Hibiscus tea

I saw a recipe for hibiscus tea, and rued the fact that my plant had got infected by a fungus and was no longer flowering. But after shifting here, I see a profusion of hibiscus flowers, and gathering courage, I plucked a couple to make tea. It was so lovely, I'm sure many more flowers will disappear!

2 hibiscus flowers

1/2 inch piece cinnamon

2 tsp palm sugar*

1 lime

Method:

Boil 2 cups of water. 

Tear the petals into inch square pieces. Pour the boiling water over the petals and cinnamon stick. 

Allow it to infuse for 20-30 minutes. 

Squeeze in the lime, and watch the colour turn from pale pink to deep red. 

Add sugar and mix well. 

Can be had hot, or cold. 

*- to taste. Can use honey or regular sugar too. 

Sukku kaapi

A couple of months back, I was given a bottle containing an ayurvedic mixture that was supposed to help keep colds at bay. While the concoction was effective, it was too exorbitantly priced (not to mention, unavailable locally) for me to make it my 'go to' drink to ward away colds. As the powder was getting depleted, I was getting ready to go back to my regular "Madam Pomfrey's Potion", when I came across a reference to Sukku Malli Kaapi. It seemed to have a lot of ingredients in common with my ayurvedic concoction, so I decided to give it a try.

After having three cups in a single day, I am almost ready to swear that it works. That and lots of rest, and other fluids!

1/2 cup dried ginger powder
1/4 cup coriander seeds (whole)
1/2 tsp whole peppercorns
1/2 tsp whole jeera

Method
Dry roast coriander seeds till golden brown.
Dry roast jeera and peppercorns together till nice aroma rises. 
Keep aside, and let them cool down completely.
Grind the roasted coriander seeds, jeera and peppercorn to a fine powder.
Mix with the dry ginger powder, and sieve a few times till well mixed.
Store in an airtight jar.

To make sukku kaapi, bring 11/2 cup water to a boil. Add 1 heaped tsp sukku kaapi powder, and let the concoction boil for 2-3 minutes. Strain the infusion, add panakalkandu (or honey), and drink.

Potion for keeping the cold at bay

The monsoons are lovely when you are viewing it from the safety of your covered balcony, but unfortunately, we need to get out of the house too, and when we do, the sniffles follow us back home. This is the potion that is keeping me alive.

Dry roast 1 tbsp dhania powder, 1 tsp jeera powder, 1 tsp peppercorns, and roughly pound it.


Take 2 cups of water.
Add a 2 inch piece of ginger roughly sliced, and the ground spices, and bring to boil. Lower heat, and let it simmer till the volume becomes half.
Have it hot, but not boiling hot.
Add 1 tsp honey, for taste, if required.

Madam Pomfrey's Magic Potion

I have the Marathon coming up next weekend, and I have a horrible cold. If I want to be sure of gettinr rid of it, I should be on antibiotics, but if I get on them, I can say goodbye to recovering before the race. So I'm overdosing on Madam Pomfrey's magic potion, and hoping the cold will go away.

Take 2 cups of water.
Add a 2 inch piece of ginger roughly sliced, 8-10 peppercorns, 6 cloves, and bring to boil. Lower heat, and let it simmer till the volume becomes half.
Have it hot, but not boiling hot.
Add 1 tsp honey, for taste, if required.