Koinar flower
Living n the city, some local, fresh seasonal fruits and vegetables are either not available or are inaccessible. So when my cousin comes home from Odisha, she always gets us a bagful of local produce. On one such trip, she got us Koinar flower buds. I was really looking forward to eating its sabzi.
— Aroona Jojo, Navi Mumbai
What is it?
The Koinar flower tree is a native species found in India and several other countries in Asia, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Panama, Thailand, and Vietnam. Traditionally, its flower buds and leaves are foraged and used as food. The flowers occur in a range of colours—including white, pink, lilac, and purple—and are often described as orchid-like. This characteristic gives the tree its common name, the purple orchid tree.
The Koinar tree is commonly found in mixed deciduous forests and open landscapes. Due to its drought resistance and fast growth, it is also widely used as an ornamental hedge in urban areas.
What other names does it have?
Botanical Name: Bauhinia variegata L.
Regional Names: Koinar (Sadri), Koliyari (Chhattishgadi), Kachnar (Hindi), Kempu mandara (Kannada), Sigappumanch (Tamil), Mandari (Telugu), Chuvannamandaram (Malayalam), Orchid tree (Common name), Mountain Ebony (Common name)
When is it in season?
Where is it found?
The Koinar tree is perennial and requires well-drained soil and part-shade-part-sunny areas to thrive. The flowers and leaves are foraged and can also be found at local markets, especially where tribal populations live.
What is its history/cultural significance?
While different parts of the Koinar tree—such as the bark, roots, and seeds—have been documented in ancient texts for their medicinal properties and have been used by traditional healers in India, the leaves and flowers have primarily been foraged for food by tribal and forest-dwelling communities. These parts have been accessible ingredients, as the trees are commonly found growing wild as well as in people’s backyards.
The leaves and flowers continue to form part of local and tribal diets and are often available seasonally in weekly local markets. Although these ingredients have long been embedded within indigenous food systems, there is limited formal documentation of their historical use. Instead, knowledge about foraging and cooking Koinar leaves and flowers is largely passed down through oral histories, personal accounts, and lived experiences.
How can you use it?
The Koinar flowers and their buds can be boiled after a thorough wash and then cooked as a side, or chopped after washing them and then cooked.
What states can I find it in?
What parts of the plant are edible?
Flower and leaves
Is it nutritious?
The flowers and leaves are foraged for food, while other parts of the plant, like the bark, root, and fruit, are used in traditional medicines. This article features micronutrients like calcium, copper, magnesium, zinc, and iron present in the flower, making it beneficial for health.
How do you store it?
Koinar flowers are best eaten fresh upon harvesting, as they have a short shelf life. The flowers can be sun-dried and stored in airtight containers, which can be kept in a cool, dry place and eaten when they aren’t in season.
Stories
Kachnar: Turn over a delicious leaf by Vibha Varsney, Down to Earth
This article talks about Koinar (also known as Kachnar) as part of the tribal diet in Jharkhand, also focusing on its nutritional value.
Kachnar: Pretty and full of goodness by The Tribune
This article highlights the ornamental value of the Koinar tree, owing to its orchid-like flowers and two-lobed leaves, along with steps to grow and maintain the tree.
‘Know Your Desi Ingredients’ is an ever-expanding repository of knowledge for ingredients that are native to the Indian subcontinent and adapted into the mainstream culinary narratives of people, places, and cultures across India. If you would like to share more information about the write-ups featured here, send us an email at connect@thelocavore.in with your inputs and any verified sources we should look into.
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