The healing potential of turmeric is one of the reasons why this spice is used in many Asian (especially Indian) recipes and in Ayurvedic medicine for centuries. Milk packed with different nutrients makes a great combo with the anti-inflammatory effects of turmeric. Haldi ka doodh or turmeric milk provides these health benefits and it is used by a huge number of authentic yogis and Ayurvedic specialists.
Six Distinctive Tastes:
When it comes to Ayurvedic cooking, it’s all about experiencing the six distinctive tastes – sour, sweet, bitter, salty, pungent and astringent. Every meal should have these six tastes. In this way, each of us can harmonize the so-called doshas which will result in fewer cases of illness and imbalance.
According to some practitioners, people can consume about 65% less food and won’t feel hunger in case they make sure that each of these tastes is present in their meals. This is definitely something useful for modern people who tend to eat more than necessary.
On the other hand, this is actually the reason why modern people want to eat more. Their meals don’t have these tastes and once they are finished they want to try something else. This is actually a pursuit of satisfying our needs to feel these tastes. This quest guarantees consumption of more calories than necessary.
Of course, there are times when it is hard to combine all these different tastes in a single meal. But, one of the simplest ways to achieve this is to rely on different spices. For example, turmeric is a spice that comes with pungent, bitter and astringent tastes – that’s three tastes in a single spice. In most cases people have problems to add exactly these three tastes.
Turmeric is a spice that is praised for its ability to boost digestion and help diabetes sufferers. This spice rises the level of vata and pitta when people take too much of it and soothes kapha.
How to Take Turmeric?
The best part is that there is more than one way to consume turmeric – fried, fresh and even grated as a spice, pills or capsules. Even if you are not familiar with the details about this spice, you are probably aware that turmeric provides some strong antibacterial, antiseptic and anti-inflammatory effects. This spice can soothe swelling and pain. In addition, many people place it directly on wounds and cuts to speed up healing and protect themselves from infections.
Milk is one of the best forms to supply every body part with turmeric ingredients. It can be used both orally and topically. By mixing turmeric and milk, we can get milk with enhanced antioxidant properties. It is a well-known fact that milk combats free radicals that bring many negative effects to our body.
So, drinking milk can make your skin smoother and rejuvenated. It can also improve bone health and keep us safe from arthritis and osteoporosis. Drinking this drink two times a day before meal will lower pain, morning stiffness and joint swelling.
However, the anti-inflammatory properties found in turmeric milk are one of the reasons why most people use it for curing coughs and sore throat. Organic honey is usually added in this mixture, but not only to improve the taste – honey has strong antifungal, antiviral and antioxidant properties too.
Organic honey is often called prabhava in Ayurvedic scripts. This phrase is used whenever Ayurvedic specialist recommended the use of a compound with amazing healing effects that they can’t explain by vipaka, virya or rasa.
The following is a short list of turmeric milk recipes that anyone can try:
Essential Turmeric Milk Recipe
Ingredients:
- Half a teaspoon of turmeric powder (dried). You can use one-inch piece of turmeric root instead.
- Half inch of grated fresh ginger
- Half a cup of purified water
- One cup of whole milk
- One tablespoon of organic honey.
Instructions:
Take all the ingredients (leave honey aside) and put them in a pan. Simmer for about twenty minutes. After that, leave the mixture to seep for additional 15 minutes. Warm the mixture again if necessary and after that pour the honey. When the honey is mixed, strain the mixture and sip.
Turmeric Milk for Curing Sore Throat Recipe
Ingredients:
- One teaspoon of minced ginger
- Half a teaspoon of turmeric powder (dried)
- A quarter a cup of water.
Instructions:
Add the milk and start heating the natural mixture for 3-4 minutes or until you notice that the milk is close to boiling. In case you like to add some peppercorns, ingredient that is believed to boost the natural turmeric absorption, you can add them before you start heating the mixture. If you want to taste other flavors you can also add a small amount of cardamom or some saffron to the solution before it start boiling.
Turmeric Milk for Cough Recipe
Ingredients:
- Half a teaspoon of ajwain also known as carom seeds
- One cup of milk
- A quarter a teaspoon of turmeric powder
- A small amount of sugar.
Instructions:
Pour the milk and sugar into a pan and heat. Wait until you notice that the sugar is dissolved. After that, remove the pan from the heat. Put the ajwain and roast it until it gets brown. Pour the turmeric to the ajwain mixture and start stirring. Once it is prepared, pour it in the warmed milk and mix everything well. Next, strain it and drink it warm.
The Efficient Turmeric Milk Recipe
Ingredients:
- One teaspoon of turmeric powder
- Two cups of whole milk (fresh)
- Three cracked cardamom pods
- Three whole peppercorns
- Half a teaspoon of ghee
- Half inch of chopped ginger
- Organic honey
- Small amount of saffron.
