Indian cooking cannot be described without mentioning the importance of herbs and spices. In fact it is the spices which turn an ordinary vegetable into a gourmet dish.
In this blog let us talk about one of the most colourful spice of our kitchen. Yes, TURMERIC or Haldi as we call in Hindi, is certainly the golden spice of our kitchen, not just for its rich colour but for its wonderful medicinal properties as well.
Turmeric is considered a cleansing herb for the body. It had been used to cure digestive disorders, arthritis, jaundice and some liver ailments.
Traditional Chinese medicine also used turmeric for liver and gallbladder problems, chest congestion and menstrual discomforts. Even ancient Greeks were aware of turmeric but unlike Indian and Chinese medicinal usage, they used turmeric for making orange-yellow dyes.
The medicinal value of these herbs and spices was recognized by Ayurveda, ages ago. For time immemorial mothers and grand mothers have treated the common problems like cold, headache, cuts, scrapes and many such common ailments with the simple concoction of herbs. Herbal remedies are the most natural form of therapy. They heal gently without any side effects and most of them can be found in your kitchen cabinet.
In today’s world, we seem to have forgotten this natural and safe way of healing and have been popping pills on every small problem without realizing that many drugs in our medicine cabinet have herbal roots. For the congestion of colds or flu-like symptoms, we prefer Dristan or Combiflam instead of herbal teas or hot milk with turmeric to soothe the throat.
Let us enter an average Indian kitchen and look into the medicinal values of herbs we use almost every day. It is important to know the effective and safe properties of various herbs, bountifully bestowed on us by Mother Nature.
In this blog let us talk about one of the most colourful spice of our kitchen. Yes, TURMERIC or Haldi as we call in Hindi, is certainly the golden spice of our kitchen, not just for its rich colour but for its wonderful medicinal properties as well.
Turmeric is considered a cleansing herb for the body. It had been used to cure digestive disorders, arthritis, jaundice and some liver ailments.
Traditional Chinese medicine also used turmeric for liver and gallbladder problems, chest congestion and menstrual discomforts. Even ancient Greeks were aware of turmeric but unlike Indian and Chinese medicinal usage, they used turmeric for making orange-yellow dyes.
Turmeric is a flowering plant of ginger family. Its roots are used and its botanical name is Curcuma longa and it is also known as Curcuma. It belongs to Zingiberaceae family and other members of this family of plants are ginger and cardamom.
Like many culinary herbs, Turmeric helps retard food spoilage due to its antibacterial properties. To help
prevent bacterial wound infection, sprinkle a bit on cuts and scrapes after they have been thoroughly cleaned.
If someone has cough, it is recommended to drink a cup of milk with half a teaspoon of turmeric boiled in it.
Add sugar to taste since the aromatic flavor of turmeric might be a bit pungent.
In every blog let us talk about one healing herb from our kitchen.
In every blog let us talk about one healing herb from our kitchen.
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