Moras Bhaji is a beautiful salty succulent that grows in damp regions like mangroves, dunes, beaches, etc which is available mainly during early monsoons.

About Moras Bhaji

Moras is a wild food that has long held a significant place in our traditional Indian foodways. For people living on the western coast, it has been a source of seasonal nourishment. It’s a cultural marker, passed down through generations as part of coastal monsoon diets, fasting, and foraging traditions.

Botanical Name

Suaede Maritima

Common Names for Moras

• Indian Salt wort ( English)
• Lano/Luno/Morad ( Gujarathi)
• Lano (Marwadi)
• Moraas ( Marathi)
• Gerdia(Odia)
• Nirumari (Tamil)
• Ila Kura ( Telegu)
• Nunkha ( Haryana)

Availability

This green grows around seashores, marshy lands, salt marshes, etc.

It is a halophyte which was traditionally used for medicinal purposes. Halophytes are salt-tolerant plants that grow in waters with high salinity, such as marshy lands and swamps,which is exactly where moras grow abundantly.

It is mainly available in the local markets from July to September.

Appearance

S. maritima is an annual herbaceous plant that grows erect up to a height of 50cm with many branches from the base. It tends to accumulate excess salt in vacuoles, which causes an increase in cell volume and in the size and height of the plant itself.

The leaves are lush green, thick, and fleshy with a smooth surface similar to many succulents while the stems are fleshy and some have a hint of red-pink color. If you taste the leaves you will find them to be hydrating and slightly salty. The flowers are tiny and mainly grow on the topmost tip.

How to clean?

If you see the leaves of this bhaji the leaves, they are shiny and appear to be wax-coated like most succulent leaves, making them super easy to clean.

Wash it clean under running water and you are good to go.

You can either use only the leaves or can use them as it is with the stem.

Nutritional information

A 2020 research study that compared different halophytes found that S. maritima has one of the highest antioxidant potentials due to the presence of carotenoids, ascorbic acid, and phenolic compounds. It also stood out for its high mineral content, particularly sodium and potassium, as well as dietary fibre.

Another study showed that both leaf and stem extracts exhibited potent antioxidant properties. While the methanol extract of S. maritima has demonstrated strong antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer activities too.

As per one of the study, Fresh and dry moras are rich in carbohydrates, protein, dietary fiber, and essential minerals. But it is the fresh leaves that retain higher phytochemical and antioxidant content as compared to dried forms.

Culinary Uses

 

• Salad
• Chutney
• Dry vegetables
• Theplas/Parathas
• Cutlets/ Pattice/Falafels
• Vrat / Fasting foods: Moras being salty is widely used by many during fasting like Gauri vrat, Navratri fasts, etc in the form of theplas, parathas, wadas etc.

Moras Theplas

Ingredients

• Whole wheat flour-2 1/2 cups
• Besan-2tbsp
• Moras Bhaji- 1 cup, finely chopped leaves
• Onion-1, finely chopped
• Chilli powder-1-2tsp
• Ginger garlic paste-1 tsp
• Turmeric-1tsp
• Dhana-jeera powder-1tsp
• Oil-1tbsp
• Salt as per requirement

Procedure:

For the dough

• First, take the finely chopped vegetable in a wok.
• Add the onion and all other spices.
• Next, sprinkle in the besan and mix everything thoroughly.
• Finally, add in the wheat flour and using water little by little knead it into a dough. Give a final knead with some oil. Let it rest for a few minutes.

For the thepla

• Divide the dough into small balls.
• Roll them out into uniform size.  ( Remember, moras bhaji is a succulent so the leaves are thick and hence the theplas are bound to be slightly thick)
• Dry roast them on a non-stick tava with or without oil is a choice.
• Serve warm with coriander-mint chutney.

Hope you try out this vegetable and share your experience with me in the comments below.

Also, there are many such lesser-known vegetables like Moras, which are consumed across India. Sharing a few of my favorite wild foods here-Aakur,  Kudachya shenga or flaxseeds.

Happy Reading and Eating.