Murunga Curry
Sri Lankan Drumstick Curry (Moringa Pod Curry)
Also known as Murunga Curry
Sri Lankan drumstick curry, known locally as murunga curry, is the long green seed pods of the moringa tree cut into batons and simmered until tender in a coconut-milk gravy scented with onion, garlic, green chilli, turmeric and curry leaves. The fibrous skin stays on the plate while you scrape the soft, sweet inner flesh and seeds out with your teeth. It's earthy and gently bitter-sweet, plain everyday home cooking that's naturally vegan and ready in well under an hour.
Earthy moringa pods simmered soft in coconut gravy: the homely curry you eat slowly, scraping each pod clean with your teeth.
- Total time
- 40 min
- 15 min prep · 25 min cook
- Serves
- 4 people
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Spice level
- Medium
- Country help
- USA · UK · AU · CA substitutes included
CeylonCooking
ceyloncooking.com/recipes/drumstick-curry
Sri Lankan Drumstick Curry (Murunga Curry)
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Nutrition
Estimated values, per serving.
About This Dish
Ask for murunga in a Sri Lankan home and someone will point you to the tree in the garden, because the moringa seems to grow in every backyard on the island. Murunga is the Sinhala word for the long, ridged green pods that hang from its branches. In English they're called drumsticks, after a thin drummer's stick, or moringa pods. Cut into batons and simmered in a mild coconut gravy, they become one of the most homely curries on the table: the kind nobody photographs but everybody finishes.
Drumstick curry belongs to ordinary days, not celebrations. It's cheap, it's plentiful, and the tree fruits so generously that one household can eat murunga in some form for weeks. It turns up beside rice and a sharper sambol as the gentle, earthy note on the plate. It also carries a quiet reputation as good-for-you food: grandmothers press it on growing children and new mothers alike, convinced, correctly, that the humble pod is doing them good.
What makes a good murunga curry is patience with the pods and a light hand with everything else. The batons need long enough in the gravy to turn properly tender, so the skin gives when you press it and the flesh inside softens to something spoonable. The coconut milk should stay pale and gentle, never overwhelmed by spice, because the charm of the dish is its mild, slightly bitter-sweet earthiness. Done right, it's the sort of curry you eat slowly, pulling each baton through your teeth to scrape out the soft middle and talking between bites.
There's a small ritual to eating it that sets murunga apart from any other vegetable curry. You don't eat the whole pod. You pick up a baton, press the soft flesh and seeds out against your teeth or with a spoon, and leave the stringy outer skin behind on the plate. Newcomers find it strange for about thirty seconds and then completely understand: it's half curry, half gentle, satisfying fidget, and it slows a meal down in the best way.
What Exactly Is a Drumstick (Murunga)?
A drumstick is the long, slender seed pod of the moringa tree (Moringa oleifera), the same tree that gives us the famous moringa leaves. The pods are green, ribbed lengthways, and can grow as long as your forearm, which is why they're sold and cooked cut into shorter batons. Murunga is simply the Sinhala name for them. In English you'll hear drumstick or moringa pod, and across South Asia the same vegetable is widely used in curries and sambars. They're not related to chicken drumsticks at all; the name is purely about the shape.
Look, before you cook these, know that you don't eat the whole pod. The outer skin is tough and fibrous, far too stringy to chew, so it always stays behind on the plate. What you're after is hidden inside: soft, pale, slightly slippery flesh studded with tender seeds. Its flavour is earthy and green and faintly bitter-sweet, a little like a cross between a green bean and an artichoke heart. Once the pods are simmered soft, you scrape that inner flesh and the seeds out with your teeth or a spoon and discard the skin.
Just so you know, the pods and the leaves of the moringa tree are two different ingredients with two different jobs. The drumstick pods are what go into this curry, cut into batons and simmered in gravy. The leaves, called murunga kola, are cooked quite separately as a mallung (a finely chopped, lightly tempered green) or stirred into soups and dhals. Both come from the same generous tree and both are prized as nourishing, but a recipe that calls for drumsticks means the pods, not the leaves.
What It Should Taste Like
Mild, earthy and gently bitter-sweet, with soft pods sitting in a pale, lightly spiced coconut gravy scented with curry leaves and green chilli. The flesh you scrape from inside the skin is creamy and faintly green, never sharp or hot. It's a quiet, homely curry that really lets the pods speak.
