Kaadha – Immunity Booster

With the deadly Corona virus pandemic rampaging across the world and with no cure or vaccine in sight, the only way is to hope that our body’s immune system is strong enough to fight it back. Indian traditional home medicine has a range of recipes for boosting our immune system with ordinary ingredients/spices, that can be easily mixed and made at home. Kaadha is one of them. There are multiple variations of it, made across India. Here are two. The first one is from the YogiChef (Didi Anuprabha) who drinks this potent concoction in remote and beautiful New Zealand, to stay fit and flu-free all year around, especially during winter. The 2nd one is from Pratyush who learnt from the YogiChef and made some modifications to the process and added in some more ingredients. The former is a quick and easy method and the latter is a bit drawn out. Both are strong immunity boosters that should give you a fighting chance of defeating this pesky virus if and when it comes. Drink it 3-4 times per week, while self-isolating and even when you have no symptoms. But please do consult a doctor if you actually catch the virus.

YOGICHEF’s Version

Hello Everyone. Hope you all are doing well at home and taking care of yourself and others in this virus crisis. I know everyone must be drinking something to boost your immunity . I thought to share what I drink here… 🙂

Ingredients (for 2 cups)

Essential: Water (2-1/2 cups), Ginger – small piece (about the size of a thumb), Black Pepper powder (1/2 teaspoon), Turmeric powder (1/2 teaspoon, if you have raw turmeric, then crush a little piece), Honey (1 teaspoon, optional if you have diabetes)

Optional: Tulsi Leaves (Holy basil – 5-6 leaves), Cumin seeds (1/2 teaspoon)

How to make

Keep a saucepan/pan on the stove. Put water. Crush the ginger and put into in the water. Boil it for 3 to 4 minutes. Then add turmeric, cumin seeds, tulsi leaves, black pepper powder, mix it and boil it for a few more minutes. Switch off the gas. Keep it to cool down for 3 to 4 minutes. Then strain and your Kaadha is ready to drink. It’s always good not to drink too hot. If you want you can add little honey on top to  taste.  I’ll suggest to drink at least 3-4 days a week to boost your immune system.

That is my kaadha, most of the time I drink in Dunedin in winter. The only difference is I put molasses or honey to sweeten. But sometimes it is good to drink without sweet 🙂 Stay at home and take care

PRATYUSH’s Version

Ingredients (for 2 cups)

Essential: Water (2-1/2 cups), Ginger – small piece (about the size of a thumb), Black Pepper whole (1 teaspoon), Turmeric powder (1/4 teaspoon, if you have raw turmeric, then crush a little piece), Honey (1-2 teaspoons, optional if you have diabetes)

Optional: Cinnamon (1-2 long pieces), Bay Leaf (1), Cloves (3-4 pieces), Tulsi leaf (Holy basil – 5/6 leaves), Star Anise (1)

How to make

Put chopped ginger, Whole black pepper, cinnamon, bay leaf, cloves, Tulsi leaves & Star Anise into the water in a pan. Keep it as such for at least 12 hrs (or 24 hrs) so that all the essential medicinal elements from the spices slowly and thoroughly seep out into the water.

When you are ready to drink, bring the concoction above to boil, in the pan. Separately, in the cups, put 1-2 pinch of turmeric powder and 1 teaspoon of honey (raw honey better than pasteurised) in each cup. Pour the boiling concoction (through a strainer) into the cups and then stir thoroughly. Allow to cool to lukewarm temperature and then drink up.

Sometimes I make 4-6 cups and just drink 1 cup a day and let the concoction sit, as it draws out even more of the medicinal ingredients every day.

Honey has known anti-bacterial properties. It might not be effective against a virus but some hospitals are reporting that many covid patients are dying of bacterial infections that sneak in while the body is fighting on another front (the virus)

Disclaimer: The above recipes for boosting the immune system, are not cures/treatment for any disease. They are meant as a general supplement for well being of the body. Do not exceed any of the ingredients and stick to the measurements mentioned above. In case of actually catching the virus, please consult a doctor and follow all advised steps of your local government health officials

Rocking Bread Rolls

Ingredients

Bread –  10 slices (White bread)

Potatoes –  3/4 medium size

Mixed veggies – 500 gms ( Here I have taken frozen mixed veggies of carrots, peas, beans, beet)

Oil to fry

Coriander powder – 1 tsp

Turmeric powder – 1 tsp

Roasted Cumin powder -1  tsp

Asafoetida (Hing) – one pinch

Cumin – 1 tsp

Fresh green chili

Salt

Water

How to make

Boil the potatoes. Peel and mash with a potato masher. Keep aside.

