Yam – Drumstick Curry

Posted on | May 17, 2007 | 42 Comments |

A few weeks ago, I was alone at home on a Thursday night, watching TV in my pajamas when I got a call from my friend M that she and my other friend M were in front of Cascadia restaurant across my house, and wanted me to go down and join them for a drink. Cascadia is kind of a dressy place, especially on Thursday nights. I was in no mood to dress up to go down, so I invited them up for a drink instead. M & M are both my college roommates, they know how messy I am, no need to tidy up the house for them, don’t even have to change my pajamas, they have seen me in worse!

I was in a particularly hospitable mood that day, so I offered to cook dinner for them. If you know me at all, you’d know how out of character that is for me. Don’t get me wrong, I am all about entertaining, love to throw parties and cook for people, but it absolutely has to be pre-planned. I need to sit and plan out the elaborate menu, make a shopping list, buy all the ingredients before I can start the cooking process! But I was just so happy that they decided to ditch Cascadia and come up to be with me, I opened a wine bottle for them and proceeded to find something to cook in my normally empty refrigerator.

Unfortunately all I could find there was a yam, a vegetable I had no idea what to do with! Frankly I didn’t even know how it ended up in my fridge, I think Siv picked it up for some experiment! After a long search through my cookbook collection, I found a Yam and drumstick curry recipe in The Family Cook Book by Mrs.K M Mathew. Lucky for me, I had some frozen drumsticks in my freezer too! I didn’t have high expectations for this dish, but was happily surprised by the end result! It was almost as good as a meat curry, the sweet yam flavor well balanced the spices in this dish. It went nicely with chapattis. It was so good I bought a yam and made the curry again last night. Here is the recipe for those who are looking for a nice yam dish. Trust me, sooner or later you will be in my shoes and will end up with just a yam and a packet of frozen drumsticks and two hungry friends to feed!

Ingredients

2 cups yam skinned and cut into small cubes
10-12 finger long pieces of drumsticks split into half
1 tbsp red chilli powder
1/8 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp pepper powder
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1 cup thinly sliced shallots/onions
1 tbsp minced ginger
1 tbsp minced garlic
a few curry leaves
1″ piece of cinnamon
3 cardamom pods
6 cloves
1.5 cups canned coconut milk
1 tbsp vinegar
salt for taste

Method

Heat oil in a deep pan and add the mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds starts to splutter, add the sliced shallots, ginger and garlic and saute till brown.

Add the cloves, cardamom and cinnamon and saute for a minute or so.

Mix the turmeric, red chilli and pepper powders with a little water to make a paste. Add this paste to the pan and saute in reduced heat till the spices are cooked well and the oil starts to separate. (The spices need to be cooked very well for this curry to taste good).

Open the coconut milk can without shaking, so that the cream is on top. Remove 1/2 cup of the top creamy layer and keep it away. Add the rest of the coconut milk to the pan along with the yam pieces and let it come to a boil on high heat.

Add the drumstick pieces and cook on medium till the yam is soft. Add the vinegar and salt and the coconut cream from the above step and simmer the curry for a few more minutes.

Serve hot with fresh chapattis or rice.

Note

Yam mentioned in my cookbook is called Chena in Malayalam, which I don’t think is even in the same family as the Yam we get in United States. I used the orange-fleshed sweet potato which is sold as Yam in the US grocery stores.
Don’t confuse the vegetable drumstick with chicken drumsticks. Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drumstick_%28vegetable%29 to learn about Drumsticks (Moringa oleifera)

Technorati tags: Kerala Recipes

Category: India - Kerala, Recipes, Side Dish - Gravy, Vegetarian

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Comments

42 Responses to “Yam – Drumstick Curry”

reena
May 17th, 2007 @ 7:22 am
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sig, while going through your post i realized how alike are we. the only diff. would be my neatness freak thing. that yam and drumstick is so colorful. kothi avanu!!! once i recover i have to try it. it is too tempting to postpone :)
Sia
May 17th, 2007 @ 9:16 am
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he he he…first i thought what was the reason for sig to mention she was wearing pajamas and watching TV;) now i know the story;) i found almost similar recipe in one of the cook books which used potatoes in place of yam. it tured out quite good. haven’t cooked anything with yam yet coz the size and look of yam scares me;)
Jyothsna
May 17th, 2007 @ 9:28 am
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Yam and drumsticks? I’d have come up with theeyal! Nice recipe. I tried your pan fried fish with tamarind sauce and it was a huge hit! Thanks for that:)
Deepa
May 17th, 2007 @ 12:20 pm
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hey sig…that is just too good …yummy and yummy .,…i love yam and also drumstick …some thing different ….thks for sharing
Asha
May 17th, 2007 @ 12:21 pm
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YUM! YUM! YUM!! You should send this to Nupur’s “Y”!!
Looks fabulous Sig:))
Sandeepa
May 17th, 2007 @ 12:24 pm
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Sig,
Tomorrow I will be standing opposite your house. Look out for me and please call me in for dinner I will not mind the mess and won’t even talk about it to other people once I am back. All I ask for is your kind of food

