Food: Drumstick or Moringa (Murunga)

Drumstick or Moringa is one of the easiest home grown vegetable tree producing one of the most health beneficial vegetables, popular in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Less than a year ago I brought branch from a friend and planted in my backyard. It only needed occasional watering and little bit of organic or inorganic fertilizer. Soon the branch grew into a small tree thus proving to be a drought-resisting, fast growing plant ready to yield.

Drumstick is a well-known vegetable in the sub-continent, which has excellent therapeutic values and high nutrition content acting as anti-bacterial and detoxifier. The tree is evergreen, slim and medium sized, can be easily grown in a small garden plot as the produce from a single tree can look after an entire household. The tree grows upright and I had to cut off the top so that it did not grow too tall. Now it features a canopy of branches forming arcs. The leaves are spherical in shape.

The leaves are edible and cut into tiny pieces, mixed with chopped onion, green chili and salt to make a “Sambol” (Tamil) or “Mallum” in Sinhala. The drumstick fruits must be picked when they are not fully ripe, and can be cooked like beans, and gives a distinct flavor.

My method of cooking is simple and easy:
Cut the pods into small pieces of about one to two inches and split into two.
Marinate with condiments, chili powder, curry powder, salt and saffron powder
Heat the mixture in coconut or vegetable oil and empty the cut drumstick into the pot and heat it adding water. Add coconut milk and stir well while boiling, until the drumstick is fully cooked.