As I sit to write this post, I must admit it has been an unusual Monday Morning (with all its blues intact). I had little kiddo as she was unwell, and all of a sudden she woke up late, she cried to go to school, despite her fever !! Imagine my joy (and confusion – as the school bus had already left) that I would get the entire Monday morning to myself – to click and blog and do a million other things on a busy Monday morning ! Except that there was a caveat -as if to say she was doing me a favour by going to school – when she said, “Amma , would you please pick me up from school instead of the bus and I want to take home food for my snack today?” Well, along with the missed bus, now I was to pack a snack too ?
Breakfast was on the go with a hurriedly put together ill-shaped dosa that she munched in the auto, and although she was ill, she didn’t want to miss meeting her friends and off we rushed through the morning stuff, praying that the Autorickshaw would beat every traffic light … and reached the school with just 1 min to spare before the gates were closed !! Talk about one crazy morning, and it’s almost time now as write this, to head to school to pick up the little lady.
Moringa Spice Powder| Murungai Molagapodi
Like the turmeric latte, Moringa is now a globally accepted SuperFood (our grandmoms knew better so as to include the leaves in Drumstick leaves Adai, Keerai Vada, Soups (Moringa soup recipe coming up soon!) or add the veggies to the Tiffin Sambhar served with most South Indian Breakfasts ( Idli / Dosa Or Uttapams / Pongal / Vadai). Containing more Iron per serving than Spinach, its often given to lactating mothers too.
Moringa as a super food!
The most amazing thing about moringa is that all parts of this plant including its bark, roots, leaves, flowers, seeds, sap and pods are a storehouse of nutrients and antioxidants. Thus, this plant possesses innumerable health benefits and has the capacity of curing several diseases. For this reason, it is referred to as the ‘miracle tree’ and is widely used in traditional medicine. – source
When I recently asked on my Instagram page on what else could be made with a batch of fresh Moringa leaves that I had chanced to buy, there were so many new ideas, and one of them particularly interested me – spice powder / Molagapudi to go with idli / dosa.
So, that’s what it was – a new condiment to the spice-powder-loving-family that we are. And makes what to serve with Idly or dosa a no-brainer. I adapted the same method as my Pudina Chutneypudi and made this. Its a keeper and be sure to make small batches to keep the flavour intact.
Let’s get to the recipe now – Moringa Molagapudi – a GF, Vegan , spice powder as a condiment to go with Idli / Dosa/ Uttapams or even plain steamed rice
Cuisine : South Indian, Course : Condiments, Spice level – Medium to high
Prep time – 15 mins, Cook time – 15 mins, Makes – 200 gram of Spice Powder
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Ingredients to make Moringa Molagapodi:
- 2 cups Moringa leaves (packed, 200 ml = 1 cup)
- 1/2 cup Split black gram (Urad dal)
- 10 Dry Red chillies (adjust spice)
- 1/4 tsp Asafoetida (or a generous pinch, skip for GF)
- 2 tsp Sesame oil (to fry the spices)
- 1/4 Dry Coconut / dessicated coconut (optional but recommended)
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Grated Jaggery
How to make Moringa Molagapodi:
- On a low flame, dry roast the washed and completely dry moringa leaves till slightly crisp (Tip : sundry the leaves like I did for a day or two and u can use it directly without dry roasting). Remove leaves from pan after dry roasting them
- add oil to the pan and dry the dal and chillies one after one till the dal turns golden brown. Switch off the flame and add the dry copra and saute for just a min. Cool the mixture completely.
- Now grind leaves + spice mix in batches in a coffee grinder or a small jar. Add salt and jaggery , adjust spices.
- Store in an airtight container
Similar spice powders on the blog you may like
Poondu Podi (Garlic flavoured spice powder)
Pudina Chutneypudi – Mint based spice powder
(Chutneypudi is a generic Bangalore term for a condiment / spice powder that can spruce up anything from Rice to Upma to akki rotti (flattened spicy rice bhakri) to paratha or bread and anything in between :p)
Godhi Chutneypudi (chutneypudi made with wheat kernels)
Paruppu Podi (mixed lentils spice powder)
Moringa Spice Powder | Murungai Keerai Molagapodi
Equipment
- Thick Bottomed Pan
- Dry Grinder
Ingredients
- 2 cups Moringa leaves packed, 200 ml = 1 cup
- 1/2 cup Split black gram Urad dal
- 10 Dry Red chillies adjust spice
- 1/4 tsp Asafoetida or a generous pinch, skip for GF
- 2 tsp Sesame oil to fry the spices
- 1/4 Dry Coconut / dessicated coconut optional but recommended
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Grated Jaggery
Instructions
- On a low flame, dry roast the washed and completely dry moringa leaves till slightly crisp (Tip : sundry the leaves like I did for a day or two and u can use it directly without dry roasting). Remove leaves from pan after dry roasting them
- add oil to the pan and dry the dal and chillies one after one till the dal turns golden brown. Switch off the flame and add the dry copra and saute for just a min. Cool the mixture completely.
