Refresh Your Palate With This

Sindhi Raita

Recipe With Moringa Flowers

Moringa flower raita recipe is also known as swanjharo jo raito or suhanjhre jo matho in Sindhi households. These flowers grow on the drumstick tree and appear in spring, before summer turns them into fibrous drumsticks used in various curries. Sindhi cuisine makes the most of the moringa flower season by using these flowers in a curry paired with lotus stem, or adding them to curd to make this raita. Just like any fruit, flower, or vegetable you would get from the market, moringa flowers also need to be cleaned properly, a process Sindhi folks call Aathrayan. The flowers, firstly used in this raite recipe, need to be fresh and unbruised, with a bunch picked that has more buds than open blooms. Any thick stems, leaves, or rotting pieces are removed; then the remaining material is submerged in water and stirred; the flowers that float to the top are picked after being washed a couple of times. Once cleaned, the flowers are boiled in salted water for 15-20 minutes, then drained, squeezed, and boiled again in fresh water two to three times over. This repeated boiling and squeezing removes the flower’s natural bitterness. The boiled flowers must be completely cooled before going into the whisked curd, which is thinned with water, then combined with the squeezed moringa flowers, green chilli, and some grated ginger, finished with black pepper, red chilli powder, and coriander leaves as garnish.