Sing Pitta (Drumsticks in Yogurt Sauce)

The "drumsticks" used in this recipe are not chicken legs but a vegetable. They look a little bit like okra, but the outer skin is tough and fibrous. You eat them by splitting them open lengthwise and then scraping the flesh off with your teeth. Discarding the somewhat woody skin.

I'd never had drumsticks before and I wasn't sure whether I was going to enjoy them or not. It turns out the answer is "not". They're not bad. The flavour is interesting: there's a slight tartness to it, a bit like unripe mango but less acidic. It's interesting and unique. I didn't have a problem with the flavour. It was fine. But that's the thing, it was just okay. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. And for how messy and fiddly it is as a food, it really needed to be great for me to be willing to deal with it.

So, not a rousing success. But I'm still glad I tried it. At least I know what they are and what they taste like now. I just probably won't bother with them again. If you have a higher tolerance for fiddly foods, by all means give this recipe a try! If you don't the sauce goes great with patra. We ended up tossing the leftover drumsticks and using the remaining sauce for some patra the next day. It was lovely!

Drumsticks pictured on the right.

Sing Pitta

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 1 (350-400g) package frozen drumsticks
• 2 c. plain yogurt
• 1 c. water
• 3 Tbsp. Toasted Chickpea Flour
• 2 Tbsp. Ginger-Chile Paste
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp. Dhania-Jeera Masala
• 1/4 tsp. ground turmeric
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro
• 8 fresh (or frozen) curry leaves
• 2 Tbsp. ghee
• 1 tsp. mustard seeds

Directions

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil and toss in the frozen drumsticks.
2. Bring the water back to a boil, then drain the drumsticks and set aside.
3. Whisk the yogurt with the water.
4. Mix in the chickpea flour a little at a time.
5. Add the ginger-chile paste, sugar, salt, masala, and turmeric.
6. Stir in the cilantro and curry leaves (preferably not with the whisk as they might get caught in it).
7. Heat ghee over medium-high heat.
8. Add mustard seeds, cover, and cook until seeds stop popping (30-60 seconds).
9. Add the yogurt mixture along with the drumsticks.
10. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, until sauce thickens (10-15 minutes).