Murunggai/ Moringa Powder

Back at home in Malaysia, the murungai tree stands tall in many gardens, including ours—its slender branches dancing in the breeze, adorned with lush green leaves, delicate flowers, and long pods. It’s a familiar sight, and a reminder of the health and healing rooted in our traditional Tamil kitchen. Now living away from home, I still keep this tradition alive by buying murungai leaves imported from India at my local Asian grocery store. One of the best ways I’ve found to preserve their goodness is by drying and powdering the leaves—a simple yet powerful method passed down through generations. This recipe shares how to make homemade moringa leaf powder, so you too can enjoy the benefits of this miracle plant wherever you are.

Ingredient:

Murunggai Leaves

Method:

Pluck the keaves from stalk and stem, wash and let it dry for 2 days until the leaves are dried well (crisp).

Grind the leaves well and store in air- tight container. 

Moringa powder can be added into smoothies, sauces, baked goods, oatmeal, soups or can be put into your favorite moringa and matcha tea lattes! Start with a small amount of Moringa (around 1 teaspoon) as your body gets use to it- in order to avoid potential digestive problems, after a week you can increase it to1 tablespoon. 

  

Moringa us an essential plant in Tamil Traditional cooking, Parambariya Unavu.

Usually leaves, flowers and Pods are used for cooking. They possess miraculous Health Benefits. Bark and Roots are used in traditional medicines. Tree stems are  used as toothbrush.

Leaves :

Leaves can be cooked same as like Spinach and taken along with meals. It is believed, leaves are helpful in treating Vatham and Kapha problems.

Seed Pods :

Immature seed pods are cooked and taken as food.

1. Taking soup prepared from drumstick pods help in treating diseases of liver, spleen, paralysis etc.
2. Rich in dietery fibre so consuming pods aids digestion.
3. Soup of drumstick seeds also acts as aphrodisiac. In Siddha, medicine prepared from drumstick seeds are helpful in treating male impotency.
4. Taking seed pod in diet is good for bones, heart, skin, hairs and internal organs.

Root :

1. As traditional medicine, roots are used as gargle for painful gums and throat problems.
2. Roots are ground into paste and applied over glandular swellings.

Bark : 

Bark powder is used in treatment of Epilepsy.

Enriched with so many nutrients, low in fat and no cholesterol, Drumstick leaves, flowers and pods is healthy for all. Tamil parambariya unavu (traditional food) includes a wide range of moringa dishes in iur daily  diet.

Flowers :

Soup of flower is a good aphrodisiac. Flowers are also made into Vadagam ( crispy sides ). It can also be cooked and consumed.

From the gardens of Malaysia to the shelves of Indian stores abroad, murungai continues to be a nourishing link to our roots. This humble powder, made from dried moringa leaves, is packed with nutrients and deeply woven into Tamil Parambariya Unavu. Just a teaspoon a day in your tea, smoothie, or soup is a step toward better health, naturally. Whether you're close to home or far from it, murungai brings with it the warmth of tradition and the strength of nature—one leaf at a time.