Yam with drumstick tastes like chicken curryy !!!!!!!! Can’t even imagine how good that must have been
sunita
May 17th, 2007 @ 12:24 pm
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That’s one vibrant dish…would love to try it out sometime…
Richa
May 17th, 2007 @ 12:34 pm
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yoohoo! another fantastic veg dish from my girl, sig ) gravy looks amazing, wish it was me eating this
i’ve yam, the frozen drumstick(err not sure how long it has been lying there ) do you think any other veg can be combined with yam?
Mallugirl
May 17th, 2007 @ 1:31 pm
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yum yam curry!sometimes the curries made in a pinch come out so good, i wonder why we do such elaborate menu planning.can i come over in my pajamas?
Nae
May 17th, 2007 @ 2:32 pm
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this looks absolutely delicious!!
but i dont get any drumsticks around here, not even frozen ones…any suggestions on a different veggie with yam?
Hema
May 17th, 2007 @ 3:00 pm
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Hi Sig,

My first time here and I love it. I have never tried making curry out of drumstick ever. I love the color. Thanks!
Ramya's Mane Adige
May 17th, 2007 @ 3:08 pm
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OMG!!! I’m so much like you…. Even I need it all to be planned before hand… lol
But your Curry looks wonderful!!! very nice
Sumitha
May 17th, 2007 @ 3:42 pm
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Sig the curry looks lovely!Thanks for posting a yam recipe,very hard to find good recipes with yam.You did good with what you had in the fridge for your friends,I wouldnt have been able to do that too:(How lucky were those two friends!
Gini
May 17th, 2007 @ 3:49 pm
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K.M. Mathew recipes hardly ever disappoint. Looks good. I haven’t made anything with yam in ages. So yeah, I could use the recipe.
Cynthia
May 17th, 2007 @ 4:26 pm
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Yeah Sig, this is what I am talking about. That curry looks sooooo good. Yam and drumsticks, ummm, ummm, ummm. I’d be licking my fingers all the time.

Isn’t it amazing when we try something, it turns out great and then the very next day we go out and specifically purchase ingredients to make it again? We are crazy people In other words, we are true foodies.
bee
May 17th, 2007 @ 4:40 pm
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sig, you get frozen chena, and it’s not bad at all.
Sig
May 17th, 2007 @ 5:10 pm
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Reena, so you are a neat-freak? I’m compulsively messy, I can’t find anything if it is where its supposed to be… . Feel better soon girl…

Sia… yes, I was going somewhere with the story… didn’t want to put that visual in your heads and leave you hanging… … You are afraid of Yam, lol that is funny… get your stronger half to skin and cut it into non-threatening sizes for you…

Jyo… theeyal, now why didn’t I think of that? . Hey glad you liked the fish recipe…

Deepa thanks, I thought it was a different recipe than the usual curries too…

Asha, lol I thought about that too… but we are just on Q, I’d had to wait for another 7 weeks before we get to Y…
Sig
May 17th, 2007 @ 5:18 pm
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Sandeepa, deal…wear all white and have a yellow rose in your left hand, so I can recognize you, okay?

Sunita, do try.. I know you are not much into spice, reduce the red chilli powder, you will get a nice sweet curry.

Richa, I knew you would love it … As for a drumstick substitute, I am not a veg expert, but any vegetable which is not overly sweet or soft should work in this recipe. I think you could use green beans probably… You are the expert, let me know if you figure something out

Shaheen, you are so right, it is normally the fixer-uppers that turns out great. But party planning is an obsessive compulsive disorder for all of us foodies I’d think… You are welcome anytime, we can have a pajama party…

nae, as I told Richa, I am not sure about the substitute… I will let you know if I think of any. BTW, you can find canned drumsticks in asian stores and some regular grocery stores too.
Sig
May 17th, 2007 @ 5:25 pm
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Hema, welcome to my world! I just got a peek at your blog, looks great… will stop by later for a detailed read…

Ramya I think it is a common bug among foodies, party planning

Sumitha I’m sure you would come up with something. Anyway, with all those recipes out here in the web, all you need to do is type in the avaialble ingredients into a search box, and there will be something out there… which is what I was going to do if I couldn’t find one in my cookbook collection..

