How much cooking time?

85 min — 60 min prep, 25 min cooking.

Murungai Keerai Masala Vadai (Tamil Drumstick Leaves Lentil Fritter)

Name: Murungai Keerai Masala Vadai (Tamil Drumstick Leaves Lentil Fritter)
Prep time: 60 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 85 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Tamil Nadu Indian
Ingredients: 4piece Garlic; 2cup Drumstick Leaves; 0.5piece Ginger; 3tsp Coriander Leaves; Sunflower Oil; 1piece onion; 10piece Mint Leaves; salt; 0.5tsp Cumin Seeds; 4piece dry red chillies; 1cup Chana Dal; 0.25tsp Asafoetida

Murungai Keerai Masala Vadai is a nutritious Tamil-Iyengar paruppu vada (lentil fritter) where soaked chana dal is coarsely ground with finely chopped onion, fresh drumstick leaves (murungai keerai / moringa — nutrient powerhouse), mint, ginger, garlic, dry red chili, cumin seeds, and asafoetida. Shaped into thin discs and deep-fried until golden-crispy. Served piping hot with coconut chutney and filter coffee as a Tamil tiffin snack or rainy-day treat.

Time 85 min · Serves 6 · 159 kcal · South India / Tamil Nadu, Tamil Nadu

Ingredients

Main

Garlic — 4 piece (chopped)
Drumstick Leaves — 2 cup (chopped)
Ginger — 0.5 piece (grated)
Coriander Leaves — 3 tsp (chopped)
Sunflower Oil (optional) (whole)
onion — 1 piece (chopped)
Mint Leaves — 10 piece (ground)
salt (optional) (whole)

Tempering

Cumin Seeds — 0.5 tsp (whole)
dry red chillies — 4 piece (whole)
Chana Dal — 1 cup (soaked)
Asafoetida — 0.25 tsp (ground)

Method

To begin making Murungai Keerai Masala Vadai Recipe, wash the chana dal.
Soak it in water for 2-3 hours.
Meanwhile, wash the drumstick leaves well and keep aside after chopping the Keerai.Once done soaking, drain from water and add chana dal to the blender.Add ginger, garlic, red chilli, Asafoetida, cumin seeds, Cloves and required salt to the blender.
Sprinkle a little water and grind into a coarse paste.Transfer ground mixture into bowl, add washed drumstick leaves, finely chopped onion, mint leaves and coriander leaves to it.Mix everything together and divide into lemon size balls.
Flatten the balls pressing gently between the palms.Heat oil in a pan, gently drop in 3-4 vadai mixture into oil.
Flip occasionally and fry on medium heat until golden and crispy.Remove from oil and drain excess oil on kitchen tissues.Instead of deep frying, you can also do frying on a paniyaram or paddu pan.
Heat the pan till hot enough.
And on a medium heat, drop the small balls of batter into the cavities of paniyaram.
Drizzle a bit of oil in each cavity on the Keerai vadai batter.After about 2 minutes, with the help of a wooden spoon, flip the vadai to their other side.
Cook further till browned from all sides.
Take the cooked vadai onto serving plates and serve.The tasty Murungai keerai vadai is ready.Serve Murungai Keerai Masala Vadai Recipe during snack time along with South Indian Filter Coffee Recipe or Masala Chai Recipe.

Common questions

How many calories in one plate of Murungai Keerai Masala Vadai (Tamil Drumstick Leaves Lentil Fritter)?: 159 kcal per plate.
How much cooking time?: 85 min — 60 min prep, 25 min cooking.

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