Moringa are easily found on the countryside or suburb. It usually used as soil protector from erosion or as shade on the sidewalks and barrier in between roads.
Nutrient Composition of Moringa Leaves
Moringa leaves can be used in a variety of healthy dishes, but it is known that Moringa leaves are not people’s favorite. A lot of people have not yet understand the health benefits of Moringa leaves.
- Vitamin – Moringa leaves contain Thiamin (vitamin B), Riboflavin (vitamin B2), high content of Niacin (vitamin B3) which is beneficial for our metabolism and vitamin C which acts as a powerful antioxidant and increase endurance.
- Minerals – Including calcium, zinc, chromium, potassium, selenium, silicon, magnesium, boron, iodine, phosphorus, sodium, copper, manganese, and iron which is useful for the hemoglobin formation, absorption of glucose, overcome high blood pressure, improve brain function and bones.
- Amino acids – including leusine, valine, tryptophan, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine which acts as protein former to be reprocessed and used in cell formation, muscle, immune system and healthier formation of muscle mass.
How to Cook Moringa Leaves for Health Treatment
- Vegetable Stew
Moringa leaves can be used as an ingredient for vegetable stew just like spinach. Moringa leaves can even be combined with spinach, young corn, and vegetable gourd using the same condiments.
How to use moringa leaves for health treatment, to properly cook moringa leaves we have to start with the right preparation of ingredients:
- 3 cloves of Garlic
- 3 cloves of Finger roots or Chinese Ginger
- Salt to taste
- Palm sugar (as needed)
- Food flavoring to enhance the nutrients contained in the dish and doubles the richness of flavors
Steps:
Wash the moringa leaves and put them on heat to a boil, then put all the condiments and spices together. You can also add spinaches, young corn, or vegetable gourd as much as you want. Once cooked, sprinkle it with fried thin-sliced onion.
- Sautéed Food
To properly cook moringa leaves we can also sauté it. We can add some shrimp or a few pieces of tofu, or anything else you like. Simple ingredients that need to be prepared are:
- Moringa leaves
- Corn oil
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 2 pieces of red chili
- 2 teaspoons of oyster sauce
- Salt
- A bit of water
Steps:
Take a bunch of moringa leaves without its stems then wash them. Preheat the corn oil (corn oil is safe for people with diabetes and is good for our body). Add slices of garlic, red chilies, then stir gently to bring up a nice garlic aroma.
Next, gradually put in the moringa leaves and stir. You can add shrimp or tofu pieces and then add 2 teaspoons of oyster sauce and salt to taste. Don’t forget to add a little bit of food flavoring and water so that the spices can be absorbed faster by Moringa leaves’ pores.
- Coconut Milk Stew
Moringa leaves can also be used in coconut milk stew like spinach. To properly cook delicious and rich in nutrient moringa leaves stew, some ingredients are needed, including:
- 3-5 handful of moringa leaves
- 3 tablespoons of corn oil
- 100 grams of fried shrimp
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 3 cloves of onion
- 1 segment of Ginger
- 1 segment of Turmeric
- Salt
- 1 Lemongrass
- 70 ml of coconut milk
- 2 Bay leaves
- Enough amount of water
Steps:
Wash the moringa leaves, leave the stems. Preheat 3 tablespoons of corn oil on a frying pan. Add fried shrimp, sliced onion and garlic, and rough mashed lemongrass, ginger, and turmeric. Stir the stew until a nice aroma of garlic and lemongrass emerged. Add just enough amounts of boiling water, salt, bay leaves, and coconut milk. Then stir again before you add the moringa leaves. Stir up to a boil.
- Vegetable Tempura
Moringa leaves can also be made into delicious vegetable tempura, just like corn or bean sprouts vegetable tempura. To properly cook moringa leaves as vegetable tempura, you’re going to need:
- Moringa leaves
- Corn oil
- Salt to taste
- Food flavoring
- White tofu
- Wheat flour
- Water
Steps:
Crush the white tofu until smooth and add washed stem-less moringa leaves. Then put in some wheat flour, water, salt to taste, and food flavoring. Stir the batter. Then fry it using a small ladle or spoon according to what shape and size tempura you want. Fry the moringa leaf tempura with corn oil.
- Chips
Moringa leaves can be used as a healthy snack or as a side dish to eat with rice. To properly cook moringa leaves as crispy chips, you are going to need similar ingredients used in tempeh chips which easily found around the city of Bandung. Ingredients to be prepared are:
- Corn oil
- 1 bundle of stem-less Moringa leaves
- 2 eggs
- 250 grams rice flour
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1 teaspoon of coriander powder
- Salt to taste
- A proper amount of food flavoring
Steps:
Take 1 bunch of steamed stem-less moringa leaves, then put it in a basin and add rice flour and eggs, then stir the mixture together. Next, add mashed garlic and coriander powder, salt, and food flavoring, then stir. Preheat the corn oil, and then fry the moringa batter with a flat spoon to get the thin chips shape.
- Moringa Leaf as Fresh Vegetables
Moringa leaves can also be eaten as it is, as fresh vegetables, but of course after being washed. You can eat it together with rice or other vegetables such as lettuce, cashew leaves, kale, greens, and broccoli. Cooking moringa leaves by steaming it is proven to leave the nutrients intact and not reducing it at all due to boiling or frying process. You may also read about Types of Vegetable Salad for Diet
Steps:
Steam moringa leaves together with another vegetables and wait for it to look wilted and cooked. After that, wait for the steaming to cool down a little bit before you take out the vegetables and slice it with a clean knife into several parts. Then, eat the fresh moringa leaves with rice.