Preserving Neem Flower is an easy process. The flowering season of the Neem tree falls on Jan to May (Spring season), but only once in a year. During that time one can pick the flowers and dry them in sun and can be used year round to make healthy neem preparations. Neem flowers are white fragrant flowers found in leaf axils  in axillary manner. So it is easy to remove from the branches.

       Neem flowers are generally used in cooking to improve digestive health. This also used to treat excessive phlegm and intestinal worms. Some preparations dried flowers been powdered and used. Generally the dried flowers are roasted in ghee and used in the dishes.

Neem Flower


Dried Neem Flower

PROCEDURE:

  • Separate the neem flowers from the leaf axils by holding the stem of the branch in left and and hold and pull the flowers found in one axil by dragging your fingers from bottom towards the end to separate the flowers.
  • Wash the flowers in a bowl of water by dipping for a minute to remove dirt or sand if any.
  • Spread the flowers in one layer in a news paper and allow to dry in hot sun from morning to evening. 
  • It takes two to three days to get the proper dried Neem flowers to store. If you try to crush the flower in hand it should break and be able to be crushed. That is the exact stage for storage.
  • Keep in kitchen counter for a while to get the flowers room temperature, then transfer them in to air tight box/ containers for future use.
        Check out my Recipe using Dried Neem Flower Neem Flower Rasam.