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Recipe for a delicious KatuLunggay dish

on 19th November 2018

Kimosabe commented in an earlier post that he fondly remembers the delicious dish of Katuday flowers and leaves that he sampled years ago in Malaysia. The dish was spicy and lemak, cooked with curry powder and coconut milk.

Katuday or Turi (Sesbania grandiflora).

Thanks to his comment, my Filipina helper Estela V Acierto decided to concoct a mixed Katuday-Malunggay dish. The name of the dish, shortened to KatuLunggay comes from Katuday or Turi (Sesbania grandiflora) (above) and Malunggay or Drumstick (Moringa olifera) (below), using the Tagalog names of both plants.

Malunggay or Drumstick (Moringa olifera).

She uses the flowers and young leaves of Katuday and the young leaves of Malunggay – see HERE for the preparation of Katuday flowers. In the video clip below, Estela demonstrates how the dish is cooked.

Recipe: Heat oil in frying pan, add sliced onions, sambal chilli and prawn paste. Add mixture of leaves and flowers, then a liberal amount of coconut cream. Remove when the vegetables are cooked. Crispy ikan bilis (dried anchovies) and groundnuts as garnish.

The delicious KatuLunggay dish.

This healthy dish is delicious, spicy and lemak, as well as chewy (above, below).

Assistant cook Tinny G Unciano tasting the dish.

The flowers of Katuday are eaten as a vegetable in South and Southeast Asia LINK. The stamens and styles of the flowers are first removed. They are then blanched and tossed in vinegar. Sliced onions and chillies are added as garnish. Young leaves can be eaten as a vegetable or incorporated in soups, although older ones are tough. We regularly collect the flowers and distribute them to the local Filipino community who miss their favourite salad (below).

Katuday flowers blanched and tossed with vinegar, onions and tomato slices.

Malunggay on the other hand is grown mainly for the young pods, cooked mostly with dahl as a vegetable curry. The pods are highly fibrous but the seeds inside are tender and delicious. Eat the seeds and “spit” out the fibres. The dish is a favourite with many locals. You can also cook with long beans, ladies finger, pumpkin etc. (below).

Young pods of Malunggay cooked with long beans, ladies finger, pumpkin etc.

YC Wee & Estela V Acierto
Singapore
30th October 2018

If you like this post please tap on the Like button at the left bottom of page. Any views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the authors/contributors, and are not endorsed by the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM, NUS) or its affiliated institutions. Readers are encouraged to use their discretion before making any decisions or judgements based on the information presented.

YC Wee

Dr Wee played a significant role as a green advocate in Singapore through his extensive involvement in various organizations and committees: as Secretary and Chairman for the Malayan Nature Society (Singapore Branch), and with the Nature Society (Singapore) as founding President (1978-1995). He has also served in the Nature Reserve Board (1987-1989), Nature Reserves Committee (1990-1996), National Council on the Environment/Singapore Environment Council (1992-1996), Work-Group on Nature Conservation (1992) and Inter-Varsity Council on the Environment (1995-1997). He is Patron of the Singapore Gardening Society and was appointed Honorary Museum Associate of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM) in 2012. In 2005, Dr Wee started the Bird Ecology Study Group. With more than 6,000 entries, the website has become a valuable resource consulted by students, birdwatchers and researchers locally and internationally. The views and opinions expressed in this article are his own, and do not represent those of LKCNHM, the National University of Singapore or its affiliated institutions.

Other posts by YC Wee

2 Responses

  1. I would certainly like to eat that with chapatti or steamy hot Mali Hom (fragrant Thai rice).
    Sometime ago I asked a Tamil hawker cook if he would cook a a murunga keerai
    (moringa leaves) curry for me if I paid him for his trouble. I would buy the leaves from Little India & bring them to him. His reply was: YES…! Sorry to say I have yet to follow this up…
    Moringa pods, leaves & seeds are full of goodness. Eat the “Tree of Life” soon…!

  2. I would certainly like to eat that with chapatti or steaming hot Mali Hom (Thai fragrant rice).
    Sometime ago I asked a Tamil hawker if he would cook a murunga keerai
    (moringa leaves) with dahl curry for me if I paid him for his trouble. His reply was: YES…! I have yet to follow up on this…!
    Moringa leaves, pods & seeds are cheaply obtainable at the Indian provision shops in Little India. So go grab some, Google for a recipe & get busy whipping up your own curry meal.

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