Tue 23 Mar 2010
Malunggay Tea
Posted by Jun Alday under Cooking, Filipino, Medicinal, Trees
[2] Comments
Malungay leaves fresh from the market.
Malunggay (Moringa Oleifera) is cheaply available in the local market or even the groceries. It is becoming popular as a good substitute for “dahon sili” or chili leaves when cooking the local dish “tinolang manok.” Aside from using malunggay in cooking, it can be made into tea. I usually drink Chinese tea the whole day but I have turned to malunggay tea lately. It is not only cheaper but also more healthy. I share here the step by step process of making tea from malunggay leaves. Try making your own malunggay tea as it is very easy to do.
Strip the branches of leaves and put the leaves in a drying container. I use a mesh tray (actually a stationary tray) to dry it as the open mesh helps in drying the underside of the leaves. Solid trays accumulate moisture under the leaves which slows the drying. You can dry the leaves under the sun or in an oven. Here I used my small oven turned to the lowest heat to dry the leaves. Set the timer of the oven at 5 minutes intervals so the leaves do not burn. After every 5 minutes, turn the leaves around for better drying. After drying, use a blender to pulverize the leaves. Use flash mode in blender so it will not be so fine but coarse in texture. Store in air-tight container before use. Using a coffee maker, put 2 to 3 tablespoon of malunggay leaves in coffee filter. Pour water in coffee maker enough for about 10 to 12 cup measurment. The result is a richly colored tea that can be consumed throughout the day. To vary the flavor, I sometimes add lemon grass in tea bag on top of the malunggay leaves. The lemon grass tea bags are made by Carica. A box of 30 lemon grass tea bags costs P160.
Malunggay tea contains nutrients to support our body. It has many anti-oxidants and anti-inflamatory components that promotes proper and healthy circulatory system, healthy digestion and cellular structures. It enhances the skin’s health and apperance, strengthens immune system, increases energy and good metabolism. It also promotes cholesterol natural serum, normal function of liver and kidney and nourishes the eyes and brain.
