Moringa is a super food- we all know that by now. I mean it has been popular among westerners only since last decades, but I remember from my childhood, my mother used to make various dishes with moringa leaves. It is mostly known as drumstick tree because the fruits resemble a lot like a long, thin, green sticks. Needless to say, in Bangladesh, moringa fruit aka sojne is a favorite comfort food to be eaten with daal and also as mustard chochchori. Moringa plant is found in such an abundance in Bangladesh, that in old days, when there were no groceries left in the household, the housewives of Bangladesh used to make some dishes with moringa. Thus this phrase came – Thor, Bori, Khara – Khara, Bori, Thor (থোড়, বড়ি, খাঁড়া – খাঁড়া, বড়ি, থোড়) – meaning banana flower(thor), dried pulse dumplings(bori) and Moringa fruit(Khara) used to be prepared in rotation in every household in traditional rural Bangladesh.

This recipe today is about Moringa leave fritters. There are lots of ways to eat moringa leaves, but I think fritters are the most delicious way to eat moringa, as it has a special, distinctive umami taste with a hint of bitterness.
For this recipe, we just need fresh moringa leaves, beshon(chick pea flour), wheat flour, some green chili and salt. You can use baking soda but it is not mandatory (I forgot to use it anyway..haha).

At first, I sorted all the leaves from the hard moringa brunches. Moringa leaves are pretty small, so it will take some time to sort them out. Then I washed the leaves in cold water several times.

As the leaves are small, it is hard to gather them and chop into small pieces. But I have tried my best to chop them as much as possible. You can use a electric chopper too, but I guess chopping with hands gives them a better texture. I also thinly sliced an onion and some chili (depends on how spicy you want).

Then I took all the ingredients – chopped moringa leaves, chili, onion in a bowl and added wheat flour, chick pea flour, salt and some water. I kneaded everything until all the ingredients get well mixed. The consistency of the mixture should be sticky but soft. So when adding water, you have to be adding only a small amount at a time. Best thing about moringa leaves that it doesn’t release excess water, so there’s no chance of being the fritters soggy, except if you add a lots of water.
After making the mixture, I took some mixture on my palm and shaped into fritter.

Meanwhile I heated oil in a pan, so I could put the fritters directly to the hot oil. The well made fritters should be light and bubbling all around from the side.

I flipped and fried the fritters until all side become golden brown. The heat of the oil should be medium to high, otherwise the fritters will be burned outside but remain raw inside.

Here is the final look of moringa fritters. I served them in dinner as a side. Moringa leaves has certain umami taste, it’s a great way to make kids (and husbands) eat more greens and fibers. Well, to be honest, everything fried in oil is delicious but not that healthy always. So I will make more healthy recipe of this super food moringa next time. Until then, you can try making moringa fritters at home and write me how it turned out.

Recipe: Moringa Fritters

Fresh Moringa leaves: 200g Green Chili- 2/3 pieces Onion – 1 Beshon(chick pea flour) – 1/4th cup Wheat flour – 1/4th cup Salt- 1tsp Garlic clove – 1 piece Oil to fry

1. Sort out all the moringa leaves. Wash them in cold water several times. 2. Gather all loose leaves and chop them as fine as possible. Also chop onion and chili. 3. Put chopped leaves, onion, chili in a big bowl and add wheat flour, beshon(chickpea flour), salt. Add some water and knead until everything becomes a sticky mixture. 4. Take some fritter mixture on your palm and give it a fritter shape. 5. In a pan, warm oil to medium heat. Add fritters to hot oil. Flip and fry until both sides get brown. When done, put them on paper towel to soak extra oil. Serve as a side.