Take a pan, put little oil and when it is hot, put some cumin, green chili and hing

Wash and put the mixed veggies. Add salt, stir it and cover for few minutes. After 2/3 minutes add turmeric powder, coriander powder and roasted cumin powder. Now add the mashed potatoes, stir it and cover it for a couple of minutes more. When it is ready switch off the gas, put aside and let it cool down. Make 10 balls out of it. . Our stuffing is ready…

Keep a pan on the gas with oil to deep fry the bread rolls.

Now cut the sides of the slices of bread with a knife nicely. Keep a bowl of normal water. Dip a bread in the water slowly and press nicely with both palms to take out the extra water from it. Don’t soak for longer. Now bring one ball which you have kept ready earlier and put it on the bread and close it nicely with your palm.

You can give an oval shape or round shape whichever you like. Like this, ready all the bread rolls with the potato and veggie stuffing.

Now oil should be ready to fry. Put the bread rolls into the oil, one by one. Deep fry until golden brown, in medium heat. If you want more crunchy you can fry a little more.

Now your bread roll is ready to eat. Serve piping hot bread rolls with coriander chutney, tamarind chutney or tomato sauce to make your bread rolls more tasty…      

YogiChef

Rumi’s ‘Giggling’ Cream Cracker Truffles

Ingredients

10-12 cream crackers, butter, peanut butter, cashews, chocolate/chocolate sauce

How to make

1. Take 10-12 cream crackers and blend in a grinder

         

2. Add butter & peanut butter to the ground crackers

3. Make balls stuffed with cashew

4. Freeze the balls for 15-20 minutes

5. Melt chocolate with butter

6. Coat truffles with chocolate sauce

 

7. Freeze them again for 20 minutes

8. Garnish and serve (if anyone wants to add sugar, can add brown sugar)

  

Rumi

Rumi’s Royal Falooda

Ingredients

Falooda mix or home made simoyee (vermicelli), custard, variety of syrups and frozen fruit crushes (strawberry/blueberry), tutee fruity, dry fruits, fresh fruits as per choice, ice-cream, crushed chocolate, sabzza/soaked basil seeds

How to make

Take a glass/tumbler, coat the inside with the syrups and put the syrups into it. Pour fruits, then layer with falooda, then custard, then sabzza, fruits, tuttee fruity, dry fruits, in that order…repeat the layers. Top the glass with ice-cream, crushed chocolate, strawberry/blueberry crush, grated chocolate.

Serve chilled.

Rumi

Sanjib’s Bhendi Badi Sorisa Rai

Ingredients:

250gms Bheendi (Okra/Ladiesfinger), 100gms Biri Badi (dried lentil dumplings), 2 tsp Mustard seeds, 2 tsp Cumin, 1 Onion, 1 Garlic, 3 Green chillies, 3 pieces Ambula (dried mango pieces), Salt

How to make:

Prepare a paste of mustard seeds, cumin, onion, garlic & green chillies. Soak Ambula pieces beforehand in water for an hour. Fry the bheendi and badi separately till badi turns slightly brownish. Then add the paste with bheendi, badi and add 1 glass of water to it along with ambula. Add salt to taste. Cook for about 15 mins. Bhendi badi ambula sorisha rai is ready.

Sanjib

Rumi’s Pakhala Extravaganza

Pakhala (Water Rice)

Ingredients:

Well cooked rice, Mustard oil, Raw mango (green), Ginger (sliced), Mustard seeds, Chopped chilli pieces, Curry leaves, Coriander leaves, Curd

How to make:

Bring cooked rice to room temperature, wash properly with cold water…keep aside…on a pan put mustard oil, amba kassi (raw green mango pieces), chopped ginger, mustard, chopped chilli, curry leaves, dhania leaves…temper it and then add to the water+rice…finally add curd

Side Dish (Simba Rai Chuna Machha)

Ingredients:

Chuna Maccha (Small fish/Smelt fish in U.S.), Brinjal, Potato, Jackfruit, Simba (Flat beans or Lima beans), Pancha Puthana (roughly — fennel seed, black mustard seed, nigella seed, cumin, fenugreek), Oil, Onion, Garlic, Turmeric powder, Cumin seeds, Coriander powder, mustard paste/mustard sauce, Mustard oil, Cinnamon powder, Fried Badi (dried lentil dumplings)

How to make:

Take vegetables like brinjal, potato, jackfruit, simba….cut into small pieces…take a pan…put oil, panch phutana, chopped onion and garlic….fry it, add turmeric powder, cumin and coriander powder, saute it, add veggies…cover it…after 6 to 7 minutes open the lid add mustard paste and 2 spoon of mustard sauce (kasundi)…little water, add fried chunna fish. Mix well, add cinnamon powder and mustard oil on top of it with some fried badi…

Side Dish (Amba Thenta)

Ingredients:

Small raw mango pieces, sugar, salt, green chilli, mustard oil

How to make:

Take raw mango pieces, sugar, salt, green chilli…and few drops of mustard oil…and crush it in hemma dasta (mortar pestle)…do not  make a paste

