How to Make Tasty and healthy Neem flower recipes

Here are a few traditional recipes made using the dried flowers of the neem tree. They are hand- me -down recipes from my grandmother.

True to almost all the dishes made during our grandmother's time, these neem dishes are good for digestion and for appetite.

The basic step is collecting the flowers fresh from the tree while it is in season and drying the flowers. These dried flowers will keep for a year or even more if you store them in air tight containers.

The simplest of dishes is the vepampoo (neem flower rice) saadam. Take a cup of the dried flowers, dry roast in a kadai till crisp and powder. Store this in an air tight container.

When you suffer from a loss of appetite or feel plainly hungry, add a tablespoon of this powder to hot 'saadam' or cooked rice along with a little ghee and salt to taste. This is especially good for the rainy season. This is a very appetizing and tasty dish. Do not use chips or wafers as accompaniment. That would only make the stomach more sluggish and lessen the essence of this saadam. You can use toasted papads instead.

What Items required for making neem recipes
Dried neem flowers – 1 tsp
Tamarind- a lemon sized ball, soaked in water
Tuvar dhal- 1 tsp
Red chillies-2
Ghee-1 tsp
Curry leaves
Asafetida-a drop or half a tsp
Salt-to taste

Filter tamarind extract and boil in a kadai. In another kadai heat ghee, add red chillies, tuvar dhal and the flowers and roast till the flowers turn golden.

Powder the roasted flowers and add to tamarind water along with salt. When the rasam comes to a boiling point add asafetida and switch off.

Serve hot with hot saadam.

How to make Vepampoo tuvaiyal or chutney
Dried neemflowers-half a cup
Tamarind-marble sized ball
Urad dhal-2 tsp
Red chillies-2
Jaggery-marble sized ball
Salt and a little ghee

In a kadai, toast urad dhal, red chillies and tamarind. Remove from fire. To the same kadai add the ghee and roast the flowers till golden. Grind all ingredients along with jaggery and salt to the crumbly yet thick chutney.
Goes well with hot rice.

How to make Vepampoo pachadi
Fresh or dried neemflowers- 2 tsp
Tamarind-lemon sized ball
Jaggery-lemon sized ball
Red chilli-1
Ghee-1 tsp
Mustard and salt

Take a thick tamarind extract and boil along with jaggery.

Dry roast the flowers till golden. Powder fine and add to the boiling tamarind along with salt. Splutter mustard and chilli in ghee and add to the pachadi.

You will have to cook till the pachadi is thick as honey.