LONG, slender and greens in appearance seed-pods are in season! Moringa or saijan — better known by locals as saijans are displayed at a few tables at the Suva Municipal Market.
The uniqueness of seasonal fruit vegetables and vegetables not only adds variety to your diet but their range of tastes, colours and textures are best for your body.
Among other fruits and vegetables, Sant Raj, 53, also sells this vegetable. Mr Raj said the saijan grew quite well in the western part of Vitilevu and was good for high blood pressure. He says while the saijan also benefits health, it is used in foods such as curry, dhal or eggplant and potatoes.
“You can add the leaves of the saijan to your curry dish,” said Raj.
“Or if you like, you could add it to your dhal or with grated coconuts.”
Raj said his customers were usually Gujaratis or Sri Lankans and one bundle was sold for $2.
Raj who hails from from Verata in Nausori said his wife has had a table in the Suva market since 2000. He also sells dalo, cabbages, bhindi and ginger to name a few.
Website superfoodify.com reports moringa has been dubbed the “miracle tree” and “the tree of life”.
“Its leaves contain over 90 nutrients and 45 compounds with anti-oxidant properties and 36 with anti-inflammatory properties,” reported the website.
“Ounce for ounce, moringa leaves are known to contain seven times the vitamin C content of oranges, four times the calcium and twice the protein in milk, four times the vitamin A in carrots, and three times the potassium in bananas.”
How to use Moringa
In a Soup
Moringa’s active plant components don’t loose their effectiveness when Moringa is dried, grounded or boiled — which makes it perfect to prepare into a soup. Most of us don’t have access to fresh moringa leaves but if you get whole, dried leaves —you can substitute them for fresh leaves easily.
As a tea
Letting dried moringa leaves steep in hot water for a couple of minutes or so infuses the whole thing with its abundance of vitamins, minerals, amino acids and antioxidants among others. Apart from being a quick pick-me-up if you’re feeling a bit sluggish, moringa tea also helps calm an upset stomach and relieves bloating.
Or if you like you could try out the recipe for a moringa iced tea.
What you need:
* Dried moringa leaves
* Lemon
* Honey
* Ginger
* Warm water
Directions:
1. Measure out the quantity of dried leaves that you would like to make lets say a pot, depending on how strong it is. Add warm water. I read up that hot water kills nutrients in moringa, so it is best to use warm and let it steep for longer.
2. Halfway through steeping, roughly about 5 minutes, add lemon slices and ginger wedges and allow to steep some more.
3. Drain the tea, sweeten with honey.
4. Pour into a glass, add ice cubes and garnish with a slice of lemon and fresh mint leaves.
5. You can make this in large quantities and chill.