Gini, I know, I love mrs.km mathew… have most of her books… she is a true godsend

Cynthia, you said it girl… we foodies are a strange lot…
So you love drumsticks too… that is great… I never know who knows about drumsticks and who doesn’t, thats why I added the postscript, since drumsticks in US normally means chicken drumsticks!!
Sig
May 17th, 2007 @ 5:27 pm
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Bee, frozen chena? If it is available in our Indian store I will give it a try. I’ve never made anything with it… I don’t even remember if I used to like it or not!
Sandeepa
May 17th, 2007 @ 6:07 pm
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Don’t worry I will be the only one waving frantically and yelling “Yum Yam”
Sig
May 17th, 2007 @ 6:09 pm
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Sandeepa… I am laughing out loud here imagining u standing in the middle of belltown yelling Yum Yam Yum Yam!!!
RP
May 17th, 2007 @ 9:12 pm
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Oh boy! Sig, I can’t stop drooling over that picture. What a good looking treat. You friends are indeed lucky.
Sig
May 17th, 2007 @ 11:30 pm
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RP, thanks
Pravs
May 18th, 2007 @ 12:35 am
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thats a nice spicy looking curry.. though you have not used much of red chili powder.
Swapna
May 18th, 2007 @ 1:22 am
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Sig,
We are so alike..Yest nite, I wanted to go out and have ice-cream in my pajamas..As for the dinner planning thing, even I make detailed lists..
Yummy yam curry..By the looks of it, seems very tasty..Have to try it..
Btw, I and Sandeepa will be standing in front of ur house, with a yellow rose, yelling “Yum Yam”:))
Sig
May 18th, 2007 @ 3:49 am
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Pravs, I think the color is mainly from the orange yam… i used the kashmiri chilli powder which is a nice red color, both those added to the spicy color of the dish I guess…

Swapna, lol… i will look out for two crazy indian girls going nuts on the street…
musical
May 18th, 2007 @ 5:00 am
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Lovely yam, hold on, yummy yam. yum yum yum yum )

Colorful and delightful, yams are my favorite, Sig. and you are right, Indian yam is different, its Amorphophallus. The one we get here is more like sweet potato! but tastes good still ).
Coffee
May 18th, 2007 @ 5:03 am
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AAH!!! Thats one great combo!! Love the colour of your curry!!!

I will wear all black and stand with a yellow rose as well ok!!!
Sig
May 18th, 2007 @ 6:42 am
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Musie, I think I prefer the sweet potato Yam to the Indian ones, have to give those another chance though, if I can find the frozen variety.

Coffee, lol… so you can be in the middle in black… looks like there is going to be a parade on the street soon … I will spread the word…
Sharmi
May 18th, 2007 @ 5:08 pm
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waw that drumstick curry looks awesome. Why did you add vinegar? just curious to know. coconut milk must have made it real rich.
Sushma
May 18th, 2007 @ 7:31 pm
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Believe me Sig, I also dont have any idea of what to do with this veggie Yam.. Now since you say its damn delicious..i would try my hand on it

lovely looking pictures..
Sig
May 18th, 2007 @ 9:53 pm
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Sharmi, Vinegar seems to be a Mrs.K.M. Mathew thing, she adds vinegar to most coconut based curries. I don’t know the reason behind it, but it gives a specific sour-ish (not like the taste from tamarind) taste to the curries that I’ve come to love… Try a little bit next time and see if you like it.

Sush, do try Yam… i really liked it in this curry…
mallurecipes
May 19th, 2007 @ 4:37 pm
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Sig,
I already have frozen drumsticks and yam in my freezer.
perfect recipe to finish it up.
Thanks
Inji Pennu
May 24th, 2007 @ 7:52 pm
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Hey, Chena and frozen drumsticks – thats something readily available in my freezer everyday! Didnt know I could combine both! Thankyooooo siggggyyyyy!
Anu
July 14th, 2007 @ 4:46 pm
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sigma, I tried your Yam drumstick curry..It turn out excellent.. my husband and daughter gave a big high five for this .. Thanks for this good recepie
Sig
July 14th, 2007 @ 7:22 pm
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Hey Anu, glad you liked it, and thanks for letting me know..
Venkatesh Iyer
January 10th, 2008 @ 9:32 pm
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Feel like tasting it. We make Drumstick Sambar. We will try this one.
priya
January 16th, 2008 @ 8:19 am
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hi..
Normally i don’t like the taste of yam, but i gave this curry a try and my family loved it. it is different from what we make.
Here at home, we make a drumstick curry in a slightly different way. do check it out on my page, http://www.indianfoodiecorner.blogspot.com

Thanks priya, glad you liked it… will check out your yam dish…
Vanessa
January 13th, 2009 @ 10:37 pm
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Hi Sig

Is yam called Suran in hindi or is it something else. Cos I want to try out this recipe. Pls reply.

Vanessa
- sig
  January 13th, 2009 @ 10:40 pm
  Reply
  
  Hi Vanessa, Yam is Suran in Hindi, I think. The original recipe is for that yam, but here in the US, Yam is a type of sweet potato, which is what I used in this. You could try Suran in it, since the original recipe called for that.
manu
June 3rd, 2009 @ 4:19 am
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good recipe.
but remember anything added with coconut milk will taste good – even chakirichoru