Ingredients
This recipe makes 4 servings. Change the number and every amount below updates with it. Substitutes for hard-to-find items are in the sidebar.
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- Drumsticks (murunga / moringa pods)cut into 6 to 7 cm batons4 to 5
- Coconut oil2 tbsp
- Onionsliced1
- Garlicsliced3 cloves
- Green chilliesslit2
- Curry leaves1 sprig
- Pandan (rampe)optional5 cm piece
- Ground turmeric½ tsp
- Sri Lankan curry powderunroasted/mild1 tsp
- Chilli powderoptional, to taste½ tsp
- Thin coconut milk1 cup
- Thick coconut milk150 ml
- Maldive fish flakesoptional, omit for vegan1 tsp
- Saltto taste
Method
Follow these 6 steps. Each one explains not just what to do, but why it matters.
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- 01
Cut the Drumsticks into Batons
Scrape off any rough patches, rinse the pods, and cut them across into batons about as long as your finger, roughly 6 to 7 cm each.
Take a good look at the pod before you start, because the size of these batons matters more than it seems. Too long and they crowd the pan and refuse to soften evenly. Too short and there's nothing to hold when you come to scrape them at the table. As the knife goes through, you'll see the pale rings of seeds nested inside the green skin, and that's exactly the part you're simmering toward. The skin feels firm and slightly ridged under the blade, which reminds you it's there to protect the soft middle, not to be eaten.
Tip: Some cooks peel the very thick lengthwise ribs off older, woodier pods with a small knife. Young, bright green pods need no peeling at all, just a rinse.
- 02
Build the Aromatic Base
Warm the coconut oil in a pan and add the curry leaves, pandan, sliced onion, garlic and slit green chillies. Cook gently until the onion turns soft and translucent.
This is the moment the kitchen starts to smell like somebody's cooking lunch. The curry leaves snap and crackle the instant they hit the warm oil, letting go of that savoury, faintly citrus perfume, and the pandan adds a soft sweetness underneath if you're using it. Keep the heat moderate and let the onion melt to soft and barely golden rather than browning hard, because murunga is a pale, gentle curry and dark caramelised onion would shout over the quiet, earthy pods you're about to add. Listen for an easy, steady sizzle, never a harsh spit.
Tip: If the onion starts catching colour fast, the pan is too hot. Pull it back. You want the base sweet and mellow, not toasty.
- 03
Wake up the Spices
Stir in the turmeric, mild curry powder and the chilli powder if using. Let them cook into the oil for just a few seconds.
Spices need a brief turn in the hot fat to lose their raw, dusty edge and bloom into something fragrant, and you'll know it's happened when the whole pan glows gold and the aroma turns rounder and warmer in seconds. Don't let them sit, though. Turmeric especially scorches and turns bitter if it's left alone in hot oil, and a bitter curry powder would fight the natural, pleasant bitterness the drumsticks already bring. The instant it smells fragrant, you're ready for the pods, so have them within arm's reach before you start.
Tip: Keep the curry powder mild and unroasted here. A dark, heavily roasted blend would overpower the delicate, earthy flavour of the moringa pods.
- 04
Add the Pods and the Thin Coconut Milk
Tip in the drumstick batons and turn them through the spiced base, then pour in the thin coconut milk and the Maldive fish if you're using it. Bring it to a gentle simmer.
Give the pods a moment to roll around in the spiced oil so every baton picks up a coating of turmeric and aromatics before the liquid goes in. That early contact is how the flavour gets a head start on working its way through the skin. The thin coconut milk should come about halfway up the pods, enough to poach them slowly rather than drown them, and as it warms it will turn a soft pale gold. Drop the heat to a lazy simmer the moment it bubbles, because a hard rolling boil at this stage only toughens the skins and splashes the milk up the sides of the pan.
Tip: If your pods aren't quite covered, top up with a splash of warm water, not more coconut milk. They need room to swim, not a thick gravy yet.
- 05
Simmer Until the Pods Are Tender
Cover and simmer gently for 15 to 20 minutes, until the skins give easily when pressed and the flesh inside has turned soft.
This is the part where the curry asks for patience, and it's worth giving. A low, unhurried simmer slowly works the heat through the tough outer skin and into the seeds and flesh at the centre, and you can watch the pods deepen from bright to a more olive green as they soften. Test one after fifteen minutes by pressing a baton against the side of the pan. The skin should yield rather than spring back, and a quick scrape with a spoon should reveal flesh that has gone creamy and tender rather than firm and raw. Undercooked murunga is the single most common disappointment here, so let them go the full time if they need it.
