Kokum Juice

Kokum / Kokam /Punar Puli/ ಮುರುಗಿನ ಓಡು is one of the savoury fruit. Kokam /Kokum /Carcinia India is a fruit bearing plant and we use this fruit in our culinary as medicine. I have used this Kokam /Punarpuli in Juice and it is very healthy to consume during hot summer and all day round the year.

I have used dried Kokum fruit, jaggery, pepper pods, and little salt. 

Kokum is known as below in different languages in India.

In Kannada it is known as : ಮುರುಗನ ಓಡು , ಮುರುಗಲ, ಪುನರ್ಪುಳಿ, 

Konkani : Birinda , Hindi  and Gujarati : Kokam, Malayalm : Punarpuli , Tulu : Punarpuli , Marati : Bhernda, Biranda, Amlaveta, Amosole  Telugu : Chinta, Bengali : Mahada, Oriya Tintali

Let us see some benefits of having Kokam /Kokum /Punarpuli in our diet.

Kokaum helps and has cooling effect properties. It helps in reducing the pitta/bile in our body.

Kokum is good for digestion. It has anti inflammation properties. It is good prevention for gastric ulcers. It also helps to ease anxiety and depression. Good for diabetes and takes care of the skin and fight against obesity. It helps to control cholesterol level in our body. It is good for weight loss. It is used to reduce the rheumatoid pain. It is rich in fiber and good for people who suffer from bowel problems. It is also good for sores and women delay menstrual problems.
Let us see the recipe Now :

Things Needed : 

Dry Kokam / Kokum /Punar Puli : 2 to 3 Dried Fruits.
Jaggery : 2 Tablespoons
Pepper Pods : 3 to 4
Salt : A pinch

Method :

1. Wash and soak dried Kokum fruits in 1/2 cup of hot water for 10 Minutes.

2. Grind those soaked Kokum with jaggery and pepper pods.

3. Sieve the content with a siever to a bowl.

4. Add a pinch of salt and mix it well.

5. Pour ready to serve kokum juice to glasses. (Adding ice cubes while serving juice is optional).

6. Serve Kokum juice.

Note :

Soaking kokum fruits helps the fruits to be soft. It is better to grind since you get the good extract.
Adding sugar or honey to juice is optional. Adding ice cubes while serving is optional. I have not done.
Time : 15 Minutes.

Serves : 3 Glasses. 

Bimbli /Averrhoa bilimbi & Lemon Grass Juice

 I have tried a juice with lemon grass used bimbli/ bilimbi with jaggery. The juice is so yummy and I thought I should share it here.

Bimbli is a fruit which is used widely in South Canara. It is very sour taste and people use it for preparing pickle or use it cooking instead of tamarind or lemon.
Bimbli is commonly known as bilimbi or Averrhoa bilimbi.  

Let us see some benefits of having Bimbli in our diet.
Bimbli /Bilimbi is a sour fruit which has natural sour taste. It is full of Vitamin B, Vitamin C, Iron, phosphorus and antioxidants. They help in curing cough, itches, pimples and skin irritations.They help to fight cholesterol and inflammation. It is rich in anti diabetic and anti- bacterial properties.
Bimli is used in cooking varieties of dishes. It is one of the favourite fruit of many people.
I have used Dry Lemon Grass, Dry Bimbli which I got from Subramanya Kordale and his wife Ragini. They do have a Bimbli tree in their garden and they dried the fruit and brought it.

This Juice recipe started after seeing Sadashiva Rao Mailankody's post, Majjige hullina Panaka in Foodie blog. He is the admini for that blog and do try varieties of food and put it. The lemon grass juice had the green mirchi and lemon. It is a spicy one of course. After seeing the post actually I wanted to try the sweet version using jaggery. But some how after remembering this dried bimbli I thought of using bimbli instead of lemon. That the way Bimbli - Lemon Grass Juice arrived.
The bimbli's savoury taste and jaggery's sweet taste mixes well and gives out yummy taste. It can be relished so well and helps you to keep your mind and body cool.
Let us see the recipe now:

Things Needed :

Dry Lemon Grass : One handful : 4 to 5 sticks.
Dried Bimbli : 2 to 3 Tablespoons /8 to 10 pieces
Jaggery : 2 to 3 Tablespoons
Salt :   A little
Dried Ginger : 1/2 Tsp.
Kamakasturi / Sabja seeds : 1/2 Tsp. (Optional)

