Moringa Oleifera - Regional Culinary Uses

Regional Culinary Uses

Moringa has numerous applications in cooking throughout its regional distribution. It may be preserved by canning and exported.

In Bangladesh, it is made into a variety of curry dishes by mixing with coconut, poppy seeds, and mustard or boiled until the drumsticks are semisoft and consumed directly without any extra processing or cooking. It is used in curries, sambars, kormas, and dals, although it is also used to add flavor to cutlets and other recipes.

The fruit meat of drum sticks, including young seeds, is used for soup. Young leaves can either be fried with shrimp or added as a topping in fish soup.

There are several traditional Cambodian dishes using leaves of the moringa tree, such as m'rum or a mixed soup known as korko. As it is a favorite vegetable, Cambodians traditionally grow moringa trees close to their residences.

In South India and Sri Lanka, it is used to prepare a variety of sambar, is fried, or made into curry dishes by mixing with coconut, poppy seeds, and mustard or boiled until the drumsticks are semisoft and consumed directly without any extra processing or cooking. It is used in curries, sambars, kormas, and dals, although it is also used to add flavors. In Maharashtra, the pods are used in sweet and sour curries. In Gujarat and Rajasthan, the pods are used in to cook a spicy curry.

Tender drumstick leaves, finely chopped, are used as garnish for vegetable dishes and salads. It is also used in place of or along with coriander. In some regions, the flowers are gathered and cleansed to be cooked with besan to make pakoras.

In East Java, the drum sticks is used for sour soup or mixed vegetable soup.

The leaves may be fried and mixed with dried-fried tuna chips (Maldive fish), onions and dried chillies. This is equivalent to a sambal and eaten along with rice and curry. In one area in the Maldives, a soup is made with these leaves and rice, and eaten especially for breakfast during the month of Ramazan. It is also a common ingredient in an omelet. The pods are used to cook a mild curry.

In the Saraiki South Punjab region of Pakistan, moringa flowers are first separated from the stem, boiled, mashed and cooked. Curdle is an important element of its recipe to create a specific taste and favorite dish.

The green pods, the leaves and the flowers are used in a variety of Thai dishes, such as curries, stir-fries, soups, omelets and salads. One of the most traditional dishes is sour Thai curry) made with the drumstick pods and fish.

In the Philippines, moringa is widely eaten, and its leaves are available in many markets at affordable prices. The leaves are most often added to a broth to make a simple and nutritious soup. The leaves are also sometimes used as a characteristic ingredient in tinola, a traditional chicken dish consisting of chicken in a broth, moringa leaves, and either green papaya or another vegetable. The leaves can also be processed with olive oil and salt for a pesto-like pasta sauce that has become popular on the Filipino culinary scene. Moringa juice may be mixed with lemonsito juice to make ice candies or cold drinks, possibly more palatable to those who dislike vegetables.

In 2007, Filipino Senator Loren Legarda campaigned for the popularization of moringa. She asked the government to make moringa among its priority crops for propagation, citing a Bureau of Plant Industry that states moringa's nutritional content. The leaves may also be used in making polvoron (a milky, powdered snack), biofuel, and ben oil.