Tip: The skin never becomes soft enough to eat, and that's correct. You're simmering until the flesh inside is tender, not the skin.
- 06
Finish with Thick Coconut Milk
Pour in the thick coconut milk, add salt to taste, and let it warm through over low heat for 3 to 4 minutes. Don't let it boil hard.
This last pour is what turns a pot of poached pods into a proper curry, so treat the thick coconut milk gently. It's delicate and will split into oily flecks and a grainy curdle if you let it reach a rolling boil. Keep the flame low and let the gravy barely tremble while it thickens and turns glossy and pale around the pods. As it warms through, the whole dish tastes rounder, creamier and a touch sweeter than it did a minute before, the coconut softening the gentle bitterness of the moringa into something balanced. Taste for salt right at the end, because the coconut milk quietly mutes the seasoning.
Tip: Stir for the first few seconds as the thick coconut milk goes in, and keep it off a high flame. That quick stir is the surest way to keep the gravy smooth rather than split.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Not simmering the pods long enough. The inner flesh stays firm and raw, and there's little to scrape out.
- Trying to eat the whole pod. The fibrous skin is meant to stay on the plate, and only the soft inside is eaten.
- Boiling hard after the thick coconut milk goes in. It splits the gravy into oily, grainy flecks.
- Over-spicing or using a dark roasted curry powder. This curry is meant to stay pale, mild and earthy.
- Cutting the batons too long. They crowd the pan and cook unevenly.
Serving Ideas
- Serve with rice and a sharper sambol. The gentle earthiness balances the heat.
- Alongside a creamy dhal and a fiery meat or fish curry on a rice and curry plate.
- With plain rice and a fried egg for a simple, comforting weekday meal.
- Next to red rice and a coconut sambol for an everyday vegan plate.
- Scoop it up with string hoppers or bread to catch the coconut gravy.
Building a whole plate around it? Start from our vegetarian rice and curry menu, which sets out what to cook alongside it and in what order.
Storage and Make-Ahead
It keeps for 2 to 3 days in a sealed container in the fridge. The gravy thickens as it sits, so loosen it with a splash of coconut milk or water when you reheat, and warm it gently over low heat so the coconut milk doesn't split. Freezing is possible, but the pods soften further and the texture suffers, so it's best eaten fresh.
Two Ways to Cook It
Use frozen pre-cut drumstick batons so there's no trimming to do, tinned coconut milk thinned with water for the simmer and neat for finishing, and a mild unroasted curry powder. Skip the pandan and the Maldive fish. Cook everything gently in a non-stick pan, and just give the pods plenty of time to turn tender.
Use fresh young drumsticks straight from the tree or market, fry the aromatics in coconut oil with curry leaves and pandan, and include a little Maldive fish for savoury depth. Use freshly pressed first and second coconut milk in place of tinned, and finish the curry gently in a clay pot for an earthier, rounder flavour.
Lighter and Healthier Version
Drumstick curry is already one of the lighter curries on a Sri Lankan plate. The pods themselves are low in calories, and the dish is naturally plant-based when you leave out the optional Maldive fish. A few small changes keep it lighter still without losing the gentle, earthy character that makes it murunga.
Lean on Light Coconut Milk
Use light (reduced-fat) coconut milk for the simmer and keep just a small amount of thick coconut milk for the final stir. You still get a creamy finish on far less fat.
Ease off the Oil
Two tablespoons of coconut oil is generous for the base. Halve it and soften the onions gently in a non-stick pan. The curry stays just as fragrant with less added fat.
Bulk It Out with Vegetables
Simmer a handful of chopped green beans, spinach or a few cubes of pumpkin alongside the pods. They stretch the dish, add fibre and colour, and let a little of the coconut gravy go further.
Naturally Light and Plant-Based
Left vegan, the curry has no dietary cholesterol and very little fat from the pods themselves. Use a heart-healthy oil sparingly and keep the salt modest for a genuinely light, nourishing side.
Frequently Asked Questions
A drumstick is the long, green, ribbed seed pod of the moringa tree, cut into short batons and simmered in a coconut-milk gravy. It's also called a moringa pod, and in Sinhala it's murunga. Despite the name, it has nothing to do with chicken. It's just named for that long, thin shape, like a drummer's stick.
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