keep an eye out for it at the indian grocery near me 🙂
gina, drumsticks are very easily found in south india. although, because of better transport it is not available in north india also. may be in your city, you have to visit the store which keeps south indian vegetables.
I love drumsticks… Nice curry
thanks vimitha