Nugge Soppu Saaru

Nugge Soppu & Saaru with Ragi Mudde (Pic by June Carvalho)

THESE days I've been taking some impromptu lessons in wholesome, rustic and rural cooking with dishes such as this Nugge Soppu Saaru,  from Ratna, my house-help.

This saaru, or curry if it can be called that, is of a creamy soup-like consistency and is made from the leaves of the drumstick tree. Educating me further, she says they also call this curry a bassaaru, which essentially means that it's a gravy made from the water strained after boiling the drumstick leaves along with a little tur dal. Apparently, the tur can be substituted with any other dal. A freshly ground wet masala is added for flavour, texture and consistency to the saaru which needs to be consumed instantly, because it is never boiled again after the addition of the masala.

The soppu (leaves) and the dal with a little seasoning serve as an accompaniment to the saaru and ragi mudde which is a dumpling made of powdered ragi or finger millet, the staple cereal of the rural folk of southern Karnataka. You eat it by pinching off a portion of the mudde with a little of the soppu, both of which are together dipped into the saaru. Made from powdered ragi, the soft ragi mudde hardly needs any mastication...it is simply swallowed like baby food, a reason why some people I know don't quite enjoy eating it. However, one can add a handful of cooked rice to the mudde (as in pic) to give it a slightly grainy texture. I like it either way. 

A simple, healthy, delicious and complete meal in itself would be the perfect way to describe it. Teamed up with the ragi mudde it's excellent for everyone's health, and especially that of diabetics! Drumstick leaves are a rich and natural source of iron, multivitamins and fibre and contain medicinal properties.

Above all, I felt this was an ideal recipe for sustainable food. Very robust, nutritious, environment-friendly and inexpensive, employing only local ingredients, considering that the drumstick tree is always found growing in the backyards of houses in rural areas and even in the fast disappearing sprawling compounds of urban homes which are now giving way to apartments. You can source it from most sellers of greens too. The bunch I picked up was from my friendly neighbourhood supermarket, where I saw it for the first time.

Not just the leaves, but a porial is made from the flowers too, apart from the drumstick itself which renders a sambar, avial or a meat curry even more flavourful.

I loved this dish not just for all of the above, but also for the very homely, rural and rustic feel that it brought to my dining table. Earthy food for earthy people! 

What you need:
3 packed cups of drumstick leaves removed from the stalks; 50 gm tur dal; 3 cups water; 1/4 tsp salt

For the masala:

3 green chillis; 10-12 peppercorns; 1/4 tsp cumin; 4 flakes of garlic; 1 tbsp grated coconut; 1 tbsp toasted peanuts, skinned; 2 sprigs green coriander; Small ball of tamarind 

For seasoning:

1 tbsp oil; 1 tsp mustard seeds; 1 big onion chopped fine; 2 sprigs curry leaves; 1 green chilli chopped fine; 2 tbsp grated coconut

What  you do:

Boil the leaves and the dal with three cups of water and a quarter teaspoon of salt in a pressure cooker for just two minutes, (because the dal should be just cooked and remain intact). Let the pressure drop naturally before you open the cooker. Drain the leaves and dal completely of the water and reserve the water to make the saaru.

For the masala, lightly broil the green chillis and grind them together with the other ingredients, adding a little water, to a fine paste. Mix this masala into the reserved water to make the saaru. Adjust salt.

For the seasoning, heat a tablespoon of oil and splutter the mustard seeds. Add the curry leaves and onion and fry till transparent. Add a spoonful of this seasoning to the saaru. To the rest of the seasoning add the chopped green chilli, fry a little more and then add all of the seasoning to the leaves and dal mixture. Lastly mix in the coconut.

Serve with ragi mudde.