Blue Pea (Clitoria ternatea)

 

This pretty little purple flower is found all over the place, especially in fields and by the roads where there is a fence or some upright structures because it is a vine and needs support to grow upwards. Apart from blue pea, it is also known as butterfly pea,Cordofan pea and Asian pigeonwings.

As the plant and flowers are easily seen growing at random, it is sometimes mistaken as a weed flower. The truth is, we have lots of use for the flowers! I used to wonder about the bluish colour in the white rice of one of my favourite Malay dish - nasi kerabu, until I found out that the juice from this flower (known as bunga telang among the Malays) was used to create the alluring colour! An aqueous extract from the flower is also used to colour glutinous rice for kuih ketan (also known as pulut tai tai in Peranakan / Nyonya cooking) and in nyonya chang. In Thailand, a syrupy blue drink is made called nam dok anchan, which is sometimes consumed with a drop of sweet lime juice to increase acidity and turn the juice into pink-purple. In Burmese and Thai cuisine the flowers are also dipped in batter and fried.

In Ayurvedic medicine, the extract of this flower is used as an anti-depressant, a tranquilizer and even as a memory enhancer.
Even as an ornamental plant, it should do too badly, don't you think? The flower certainly looks beautiful!