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.
most interesting and very helpful shilpa! i will try these when i am “under the weather” as they say here…
are these remedies part of ayurvedic knowledge?
Hmmm…. Must bookmark this post……
(And I hope you don’t need to try them 🙂 )
Hi Shilpa ,
A very very useful one for me. My daughter catches cold frequently.. Iam sure going to note this in my diary.These sure are going to Help me a lot. Thanks.
Pelicano, I think these are Ayurvedic Kashays, because most of the ingredients used have Ayurvedic significance, I am not very sure though :(.
At least for now, I need not use them Rooma. May be next time :).
Thanks Prema. Even I get cold very easily, so it is a treasure for me also.
Shilpa, Thanks, these are great recipes to drive away all those sniffles. Just inhaling the boiling concoction makes everyone feel better. Now if I could only get some tips & tricks to make everyone drink it !
‘Jeshtha Madhu’ is sold in the Indian stores as liquorice -the pieces in the package look like the branches of a tree.
Hi Shilpa,
That is a very nice collection of home remedies. Thank you soo much. Ginger and pepper are really good for cold/cough/fever and I see them in most of your kashay’s. For cough/sore throat I also add a little bit of ajwain to the milk and boil it. Learnt about that from my mom.
wow the most useful and worth reading of this site….Thanks shilpha….Otherwise would have ended up in hrs writing all these khashayas…..
Thanks Bhanap. Drinking those Kashays is better than suffering from cold. So don’t worry, everyone will drink it :). Thanks for the English name, I will search and see if I can find it in Indian store here.
Thanks Priya for your addition. All such home remedies are really helpful :).
Thanks Nandita.
This is really good! I love your posts like these! Keep up the good work!
Hi Shilpa,
Your website is impressive. I am originally from Mangalore and have found your recipes to be so authentic. I have book marked your website and will frequent it henceforth.
Keep up the great work.
Regards,
Priya
Hi Shilpa ,
Can we have Kashay when we r perfectly in good health?
i remember my grandmom makes Kashay for us even when we were alright as far as i remember;) ?
Thanks
shash
Shilpa: Yes, you can drink it anytime. We drink it everyday here.
Hi can you pls tell me any home remedy for dry skin.
Thanks
Hi Shilpa,
Would like to repeat Farza’s request. Do u have any home remedies for dry skin or skin allergies ?
Shilpa: I missed Farza’s request somehow :(.
I will check for remedies for dry skin(I need that myself). During my college days we used to apply glycerin to dry skin, but it is so sticky that you feel very very uncomfortable. I read about a carrot face pack, but haven’t tried it yet. Will post if I get more details.
Dear Shilpa,
Have been trying out your kashayams( as we say in tamil) and they have been working wonders with my girls especially in the winter months in Perth, WA.
Thanks for sharing.
hi,
All these tips are great and sound pretty easy to follow. I have 2 sick kids in the house with colds and coughs!! I am gonna try it and tell you how it goes!! But thanks for posting these tips!!
Komal
i will try this now its very good
Hi,
These are great tips, esp cold being a frequent condition. Do you know any remedies for worm trouble (my daughter has this condition and deworming medicines do help, but I want to know if there is some natural home made medicine). Thanks!!
Hi,
These are really awesome tips.i used to drink kashaya since childhood.Its really helpful.i will try other remedies also.
Thank you!!!!
Hi ,
Home remedies for irritating and dry cough for the readers :
With winter approaching very fast, i see lot of people (not to forget me too) with allergy cough or dry cough and even clearing their throats very often. This is what my mother used to give me when i have the same problem and it works.
Remedy for irritating Throat :
Mix 1/2 cup Distilled White Vinegar and 7- 8 Tbls Honey together and use it like a syrup, 6-8 tsp every 2 hours a day. .
Remedy for Dry cough :
6 cups Water
1 tsp pepper powder
1 inch dry ginger or fresh ginger
1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
1 tsp Jeera
1 tbls Honey
1/2 tsp Sea Salt
10 lemon grass leaf ( Can be found in all Shaws ,Market Basket or even in Asian Groceries).Boil all together for about 20 – 30 Minutes or slightly reduced, drink it warm 3-4 times a day or as required. Hope this helps.
Good work Shilpa.very useful.Thnks.
Eating raw papaya pieces are best for deworming