There is a tree that can provide edible flowers, the base for flatbreads, ingredients for laddu, and cooking oil. In communities across central, eastern, and western India, Mahua has long been found to have numerous uses—from its flowers and fruits to its seeds.
The natural sweetness of these parts makes them useful both in everyday dishes and in traditional fermented preserves.
Dried Mahua flowers can be ground and mixed with wheat, rice, or jowar flour to make roti. In the states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, such dishes include ippa roti, as well as steamed mahua cakes and fried flower snacks.
Sweet treats can also be made from dried flowers by grinding them and combining them with other ingredients. In Kandammal, Odisha state, women from tribal groups associated with Van Dhan Vikas Kendras prepare laddu, cakes, jam, and biscuits from Mahua.
Flowers can be processed into jam, jelly, compote, sharbat, and other products instead of being sold solely in dry form.
In Kandammal, women's groups use dried Mahua flowers to make pakoda, biscuits, cakes, and other commercial products.
Mahua flowers contain naturally fermentable sugars, which traditionally allows them to be used for making fermented beverages.
Mahua seeds contain oil, which is traditionally extracted and used for culinary purposes in various parts of India. Mahua oil and fat are also used in the production of soap, candles, and other items.
Mahua represents more than just a food tree: its flowers, fruits, seeds, and wood support food security, livelihoods, agriculture, and daily life in the forest.