Method :

1. Wash and boil lemon grass in 1 cup of water for  6 to 8 minutes. Let it cool. Sieve it in a strainer. Keep it aside.

2. Wash and soak bimbli in hot water for 10 minutes and Grind it till paste.

3. Now put cooled lemon grass water in a big bowl. Add jaggery and ground bimbli mixture.

4. Add dry ginger and salt. Mix all the ingredients nicely. Add 2 to 3 glasses of water.

5.  Let jaggery dissolve nicely in that mixture. Stir nicely and sieve this panaka to a separate bowl.
    Add Kamakasturi seeds.

5. Bimbli - Lemon Grass Panaka is ready to serve. Pour Panaka to glasses. Adding Ice cubes is optional.

6. Serve Bimbli - Lemon Grass Panaka.

Note : 

Soaking bimbli in hot water helps the bimbli to get soft. Let it cool then you grind it. Use as you like. (Quantity). Use of jaggery /sugar/honey is optional.

Fresh bimbli fruits can be used and fresh lemon grass too. Adding ginger helps to avoid cold. You can use crushed pepper pods instead of ginger. Check the taste and add water according to your taste. Adjust sour and sweet. I added 1/2 tsp of Kamakasturi seeds which is grown in our garden.
Time : 15 to 20 Minutes.
Serves : 3 to 4 Glasses. 

Ondelaga Gotu Kola Butter Milk

Ondelaga/ Gotu Kola is one of the healthy medicinal plant and we do make use of the leaves. We can prepare Tambuli (South Canara /Malenadu Karnataka Special side dish. We can prepare chutney using this leaves. Ondelaga leaves are good for hair, skin and has loads of medicinal properties and good for our health.

Many a times Ondelaga/Timire is called as Brahmi leaves. But they are not. Brahmi leaves are different from Ondelaga leaves.These Ondelaga leaves are known as Gotu Kola leaves.
The other common name is Asiatic Pennywort or Indian Pennywort.

Let us know what do they call Gotu Kola in different regions of India 
In Kannada it is known as Ondelaga or Timire. ( ತಿಮಿರೆ ಸೊಪ್ಪು ). Ondelaga means only one leaf in a stem. In Telugu it is known as Saraswathi Aku, Tamil - Vallari Kirai. Marati : Karivan or Karivana.
Gujarati : Khanda Bramhi and in Hindi : Bengsang.

The benefits of having Ondelaga /Gotu Kola.
It is good for cough, cold and fever. The leaves are good for digestion and it balances pitta ( Bile ) and kapha / mucus or phlegm. They help to produce healthy sperm. Ondelaga is known to improve the good blood circulation to the mind and improves our intelligence. They are good for liver related disorders. Gotu Kola is a good blood purifier. It helps in good sleep, good voice and rejuvenation. It helps in treating of various diseases.
Let us see the recipe Now :
This Ondelaga /Gotu Kola Butter Milk helps to cool your body and mind. Try and enjoy.

Ingredients :

Ondelaga /Timire /Gotu Kola Leaves : One handful : 10 to 15.
Jeera : 1/2 Teaspoon
Ingh / Asafoetida :  A pinch
Pepper Pods : 3 to 4
Salt : As required
Curd : 4 to 5 Tablespoons or little more.

Method :

1. Clean and wash only the leaves. ( Some time the stems are hard to grind and they remain as the stick. So it is better to use only the leaves).

2. Put jeera /cumin seeds. pepper pods, Ondelaga Leaves, salt and curd to a mixi jar.
3. Add 1 Cup of water and grind all the ingredients nicely till everything mixes well.

4. Pour it to a big bowl. Add some more water and mix it  nicely.

5. Shift the ready Ondelaga / Gotu Kola Butter Milk to serving glasses and serve.

6. Adding Ice cubes are optional. ( I have not added ).

Note : 

It is better to remove the stem before grinding. There will be two types of Ondelaga leaves. Natural and hy breed type. Natural Ondelaga leaves stems are soft and high breed leaves stems are bit hard. And they do not get into smooth powder or paste. Remember both have the same type of medicinal values. So which ever you get make use of it. Adding butter milk is better. I have used curd and mixed sufficient water to make it thin. Adding less spice is always good.

Time : 10 Minutes.
Serves : 2.