• Kahrool / कहरूळ / Orchid Tree / Bauhinia purpurea L.
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Kahrool / कहरूळ / Orchid Tree / Bauhinia purpurea L.

Local Name: Kahrool / कहरूळ

Common Name: Orchid Tree

Botanical Name: Bauhinia purpurea L.

Kahrool / कहरूळ / Orchid Tree / Bauhinia purpurea L.

Status & Habitat

  • Habitat: Tree

  • Occurrence: Dry Deciduous Forests, often Cultivated

  • Season of Availability: Year-round

  • Geography: Indian subcontinent and Myanmar

  • Method of Propagation: Seed propagation

  • Part used for Propagation: Seeds

Edible Parts

  • Edible Parts: Young Leaves & Buds

  • Can be Eaten Raw: Yes

Method of Consumption

  • Raw: Yes

  • Ripe: Yes

  • Both Raw & Ripe: Yes

  • Dangerous Form to Consume: N/A

  • As Food: Leaves, flower buds, young seedpods cooked as a vegetable; flower buds pickled and used in curries; flower buds and tender leaves made into pakoras; flowers used in raita.

  • As Medicine: Flowers are laxative; roots and carminative; bark, roots and flowers are used as a maturant.

  • Cooking Without Prior Boiling: N/A

  • Boiling Before Cooking: N/A

  • Pickling: Yes

  • Brining: N/A

  • Fermenting: N/A

  • Drying for later Consumption: N/A

  • Overall Method: Used medicinally; also flower buds and tender leaves are boiled, grinded and cooked with gram flour to make pakoras, or as a vegetable; flower petals mixed into raita.

Nutritional & Medicinal Benefits

  • Nutritional Benefit: Antidiabetic and cytotoxic properties.

  • Medicinal Benefit: Laxative, carminative and acts as a maturant.

Tribal Wisdom

  • Tribal Wisdom: Flowers are laxative; roots and carminative; bark, roots and flowers are used as a maturant.

Recipes

  • Tribal Recipe: Pickle: Pinch and clean buds, avoiding partial blooms. Boil buds for 3-4 minutes until soft. Air dry for 2-3 hours. Heat mustard oil, add spices, powders, salt, and lime juice. Boil gently. Add dried buds, mix, and turn off heat. Adjust salt. Transfer to clean jar, top with mustard oil. Rest for a day or two, ready to use.