Much Ado About Moringa
Text and photos by Chaitali Patel
Moringa pods.
The day my mother made dal (lentil) with drumsticks, as moringa pods are known, was the day all hell broke loose at our dining table. Invariably, there would be an argument between my father, sisters and I, disrupting our otherwise peaceful meal, over who got how many pieces.
This went on till my mother started making the dal with enough drumsticks, so that each of us got two or three pieces. Fair and square, there was no more room for squabbles. My grandmother would occasionally expound the benefits of eating saragva, as drumsticks are called in my mother tongue, Gujarati, but we listened with half an ear, greedily eating the finger length pieces for their earthy taste.
Never did I imagine that the rather unremarkable tree that grew in a corner of our garden, with its bushy dark green leaves, white flowers and ribbed long pods, would go on to garner the attention it has over the years, in not just food, but beauty products.
The Moringa oleifera tree, also known as the horseradish, ben oil or drumstick tree, is native to the sub-Himalayan region. It's now extensively cultivated in a number of countries around the world, in the Caribbean, Central and South America, Africa and southeast Asia. The hardy, fuss-free tree thrives in tropical, subtropical and semi-arid regions. The flowers, pods and leaves of the tree are all edible and used to make soups, stirfries, smoothies, cookies and even macaroons.
With monikers such as the Miracle Tree, Tree of Life and Mother's Best Friend, there's certainly a lot resting on its spindly branches. While the tree has always occupied pride of place in Ayurveda, India's ancient healthcare system, and in folklore across the subcontinent, it's only in the last two decades that it has amassed substantial praise and hype worldwide. A number of studies have been conducted on the nutritional and medicinal properties of the tree, and still more continue to be done.
Jukut kelor, a stew made with moringa. Photo Credit: Restaurant Nusantara.
Traditional flavors
Where I grew up in Chennai, the capital city of Tamil Nadu, a state in the southern part of India, there was a tree found in almost every house with a garden. On family road trips to the temple towns scattered across the state, it was a common sight to see goats chewing on the leaves of the trees growing by the roadside. In fact, moringa is said to be derived from the Tamil name, murungakkai.
Like turmeric, another superfood that has taken the world by storm, the leaves, pods and flowers of the moringa tree have always been widely used in local cuisine across India. In his book A Historical Dictionary of Indian Food, late food historian KT Achaya, notes “The root was used by colonials as a substitute for the pungent horseradish.”
In Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, it features prominently in sambar, a lentil stew made with toor dal, or pigeon peas simmered with a medley of spices, vegetables and tangy tamarind. While sambar can be made with a number of vegetables, it always tastes the best for me, when cooked with drumstick pieces. There's no refined way of eating the pods. It's best to use your teeth or fingers to scoop out the greyish green fleshy interior and small seeds hidden within the inedible exterior.
Shalini Philip, owner of The Farm, a 70-acre property on the outskirts of Chennai, says one of the most sought-after dishes in the onsite cafe is fried drumsticks tossed in sea salt and chili. With a sizeable number of moringa trees growing on the farm, the summer special menu also features a lentil and drumstick soup, although she does admit that scraping the flesh out of the pods is both painful and time consuming.
In neighboring Kerala, the pods are a vital ingredient of a popular coconut-based dish called aviyal. Drumsticks, along with other seasonal and local vegetables, go into making khatkhate, a traditional Goan vegetarian dish cooked in Hindu homes during festivals and religious ceremonies. The Sindhi community makes a flavourful raita, a yogurt-based dish, with the delicate white flowers. Another staple, Sindhi kadhi, a gram flour-based curry made with mixed vegetables is incomplete without drumsticks. An integral part of wedding festivitiesthere's one day when guests are served kadhi chaawal (rice).
“From sajana saga muga dali kharada, a stirfry made with moringa leaves and moong dal or split green gram; sajana chuin aloo besara, a dish that combines drumsticks and potatoes in a pungent mustard paste, moringa is widely used in Odia cuisine,” says food historian Tanushree Bhowmik. “It's equally prevalent in Bengal where tender drumsticks are used to make shukto, a dish with distinctly bitter notes. The leaves are cooked with moong dal, made into chorchori a mixed vegetable dish; or fried to make shaak bhaja. In rural Bengal, leaves are turned into a mash with roasted dry red chili and onion,” she adds.
Given that moringa is easily and widely available in India, and the versatility of local dishes it's used in, it's still rare to find it served in a restaurant setting besides sambar and aviyal. A possible reason could be that the fresh leaves don't transport well.
Kelor, as moringa is known in Indonesia, is used in clear soups, curries and stir-fries. Chef Putu of Nusantara restaurant, Bali, serves a traditional soup, jukut kelor mesanten, inspired by his grandmother's recipe in his restaurant.
“Moringa leaves have a special taste,” he says. “In this recipe it's cooked with coconut water, coconut meat and Balinese spices in a young coconut over an open fire. The sweetness of coconut works well with Moringa and helps balance the distinct aroma of the leaves,” he adds.
