A Conversation with Acclaimed Author and Moringa for Life Honorary Ambassador
At 92 years old, Mohana Gill writes late into the night from her home in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. Her routine is precise: dinner by 8 PM, an hour of quiet knitting while listening to music, then down to her office by 11 PM where she works without interruption until the early morning hours. She has kept this schedule for 22 years, producing more than 20 books and winning 10 Best in the World awards from the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards, more than any other Malaysian author.
But Mohana did not begin writing until she was 70. Before that, she was known simply as Rose, wife of Dr. Satwant Singh Gill, a pioneering nephrologist, and mother to three sons. When she published her first book, she reclaimed her birth name.
“That’s the day I think Mohana Gill was born,” she says. “An identity that identified Mohana Gill with books. Mohana Gill the author.”
In our latest podcast episode, Mariko Gifford sits down with Mohana to explore her remarkable journey from academic life to full-time motherhood to award-winning author, her passion for Moringa as food rather than supplement, and the legacy she continues to build through her writing and teaching. Listen to the full conversation on Tuesday, May 12th at MoringaForLife.com.
THE BIRTH OF AN AUTHOR
Mohana grew up in Burma surrounded by gardens and the aromas of wholesome meals her mother, Leela Dutt, prepared from scratch. During the Japanese occupation, when vegetables were scarce, her mother turned to the Moringa tree growing in their garden, using every part of the plant to nourish her children. This early experience planted seeds that would bloom decades later.
After earning degrees in commerce from the University of Rangoon, Manchester, and Toronto, Mohana began her career as a lecturer at Rangoon University and later at the University of Malaya. When she married and had three sons in quick succession, she made the decision to leave academia and devote herself fully to raising her children.
“Those 12 years where I gave up working and stayed home with my kids were the happiest years of my life,” she reflects in the interview. “Very fulfilling and extremely at ease with myself. I was always there for my children whenever they wanted me.”
During those years, the kitchen became her classroom. She cooked her way through the world, experimenting with ingredients, collecting recipes, learning from cooks in every country she visited. Friends nicknamed her The Travelling Gourmet.
At 70, with her children grown, Mohana decided to capture what she had learned over a lifetime. But she wanted to do something different from the typical cookbook. The catalyst came at an anti-aging conference in Las Vegas with her husband.
“I saw all these things for anti-aging: creams, Botox, pills for everything imaginable,” she recalls. “I sat there and thought to myself, what happened to the real food? Why are we always thinking of popping pills?”
She came home and began writing Fruitastic, a book that paired tropical fruits with recipes and cultural history. Her family was skeptical.
“My three boys looked at me and said, Mom, who’s going to read your book? Who’s going to buy your books?” she laughs. “My husband said to them, just let her write it. If nobody buys her books, let her give them away to her friends and relatives.”
Fruitastic won Best in the World at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. Her second book, Vegemania, won Best Vegetarian Cookbook in the World. She never stopped writing.
THE MORINGA CONNECTION
After writing books about fruits, vegetables, Myanmar cuisine, flowers, and bringing families back to the table through cooking together, Mohana turned her attention to Moringa. She had grown up with the tree in Burma. Her mother cooked with it regularly. But when she began researching, she discovered the Western world had turned Moringa into pills and powders.
“I found all these people growing Moringa are putting it into pills and using it as nutrition or powder. Not many people are using it as food,” she explains. “So I began to think, yes, why not Moringa as food? Where everybody does research on Moringa, I am promoting Moringa as food.”
While researching, she discovered Moringa for Life online. Through a series of introductions via James Brady and Amit Barikeri, Mohana and Mariko Gifford were connected. What happened next changed everything.
“Why don’t you come and see me?” Mohana said to Mariko, who was traveling to India for Amit’s wedding. That visit to Malaysia became one of the most transformative moments in both their journeys.
“The time I spent with you was the most precious for my own Moringa journey,” Mariko reflects in the interview. “It was just a few days, but every single moment was filled. Even though the time was short, it has expanded so much in the experience of it.”
From that first visit, a magnetic connection formed. Students from across the Moringa for Life network began gravitating toward Mohana. Damayanthi from Sri Lanka visited. Dr. Leban Serto sent his colleague Aien Amri from India for the One Million Moringa Seeds campaign. Shantika traveled from her region. One by one, members of the global Moringa family found their way to her door.
MALAYSIA’S GIFT TO THE WORLD
Moringalicious won Best in the World at the 2023 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards in the Food and Nature category. In 2025, at the 31st Gourmand Awards in Riyadh, it was named Best of the Best for Malaysia in the World. The same year, her very first book Fruitastic was honored as Best of the Best for Food Culture Over 30 Years, a full-circle moment recognizing both the beginning and culmination of her literary journey.
The Malaysian government selected Moringalicious among 200 books for exhibition in China. The book also received recognition for 50 Best Titles for International Rights. Following its success, Mohana wrote Hayley’s Moringalicious Malaysia, a children’s book featuring Mariko as a character alongside Mohana’s grandson Ari. The book won Best in the World in the Children’s Category and is currently being adapted by an editorial team for use as Climate Action Curriculum for children, teachers, and communities.
