Warm Kashays for cold weather
Weather is changing and it is getting cold here. It is a time when many of us are down with cold or fever. Few of my readers asked for the ‘Kashay’-A good for health drink used to cure many diseases. The other traditional Kashay I posted many days ago is an all time substitute for tea/coffee at our native. But sometimes it aggravates cold, so better to use it in summer if you are not accustomed to it.
A very hilarious post about the effects of cold can be read here. I could not stop laughing after reading it.
Let me start with a milk which my Aayi prepares when we have throat pain or cough. It was/is always helpful.
Pepper milk for throat pain, cough, cold: Boil 1 cup of milk and add 1/8 tea spn of turmeric powder, sugar (preferably the ‘kallu sakkare/khade sakkar’- sugar stones) and 1/4 tea spn pepper powder. This has the maximum power when drank very hot. Due to pepper, this milk becomes too spicy This milk is a bit difficult to drink since it is hot and spicy, but works miracles :D.
Cough in kidsMix lemon juice and sugar(Sugar stones called as kallu sakkare/khade sakkar). Heat it on low flame to get the thick syrup. Apply this syrup to the tounge.
Following are the remedies I got in Kannada weekly “Sudha”. I thought it may be helpful for my readers. I am going to try them when I get cold/fever next time.
Kashay-1 for cold: Powder together 2 pieces of dry ginger, 4 cloves, 10 peppercorns. Heat 1 and 1/2 cups water, add the powder and boil it till the quantity reduces to 1/2 cup. Mix jaggery or sugar and drink it hot thrice a day.
Kashay-2 for cold: Boil one handful of tulsi leaves(Holy basil) with 1″ crushed ginger and 1 big cup of water till the water reduces to 1/2 cup. Add milk, sugar and drink it.
Nose blocks: Heat a turmeric root on coal(or stove) and inhale the smoke.
Cold: Take out the thick juice from ginger, mix with honey and drink.
Cough (Kafa in Kannada or sputum), cold and fever: Cook 1 bunch of chopped methi(fenugreek) leaves. Take out 1/2 cup of thick juice from it. Mix 2 tea spn ginger-juice, 2 tea spn honey and drink. This helps in reducing sputum.
Cold fever: Crush 20 peppercorns, 1″ ginger, 1 and 1/2 tea spn jaggery, 1/2 tea spn turmeric powder, 1 tea spn lemon juice. Boil them with 4 cups of water. When the water reduces to 1 cup, strain it using tea strainer, add lemon juice and drink.
Cough with phlegm: Mix one pinch of pepper powder with ghee and eat it soon after getting up in the morning. This reduces the phlegm.
Fever: Mix 1 cup of boiled and then cooled water with 1/2 tea spn pepper powder, sugar, ground sandalwood, one pinch salt, 1-2 tbl spn of lemon juice. Mix well strain and drink.
Blocked nose, cough and body pain: Boil 2 handful of coriander seeds, 1 tbl spn peppercorns, 10 raisins(dry grapes), 4 dates(Kharjoor), 1 turmeric piece, 1 tbl spn cumin seeds, one small piece of Jeshtha Madhu(liquorice), 1 cardamom, 1/2″ ginger, 1/4 tea spn fennel seeds with 4 cups of water till it reduces to 2 cups. Strain it and drink before going to bed.