Packed with goodness
True to its Sanskrit name, shigru, which means one that has strong, piercing qualities, every part of the tree can be used for food or medicinal purposes. Charaka Samhita, Sushruta Samhita and Bhela Samhita, some of the most important Ayurvedic literature, detail its benefits ranging from a cure for skin diseases, inflammation to pain relief. It's often referred to as sanjeevani booti, a mythical plant that's said to cure any ailment.
There's a popular tale of how Alexander the Great, on his conquest through India, struggled to quell the indomitable Mauryan warriors who consumed a drink made with moringa leaves. While it's hard to substantiate this story, it does point to the many benefits that can be derived from consuming the leaves of the tree.
According to a study conducted by Trees for Life International, an organization based out of Kansas, gram for gram, fresh leaves of moringa oleifera have four times the vitamin A in carrots, seven times the vitamin C in oranges, four times the calcium in milk, three times the potassium in bananas and twice the protein in milk. Filled with flavonoids, polyphenols and ascorbic acid, moringa is a powerful antioxidant. The seeds are rich in oleic acid that significantly improves good cholesterol in the body. Packed with anti-bacterial properties, the seeds are also used for water purification.
In her new book, Fix It With Food, which has an entire chapter focusing on moringa, nutritionist Kavita Devgan writes “It's one of the topmost adaptogens—a wonder food that helps the body effectively deal with stress and handle it in a healthy way.”
“It is widely consumed during spring and summer, as it's considered to have a cooling effect on the body, and also helps fight heat-related dyspepsia,” says Bhowmik.
As word spread about this miracle tree, moringa leaf powders and capsules became the trend. The bright green powder similar to matcha, is often added to teas, smoothies, juices, cookies and energy bars. Traditionally, in India there's a lot of emphasis on feeding expecting mothers food that nourishes both the body and the baby in the womb. This care also extends postpartum to ensure nursing mothers have adequate lactation.
In my pregnancy, I was regularly fed poriyal, a dry dish made with the leaves topped generously with freshly grated coconut. Slightly bitter in taste, the small leaves can be tough if not cooked properly. ,
“Moringa is a widely used herbal galactagogue in southern India and the Philippines,” says Supriya Arun, nutritionist and co-author of the book Traditional Recipes for Pregnancy and Motherhood. “In addition, it's a good source of complete plant protein, calcium and vitamin C thereby proving to be a worthy addition to the diet of a pregnant or lactating woman.”
She recalls how her mother would often pluck a handful of tender leaves from the tree in their garden and sprinkle them over an adai, a sort of lentil pancake.
“The leaves would crisp up the surface adding a unique aroma to the dish and elevating it altogether,” she adds. Arun continues to use moringa as part of her daily diet, sautéing the leaves with her eggs or brewing a cup of fragrant tea with the flowers.
Beyond food
Moringa mania has well extended beyond food percolating deep into the personal care segment. It's an ingredient that increasingly shows up in a variety of hair and skin products.
According to an article published in Elle, “When applied topically, moringa encourages the skin cells to renew themselves at lightning speed, helping to limit pesky breakouts, blur blemishes and pigmentation, and iron fine lines into oblivion.”
Filled with antioxidants it helps moisturise dry skin and combat the harmful effects of pollution. Rich in zinc it works wonders for the hair, helping to repair damage and promote growth.
Life Saver
Late Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro finds a spot amongst a long list of Moringa fans. He was so taken in by the benefits of the lanky tree, that he included it as a regular part of his daily diet. After his retirement, Castro took to cultivating the trees around his home in the outskirts of Havana.
“Moringa, originally from India, is the only plant that has every kind of amino acid. With proper planting and management, its green leaf production can exceed 300 tonnes per hectare in a year. It has dozens of medicinal properties,” said Castro to a question posed by a reader on the Cubedebate website.
Besides experiencing the benefits of consuming moringa, Castro's fascination with the tree and its use in feeding and providing adequate nutrition to those who most need it, has been echoed worldwide. An article published by Greg Rienzi in the Johns Hopkins Magazine in 2016 says “Moringa's utility may be more than just as a dietary dynamo. Mature moringa seeds can be pressed into vegetable oil, suitable for both cooking and as a machine lubricant. The powder from crushed seeds can be used to purify drinking water because proteins in the seeds make bacteria clump and fall to the bottom.”
Dr. Jed Fahey, a nutritional biochemist who has been studying Moringa for well over two decades now, is wary of the superfood tag, which brings with it a lot of attention and leads to inflated pricing. He is a firm believer in the tree's potential to help those who need it most.
“The tree has so much potential in places of food insecurity. It's a complete plant protein and one that's easily digestible. A third of the weight of dried leaves is protein, and they store well retaining both their colour and nutrition for long,” he says.
Over the years, a number of projects to cultivate Moringa have been initiated across countries like Zambia, Ghana, Guinea and Zimbabwe to solve nutrition deficiency. With the effects of climate change challenging food chains, moringa might just be the miracle many need in the days to come.