- Now grind leaves + spice mix in batches in a coffee grinder or a small jar. Add salt and jaggery , adjust spices.
- Store in an airtight container
I'm always looking for new ways to use drumstick leaves. This sounds like a fantastic way to do so! What a great idea to use moringa leaves in molagapodi, to make it more nutritious!
From time to time we all have our share of crazy mornings but in the end all works out well. Hope your daughter is fine now. Enjoying moringa leaves in the form of a podi is a great idea. Can imagine enjoying this healthy condiment with steaming idlis.
We normally prepare curry leaves powder which goes well with plain rice as well as curd rice. Powder with mornings leaves sounds great. Eager to prepare the podi. Please inform whether the leaves should be tender.
Thanks for dropping by ! yes the tender they are, the better. But please make sure to sun roast them and take out all the dirt before grinding ! this is very simialr to the curry leaves or mint chutneypudis
The chutney powder with moringa surely sounds like an easy side with paranthas, dal rice or steamed idlis. I think now some moringa leaves should be available at the grocery store so that I can try some new recipes with moringa
Monday Mornings, School plus a sick child – Motherhood thy name is chaos! But what's wonderful is you managed to pull through and come out with a healthy fab post. I can imagine the aroma of the leaves with the paruppu smeared on top of my idlis or ghee uttapams. Yum is the word!
This moringa spice powder sounds interesting. I can feel the aroma. Perfect combination of health and taste. Awesome share.
Monday mornings are indeed like being on a roller coaster ride. The podi sounds aromatic and flavorful and is a great way to add the Moringa leaves to our diet.
Great way of adding moringa to diet. Especially when we are leading such a hectic schedule. Beautifully done Kalyani
I love the moringa podi and we both have made with a slight difference. Lovely kal. And I want to make your godhi podi too
I love podis and this Moringa molagapudi looks so good.Inspite of your hectic schedule you whip up such healthy recipes Kalyani.Monday Morning is always a mad rush for me too.
A sick child, the missed school bus, household chores and then theres all the blogging related work to do! Im glad you were able to reach your daughter to school on time! As for the moringa molagapudi, its going to be a perfect addition to my little jars of different varieties of molagapudis that I love to make for dosa and idli. Sujata Shukla from PepperOnPizza
Ahaaa !!! this moringa spice powder sounds interesting 🙂 Awesome share indeed …..
Murunga keerai molagapodi looks brilliant kalyani! I love making various podi’s in my kitchen an this is a regular at home. I find it easy to feed moringa podi in various dishes to the kids than making them taste the fresh leaves. Wonderful recipe and a must to have podi in all kitchens.
thanks a lot, priya !! podis are a must in a Tambrham kitchen and we love the different varieties too!
This drumstick podi is somehing I made sometime ago and loved. Now that it is time to mak chutney pudi yet again I am temped to make this one. 😀
thanks Arch. I will also check out for ur recipe for this podi
I love to make different podis but never tried with moringa leaves. Would love to try this healthy recipe.
thanks Renu. Hope you can try this out
Kalyani I am a huge fan of podi spice mixture ever since I got introduced to it in Bangalore. What a wonderful idea to add loads of moringa leaves to it. Next time I am in India or Kenya will have to remember to get some moringa and make this podi at home.
Thanks Mayuri. I would love to send this over to you sometime soon!
I make this podi and it tastes awesome. Good to serve some super food with a good recipe for our family.
absolutely Jayashree. Thanks!
Murngai keeria podi was fed to me in tons when I had delivered. In fact I liked it in the pathiya chamayal. The colour of your podi is so lovely.
oh yes, that pathiyam chamayal is something else 🙂