Moringa Flower Curry - Sojne Phul Tarkari - সজনে ফুল তরকারি

Sojne Phul Tarkari - Moringa Oleifera Flower Curry

In our childhood days gatherings and preparing dishes from items of the wild or of the neighborhood garden was a regular day activity, which is defined as unsophisticated these days. Now we prefer food from the local market rather than grown or collected. I still remember during summer holidays how we quietly shaked the sojne trees and used to collect handful of flowers. Truly speaking, for me growing veggies [without soil] in own kitchen garden is more interesting than taking it from other's gardens. I have a lifetime passion and patience for this.

All the nine essential amino acids are found to be present in the leaves of Moringa oleifera. Besides these components leaves of M. oleifera are the good source of β carotene, a precursor of vitamin - A. It contains 6.8-14.3 mg/100gm fresh wt. of β carotene. Flowers of M. oleifera are another good source of nutrition on the grounds of RDA as it contains 13.23% of total sugar, the value was highest among the investigated plants. [ref: Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge Vol. 11(1), January 2012, pp 51-57]

Moringa Oleifera flower is slightly bitter in taste than its fruit. I generally cook any bitter dish with combination of sweet vegetables. This traditional recipe can be cooked both with brinjal or sweet pumpkin. I prefer pumpkin.

By Barnali Dutta published: March 14, 2015 4.0 stars based on 11 reviews ,

Prep time: 10 min, Cook time: 10 min, Total time: 20 min, Yield: 1 medium bowl [4 servings],

Serving size: 1 tbsp, Calories per serving: 25

Ingredients:

Cubed sweet pumpkin: 2 cups, Sojne Phul/Moringa Oleifera flower: 1 cup, Salt and sugar: to taste, Turmeric: 1 tsp, Black mustard seeds: 1 tsp, Whole red chili: 1, Mustard oil: 2 tsp,

Directions:

1. Take the flower on a colander, clean and wash with running water very well. Now take a bowl of clean water and soak the flower for 5 minutes. Now take the floated flowers from the top of the bowl and discard the water.
2. Mix pumpkin, flower, turmeric, sugar and salt.
3. Heat mustard oil in a pan, add tempering mustard seeds and red chili when seeds splutter add the seasoned vegetables and cover.
4. After 5 minutes open the lid, stir gently and cook for another 5 minutes or until dry.
5. Enjoy this traditional tasty healthy Bengali Moringa Oleifera flower recipe. Serve at the beginning of the lunch with rice or roti.

From the Medical Encyclopedia → Amino acids are molecules that combine to form proteins. Amino acids and proteins are the building blocks of life. The body cannot make essential amino acids on it's own. Therefore, they must come from food. Peptides are formed when proteins are digested or broken down inside the body. Amino acids is also an energy source for the body..

Amino acids are classified into three groups:

Essential amino acids : The 9 essential amino acids are: histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine.

Nonessential amino acids means that our bodies can produce the amino acid, even if we do not get it from the food we eat, which include: alanine, arginine, asparagine, aspartic acid, cysteine, glutamic acid, glutamine, glycine, proline, serine, and tyrosine.

Conditional amino acids include: arginine, cysteine, glutamine, tyrosine, glycine, ornithine, proline, and serine are usually not essential, except in times of illness and stress.

You don't have to eat essential and non-essential amino acids at every meal, but it's crucial to acquire a good balance of them throughout the day. A diet centred on a single plant item will not suffice, but we no longer have to worry about combining proteins (such as beans and rice) at the same meal. Instead, we consider the overall sufficiency of the food throughout the day.

All the nine essential amino acids are found to be present in the leaves of Moringa oleifera. Besides these components leaves of M. oleifera are the good source of β carotene, a precursor of vitamin - A. It contains 6.8-14.3 mg/100gm fresh wt. of β carotene. Flowers of M. oleifera are another good source of nutrition on the grounds of RDA as it contains 13.23% of total sugar, the value was highest among the investigated plants.

It has been noticed that the tribes who still live in their undisturbed forest areas and having the traditional food habit like consumption of large variety of seasonal foods, are found to be healthy and free from most of the diseases.