Cooking and Eating Moringa Seed Pods

This article originally from EDN Issue: 109_SUPPLEMENT [ Download Original Document ]

Tim Tanner shared some details about how he and his family have cooked and eaten moringa seed pods. “What we have found is simply two possible easy ways:

“1) Take the small (skinny) pods that are not yet stiff. Boil them for about five minutes and you can eat them with a bit of salt and butter like string beans, or you can then add onions and tomatoes and make a whole new flavor out of them.

“2) Take the more mature pods, but make sure they are still completely bright green with no sign of turning brown yet. Break them up (if need be to fit in your pot) and boil for about five to eight minutes. Dump out the water and let them cool a bit. After they have cooled for a bit, take the stem end in one hand, and use a wooden spoon in the other hand to press the cooked pod against the pot you just boiled them all in. Pull on the stem end and all the strings and the coarser outer part come away from the pulp, leaving the mushy cooked pulp middle in your pot. Now add some tomatoes and onions and a little bit of oil and salt and you have a pretty tasty sauce.

“As a side note, the seeds seem to start becoming a bit bitter tasting when the pods turn from bright green to a darker green.”