Rumi

Sanjib’s Bhakura Maccha with Mati Alu

Ingredients:

Catla Fish: 500gm

Salt, Turmeric, Mustard oil, Mustard seeds, Onion, Cumin, Garlic, Green chilli, Drum stick, 1/2 Tomatoes, 3-4 Dried mango pieces (ambula)  & Yam

How to make:

Cut sized pieces from 2.5-3kg catla fish and clean them

Marinate the fish pieces with salt, turmeric & mustard oil. Keep for 1/2 hour

Fry fish pieces in pan with mustard oil

Separately prepare paste of dry cumin seeds, mustard seeds, onion, garlic and green chillies (Masala Paste)

Separately fry drum stick pieces and cut yam pieces

Fry the masala paste with cut tomatoes. Keep stirring till the oil gets totally absorbed by the masala paste

Add water to the paste and put the friend fish pieces into it

Add 3-4 dried mango pieces and simmer for about 20 mins

Ready to serve…

Sanjib

 

Vegan Muffins

Ingredients

Ripe Bananas: 2, if small, then 3/4

Any Oil:  Half cup (I used Rice bran oil)

Vanilla essence: 2 TSP

Lemon juice: 2 TSP

Self raising flour : 2& 1/2 cups

(Or if Maida is used then 1/2 TSP baking soda and powder each)

Sugar: 3/4 cup (I used brown sugar)

Coconut milk: 1 cup

Salt: 1 TSP

Some cashew nuts and Pistachio (optional).  If not available no worries

How to make

First mash the bananas

Then put oil, sugar

Add vanilla essence and lemon juice

Mix them well

Keep aside

In another bowl mix  Maida, baking soda, baking powder and salt

Add coconut milk. Keep mixing.

You can use a hand blender or just put everything in a blender. Justice is made to them anyway 

 Preheat the oven at 180 degree Celsius

 Now in the muffin tray put the  muffin cups and put the batter. Keep some space. Don’t fill it otherwise it will overflow once cooked

On top put cashew and Pistachio nuts

Put it in the oven. Check after 15 minutes. Take out and  change the side of the tray and again check with a fork after 15 minutes. If it’s ready then the fork will come clean.

Your Vegan Banana Muffins is ready..

YogiChef

Jyoti’s Andhra Drumstick Curry & Tomato Chutney

Ingredients

Preparation time: 15 min, Cooking time: 10 mins

Drumstick curry:

500 gms drumsticks (peeled n cut into 2/3 inches)
Sesame seeds (til).about 3 big table spoons
Fresh Coconut(grated) abt 3 big table spoons
Whole red chillies 1 or 2 (according to taste)

For seasoning (tadka)
2  teaspoons oil
Rai or mustard
Urad dal (split black gram), a pinch of asofoetida (hing)
Some fresh curry leaves, salt to taste

Tomato chutney:

Fresh  juicy tomatoes 250  gms, oil, Asofoetida, Methi seeds (fenugreek)
Red chilli  powder

How to make

Drumstick curry

Boil the drumsticks in about 4 big cups of water with salt n haldi and keep it aside. do not throw away the water as this will form the base of the gravy.
Meanwhile soak the sesame and chillies (broken into two) for about 15 mins.add the grated coconut and grind to a fine paste.
Heat a kadai (frying pan) .Add oil, on heating add the rai, urad dal and hing. When the rai splutters and urad is golden brown, add the curry leaves .
Now add  the drumsticks into the kadai along with the water (all the while cooking on a medium flame).
Add the sesame  paste and let it cook on high flame for about 1 min. Lower the flame n cook until the required consistency is achieved.
Make sure you do not overcook as sesame turns sour on doing so.

Tomato Chutney

Boil the tomatoes with salt,  make a puree and keep aside.
Dry roast methi seeds (on slow fire they ‘ll assume a beautiful pecan brown colour)
Heat oil -about a big table spoon
Add hing. Let it change colour.
Turn off gas and add red chilli powder to the hing n oil (to the hot oil to get off the raw taste)
Mix it with the blended tomato puree
Add the methi powder in the end.
Rest the chutney for a while before serving for the flavours to blend well

Serve with hot steam rice n sesame oil

Sai Jyoti

Rumi’s Dab Chingri (Prawn in tender coconut)

Ingredients:

Prawns, mustard oil, mustard paste, coconut paste, coconut milk, cream, turmeric, tomatoes, green chillies (slit into two), raisins, cashews, salt to taste, onion, pancha phutan (cumin, fenugreek, mustard, onion seed, fennel), dough

How to make:

Clean  and de-thread the prawn …mix mustard oil,mustard paste,coconut paste,coconut milk and cream,turmeric,tomato,green chilli (slits),raisin,cashew

Temper with five spices and onion….mix well…pour the mixture of prawn all Masala and add salt into the coconut and cover it and pack it with dough and put it in the Microwave until golden brown

Rumi