Kalyana Murungai | Erythrina variegata | Paribhadra

With its tiny thorns, with marching red ants, no wonder it is also called mullu murungai

 

Sundal pulikolambu, with kalyana murungai kootu and parangi kootu

 Had the same question like my brother, what has kalyana murungai पारिभद्र got to do with drumstick leaves. Poles apart. It is quite different. It gets a little chewy after cooking, hence a minute in mixie makes this more smooth.

Health Benefits
Slimming - Mangathayuru etal
analgesic, antioxidant - Suryavanshi
menstrual cramps - homeremedies, ayurvedic home remedies
diabetes - drsagay
to increase breast milk - herbalking
for earaches - chennai ayurveda
for eyes, digestive disturbances - ayushveda
insomnia, anorexia - ayush doctors

Dishes
kalyana murungai ghee dosa aka Mullu murungai dosa

Kalyana Murungai Dosa with Peerkankai chutney

All time favourite is ridgegourd chutney. Mildly sauteed ridgegourd in oil, added lots of ginger, coconut with roasted channa dal. The innate mild sweetness of peerkangai chutney is something, that makes me gorge it. Mixed both kalayana murungai and a little bit of curry leaves to dosa batter.

kalyana murungai idli with coconut pepper chutney

Kalyana Murungai with wheat, kambu, ragi, sollam flour

Kalyana Murungai parantha with okra potato fry

Saturday: Kalyana murungai parantha with cauliflower fry

 

Sunday: Kalyana murungai poori, channa masala, wheat milk pudding with elaichi, cashew raisins

Recipe for kalyana Murungai Dosa:

• Take normal dosa batter. For folks who want to keep away from blackgram for religious reasons, you can use moong dal with rice to make batter. I prefer batter without salt
• Grind the leaves in mixie
• Mix it batter and mix well and make it with crisp with a liberal dose of cows ghee

Ridge Gourd Chutney

• Roast 2-3 spoonfuls of moong dal/channa dal
• Mildly saute one medium sized ridgegourd chopped, an inch of ginger, and one green chilli in oil/ghee for 2-3 minutes
• Set aside to cool off to room temperature (i can't stand more than one chilli, while mom needs two)
• Cut/scrape half a coconut and grind it all together in mixie with salt as per taste
• Frying mustard seeds with curry leaves in oil and adding tadka to ground chutney at the end is optional

Kalyana Murungai Parantha 

• Two ways, either chop the leaves finely and make it like usual methi parantha 
• Or if old people are home and if there is problem of leaves getting caught between gaps in teeth, grind the leaves to a smoot paste, then add wheat flour and make dough to roll out rotis.
• I don't add any spices, other than omum (ajwain). My friends add zeera powder, corriander powder and green chillies. In fact i don't add salt also the paranthas or dosa batter. End of the day depends on your taste.

Kalyana Murungai Kootu

• Wash and finely chop kalyana murungai leaves alone (not the stem)
• Heat oil in a kadai and splutter mustards, zeera, a pinch of asafetida and curry leaves
• Have precooked moong dal - 1 small cup
• Have ground coconut - 1/2 table spoon cumin paste
• Add the Kalyana Murungai leaves and stir them in the slowest flame
• Once leaves are tender, add cooked moong or uncooked dal if you like the dal separate 
• Add pepper corns or finely chopped chilli, tumeric, salt (i typically don't add chilli to kootu)
• Cook with lid covered in slowest flame for 10 minutes till leaves are cooked
• Add coconut paste, mix well and take off the flame

Once my manager was shocked on eating my saltless ragi dosa. Typically for dashami and dwadashi it is saltless dinner. My colleague would find my pulav not spicy. The side dish compensates for the blandness of the pulav or dosa. Many a times, my mom and chithi comment, there is no kAram or pulipu or salt in my kootu. I prefer it that way with mild spices, lots of pepper and long pepper though. At times, we make two variations of sambhar kootu poriyal one with lots of ghee and no spices for me and one without ghee and lots of spices for mom. There will be two sets of poori, one fried in ghee, one in oil. Spicy soya-green peas kurma for mom, moong dal for me to accompany poori. Yet when there is a month of sambhar overdose, one fine day i binge on mango and tamarind tanginess. Am sure, next time you won't ask for recipes.

Folks spice it up with tamarind, i would not add it normally. End of the day your tongue is the king, eat in whatever way, the food appeals to you. Don't stick to any one recipe, your taste buds will guide you.