Betel Leaf home remedy for stomach upset and cold in babies

After the kandanthippili rasam feast, my husband's sour throat flew away without a trace :)

We had gone for a function at a relative's home and after the traditional delicious south indian lunch, we were presented with the customary betel leaf tray. That reminded me to write about the 'vetrilai kashayam' that I give my kids whenever they have an upset stomach.

The betel leaf has many healing properties. it is a natural body coolant and pain reliever. It aids digestion and helps in curing bad breath.

Betel Leaf

The vetrilai kashayam is a very safe stomach pain reliever and digestive aid for very small babies till the age of 1 year.

Here goes how it is made :

Vetrilai - Betel leaf Kashayam with ajwain

1. Take 1 Betel Leaf and wash it well
2. To 100 ml water, add a pinch of 'omam' - Carom Seed(ajwain) and the betel leaf
3. Let the water boil.

Kashayam is now ready. 30 ml of this can be given at a time to the baby.

Another tip with the betel leaf :

To help with a cough or cold, for small babies, Apply Mustard oil on a betel leaf and heat it lightly. When slightly warm, place the leaf on the chest of the baby to help relieve the cold.

Kandanthippili - Long Pepper Rasam

Hot and spicy Kandanthippili Rasam

My husband has a bad throat infection now. This triggered his mom to make us her special 'kandanthippili' Rasam for us. Needless to say it was a feast :)

This is probably one of the most tangy, spicy and tasty medicinal recipes that one can come across.

Here goes how to make it:
Kandanthippili Rasam

Ingredients needed:

Tomato - 1
Tamarind - a very small lime size ball
Coriander Seeds - 1 tablespoon
Toor Dal - 6 teaspoons
Turmeric - 1 pinch

Arisithippili

Kandanthippili

Arisithippili (Long Pepper) - 2 small sprigs
Kandanthippili - 4-5 small bits
Black Peppercorns - 6-7
Cumin Seeds - 1 teaspoon
Dried red chillies - 3
Curry Leaves - 6-8
Ghee - 1 teaspoon
Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon
Asafoetida Powder - 2 pinches
Jaggery - 1 teaspoon
Salt to taste


Method:

1. To 1 cup of water, add the chopped tomato and tamarind. Boil it and squeeze out the juice from it, and remove the residue.

2. Fry separately Coriander seeds, 1 teaspoon of toor dal, kandanthippili, thesaverai, black peppercorns, red chillies, curry leaves and jeera till the mixture is well roasted.

3. Cook the remaining toor dal in 2 cups water with a pinch of turmeric, in the pressure cooker. Once cooked, drain the water and to this dal water, add 1 teaspoons of the cooked dal and mash it till very soft.

4. Grind the fried spices to a fine powder, mix it well with the dal water made in the above step.

5. Add this to the boiled tamarind-tomato juice and let boil till the top gets frothy.

6. Add the jaggery and disolve it in the rasam as it boils.

6. Add the Mustard seeds and Asafoetida powder to ghee in heat and once the mustard crackles, put this on top of the boiled rasam.

Hot kandanthippili rasam is now ready. This can be had as it is, just like clear soup or with rice. The above measures make enough to serve 2-3 people.

Kandanthippili is considered a must have in every siddha medicine box. It helps soothe and cure sore throats, body aches and fever. The strong flavor can easily be seen through most kashayams.



PS: The photos of the ingredients are for identification only and are not of the measures to be added for this rasam.

Turmeric as a remedy for a sore throat

A nice hot cup of 'Haldi Doodh'

Tuemeric is probably the most commonly used ingredient in home remedies. Be it as paste to apply over cuts and burns, or as an ingredient in any common 'kashayam' - medicinal drink made with boiled herbs and spices. It is a potent antiseptic and has many therapeutic uses.

These days, I have been battling tonsilitis. For relief from throat ache and cough, I have been taking milk with turmeric in it. Needless to say it works wonders. Here goes a quick account of how this is done -

Turmeric in Milk for Sore throats

* Take a glass of warm boiled milk
* Add 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder and 2 pinches of black pepper powder and stir it in
* This is best taken without sugar, but for taste, a pinch of sugar, preferably brown, may be added.
* This soothes the throat best when taken hot or at least warm.