You can find Moringalicious on Amazon and Hayley’s Moringalicious Malaysia on MoringaForLife.com.
MOHANA GILL’S PUBLISHED WORKS
- 2006: Fruitastic (Best in the World, Gourmand World Cookbook Awards)
- 2006: Vegemania (Best Vegetarian Cookbook in the World)
- 2010: Hayley’s Fruitastic Garden
- 2010: Hayley’s Vegemania Garden
- 2014: Myanmar: Cuisine, Culture & Customs (Best Asian Cuisine Book in the World)
- 2015: Happylicious (Best Food and Family Book in the World, 2016)
- 2015-2020: Hayley’s Happylicious collection (8 children’s books)
- 2019: Myths and Legends of Tropical Fruits
- 2019: Flowerlicious
- 2022: Leela (memoir about her mother; Book Excellence Award)
- 2023: Moringalicious: Malaysia’s Gift to the World
- 2024: Hayley’s Moringalicious Malaysia (featuring Mariko Gifford as a character)
- 2024: Hayley’s Fruitastic Malaysia
- 2024: Hayley’s Awesome Malaysian Animals
- 2024: Hayley’s Flowerlicious Malaysia
WHAT OUR AMBASSADORS SAY ABOUT MOHANA
“Mohana received education and grew up in the midst of civil wars. She has navigated her life so well along with the treasures of experience, knowledge, wisdom and grace. Mohana is a link and a bridge through her writings on food, but most of all the Moringa trees.” — Dr. Leban Serto, Center For Peace Education, India
“I received a call from “Mohana Gill” as she was almost ready to publish her cookbook Moringalicious. I was totally shocked and wondered how she obtained my number from Malaysia. A life changing call it was as she asked if I would write some of my moringa humor on the back cover. Now, let us also acknowledge this as a remarkable achievement for Mother Oleifera herself — a symbol of nourishment, resilience, and hope. Let us always remember: Moringalicious is far more than a cookbook — it is Malaysia’s gift to the world!” — James Brady, Moringatang, Alabama
“Mohana’s remarkable journey is nothing short of legendary. To begin a literary career at the age of 70 and go on to author more than 20 acclaimed books, earning 10 “Best in the World” Gourmand Awards. This reflects not only her brilliance, but also immense courage, discipline, and vision.” — Shanthika, Moringa For Life, Sri Lanka
“In 2023, I received a message that would shift my perspective on age, passion, and energy forever. Ever since she entered my life, Aunty Mohana has completely disrupted my understanding of time. I remember telling her that a chef is like a painter. Every time we step to the stove, we are creating a unique piece of art. After all, cooking was the first art form humans ever mastered, and Aunty Mohana is its master artist.” — Amit Barikeri, Moringa Food Forest, India
“I was raised by a beautiful mother who lived 96 years teaching us unconditional love, forgiveness, generosity, mercy, and strength. Then the miracle of Moringa brought Mama Mohana Gill from Malaysia into my life, whose passion for Moringa, cooking, creativity, and kindness deeply touched my heart. Even in her 90s, she continued serving others with love, creating healing recipes, knitting gifts, and spreading compassion wherever she could.” — Damayanthi, Moringa For Life, Sri Lanka
“Through our SHINE AFRICA talk show we got to talk for an hour every week to bring THE MORINGA TO THE TABLE YouTube show. Much laughter and ideas came through and we will continue to do so. Thank you so much for your writing efforts, your amazing books and just your amazing positive heart for humanity.” — Mariana Price, Shine Africa, South Africa
IN THE CONVERSATION
In the podcast interview, Mariko and Mohana discuss the influence of their mothers, Mohana’s mother was the one who introduced her to Moringa long before the world called it a superfood. Mohana shares the story of her mother Leela Dutt, who during the Japanese occupation of Burma kept her family alive by cooking with every part of the Moringa tree.
“To her, it was simply a leaf that could keep a family healthy. A leaf that could heal. A leaf that could give life,” Mohana says. “She is the reason I wrote a book about her. She is the reason I believe so deeply in feeding and healing the world.”
They talk about the magnetism that draws people to Mohana, the vitality she maintains through eating Moringa every day, and her commitment to making Moringa accessible to everyone. She is currently growing Moringa trees in front of her house with a message for passersby: “Please take me home, use me.” She plans to hang simple recipes on the trees.
Mohana also speaks candidly about why she continues writing and teaching at 92. When her grandson Ari asks why she keeps working without payment, she tells him simply that the joy is priceless.
“If I did not have these things to keep me going, what would I do?” she says. “I still want to do as much as I possibly can. Most of it is dissemination of information, telling people more about Moringa. Even when I give a talk in Malaysia, 80 percent of the people have not heard of Moringa.”
Near the end of the conversation, both women reflect on legacy and what they hope to leave behind for future generations.
“We have planted the seeds,” Mohana says. “Now it’s up to our children to make sure that the seed grows into a tree. We are planting seeds of knowledge and values that will last them a lifetime.”
LISTEN TO THE FULL CONVERSATION
Hear Mariko and Mohana’s full conversation about transformation, writing, legacy, food as medicine, and the global Moringa movement they continue to build together.
Learn more about Mohana’s books and her work as Honorary Ambassador for Moringa for Life at our YouTube page