Popular as a
vegetable in
Asia and
Africa. The fruit is a long thin pod resembling a
drumstick. The fruit itself is called
drumstick in
India and elsewhere. Moringa leaves are also eaten as a leaf vegetable, particularly in the
Philippines and
Africa.In the Philippines, the leaves are widely eaten. Bunches of leaves are available in many markets, priced below many other leaf vegetables. The leaves are most often added to a broth to make a simple and highly nutritious soup. The leaves are also sometimes used as a characteristic ingredient in
tinola, a traditional chicken dish consisting of chicken in a broth, Moringa leaves, and either green
papaya or another secondary vegetable.The leaves are now used in making "polvoron", which is a milky and powdered snack,
bio-fuel, and
moringa oil.The Moringa pod is known as "drumstick" or
saragwa or
saragwe in India. In
South India, it is used to prepare a variety of
sambar and is also
fried. It is also preserved by
canning and exported worldwide. In other parts of
India, especially
West Bengal and also in a neighboring country like
Bangladesh, it is enjoyed very much. It can be made into a variety of
curry dishes by mixing with coconut, poppy seeds, and mustard. It can just be boiled until the drumsticks are semi-soft and consumed directly without any extra processing or cooking. It is used in
curries,
sambars,
kormas, and
dals, although it is also used to add flavor to cutlets, etc. Today it is widely cultivated in
Africa, Central and
South America,
Sri Lanka,
India,
Mexico,
Malaysia,
Indonesia and the
Philippines. It is considered one of the world’s most useful trees, as almost every part of the Moringa tree can be used for
food or has some other beneficial property. In the tropics, it is used as
forage for
livestock, and in many countries, Moringa is used as a
micronutrient powder to treat diseases.