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By Dilushi Wijesinghe
Tasty dishes prepared with moringa leaves
Damayanthi Lee, who runs a moringa farm in Kanniya, Trincomalee, and hosts workshops on growing and using the plant, is campaigning to see a moringa tree in every Sri Lankan household and its leaves incorporated into everyday meals.
For Ms Lee, the familiar moringa tree is not merely something to be added to fish, crab or prawn curry. She is now focusing on cookery demonstrations to show people how its leaves can be used in a variety of familiar foods.
Her interest in moringa began in 2016, after a family member was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer. Her daughter-in-law, who was researching natural remedies, came across moringa and began sending moringa powder to her mother in Denmark as a supplement.
This prompted Ms Lee to research the plant herself and discover that the moringa products being promoted overseas came from the same tree that grows widely in Sri Lanka.
She travelled to California for training on cultivating moringa and developing healthy soil, with the initial intention of establishing a plantation and exporting premium moringa powder to the United States.
However, her work with war widows, orphans and elderly people in the Trincomalee area changed that focus. “I felt guilty sending it overseas because I felt like my people need it more,” she said.
In 2018, she began transforming family land in Kanniya into a moringa farm, planting about 1,000 trees. She then did workshops on growing and using moringa.
Damayanthi Lee and team celebrate a good harvest
Her focus has now shifted increasingly towards food, as she believes people are more likely to accept moringa when they see how easily it can be incorporated into familiar dishes. “I add moringa into all the foods that we eat,” she said, listing salads, sambal, smoothies, cakes, puddings and even ice cream among the ways she uses the leaves.
Damayanthi Lee promotes the health benefits of Moringa leaves through cookery demonstrations
She has recently been demonstrating moringa biriyani and teaching people how to use blanched leaves in everyday cooking. She said fresh coconut milk can help reduce the earthy taste and smell of the leaves. “Everybody who has eaten the moringa biriyani loves it,” she said.
According to Ms Lee, one of the biggest challenges has been changing the traditional perception that the moringa pod is the part of the plant that should be eaten, while the leaves are often overlooked. “The hardest part is telling people that the leaves are having the highest amount of benefits. Please eat the leaves,” she says.
She believes cookery demonstrations are more effective than simply explaining the nutritional properties of the plant. “People are not interested in all that technical information. “I love the food, and I share it,” she said.
Her work has also included formal training and community programmes. In 2024, California-based moringa specialist Mariko Gifford, whom Ms Lee describes as her mentor, trained people at her farm in Kanniya.
The same year, Sri Lanka held its first National Moringa Day on April 18, with tree planting and awareness activities. A five-day training programme held afterwards included practical sessions on cultivation, harvesting, processing, food preparation, composting and soil management.
Ms Lee also met cookbook author Mohana Gills, who has developed 60 moringa recipes, strengthening her belief that food is one of the simplest ways of bringing moringa into people’s lives.
She now wants the movement to begin with children. “Start from the school, kindergarten. Give them the moringa seeds to grow, take it home and eat a little,” she said.
Ms Lee believes Sri Lanka already has an easily accessible resource that can be used more widely. “Let’s grow more moringa,” she said.
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