Instructions:
Take the milk and heat it together with all the spices for three minutes. You must bring the milk to a boiling point. Pour a sweetener to improve taste. Leave it like that for a while until it is still warm but drinkable and consume it.
Bedtime Turmeric Recipe
Add some nutmeg to the essential turmeric milk recipe in order to improve the quality of sleep.
Turmeric Honey
Ingredients:
- Half a teaspoon of ground black pepper. Make sure that it is grinded well.
- Nine teaspoons of dried turmeric powder
- Half a teaspoon of ginger powder (dried)
- Organic honey.
Instructions:
Take the pepper, turmeric and ginger and mix them well. After that, start pouring organic honey to the mixture. It would be best if you can warm up the honey a little bit because it will boost absorption. Keep in mind that crystallized and whipped variants of honey won’t provide any effects. The honey must be liquid and in good condition.
Next, stir the mixture while pouring the organic honey. The powder should become completely dissolved and you will get a relatively thick paste. The final amount you will get will depend on how liquid the honey is. Take a glass jar that has airtight sealing to store this mixture.
Non Dairy Turmeric Milk Recipe
Ingredients:
- Half a teaspoon of turmeric
- Eight ounces of coconut milk or almond milk
- A small amount of cayenne pepper
- Half-inch slice of chopped and peeled ginger root
- One teaspoon of organic honey. You can use molasses instead.
- You can also use one teaspoon of cardamom, cinnamon and/or ghee if you want.
Instructions:
Carefully warm up the coconut milk or almond milk. Mix the rest of the ingredients in a mug. Pour slowly one teaspoon of warm milk in the mug and mix everything well. You should get a liquid mixture that has not solid parts. Pour the remaining milk and mix again.
Feel free to leave the ginger pieces inside this tea. Of course, you can strain the tea before consumption too.
Topical Use of Turmeric
Turmeric Paste Used in Cases of Psoriasis
In the last decade, turmeric has become very popular among expert community in the Western countries and many of them recommend it for treatments of different health issues like Legit for example. The Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology journal has recently revealed that turmeric’s active ingredient known as curcumin is able to block the factors that support the growth of skin and result in psoriasis scales. Turmeric is also part of many face mask and face wash remedies for many years and these remedies were primarily used against acne.
Recipe for Turmeric Paste
Ingredients:
- Two and a half cups of water
- A quarter a cup of turmeric powder.
Instructions:
In order to prepare turmeric paste, stir the ingredients and wait until they start to boil. Keep simmering on medium to high heat and use a spoon to stir the mixture all the time until you notice that the mixture has a consistency that is similar to honey. In case the mixture becomes very drive, feel free to pour water. When the mixture is cooled, pour it in a clean, glass jar or container. Make sure that the jar is sealed well. You can store this mixture in a fridge for 30 days.
If you want to use this paste, start by smearing a relatively thin layer of it on the problematic areas of your skin before you go to bed. The ideal amount of paste is the amount that will make psoriasis invisible. However, don’t use too much of this paste because it can affect the surrounding area. Use some gauze to wrap the area and make sure that the paste stays where it should. After that, go to bed and sleep with the gauze and paste over the area affected by psoriasis. In the morning, take off the gauze and clean the area with lukewarm water.
It turns out that turmeric can stain the porous materials like clothing and plastic permanently. Turmeric also stains the human skin temporarily and makes it look orange or yellow. Of course, these stains will be gone in 3-4 days.
Face Wash and Face Mask Based on Turmeric
Brides in India have practiced this method for hundreds of years in order to get a beautiful, smooth, glowing skin on the most important day in their lives. However, this doesn’t mean that you should wait for some special event in your life in order to enjoy the benefits of these natural remedies. This face mask and face wash will make your skin look brighter and it will also eliminate or reduce age spots and acne.
Face Wash Based on Turmeric
Ingredients:
- A quarter of teaspoon of neem
- A quarter of teaspoon of turmeric powder
- 3-4 drops of coconut oil.
Instructions:
If you want to prepare this recipe, you will have to take one small bowl and put the neem and turmeric in it. After that, mix these two ingredients well. Next, put a small quantity of this mixture in your palm and start sprinkling the coconut oil. The main goal is to get the perfect consistency. Use the paste directly on the neck and face, starting from the forehead and going all the way to the bottom of your neck. Of course, stay away from the area around your eyes.
When it comes to the face wash, slowly rub the face for about half a minute. The mixture is a little bit rough so be very careful and slow. Use cold water to wash the face. If you want to use the mixture in the form of a mask, leave the paste on the face until it gets completely dry. It will take about 20 minutes to witness this. Use warm water to remove the mask and once the paste is completely removed, use cold water again to clean the face. Use a clean, soft towel to dry your face.
Remember that these are only some of the ways in which you can use turmeric and people find new ways to get the most from this spice every year.
Via Cure Joy
