Disclaimer : Modern science does not consider Ayurvedic medicines to be reliable as large scale scientific studies are yet to be concluded. Despite using turmeric for medicines in Ayurveda for 5000 years, it was not used in modern medicines until recently. Please use caution and use at your own discretion.
Lemon Tea
I cannot remember when but I was introduced to lemon tea by my mom many years ago when I was very young. Growing up, I was susceptible to cold and often end up with a nasty cough. It was always severe and would last several weeks. Among all the common illness, cold was my nemesis. I could hardly sleep and create a havoc all night waking everyone up in the house. Who needs sleep when their child is sick, right? My mother would empathize while I growled. She would turn to her book "GruhaSangati" which is a collection of home hacks and home remedies for common illness. Among the many remedies she tried, my father and I have grown to like lemon tea a lot. As it turns out, many ingredients used helps to fight the symptoms of cold and also reduce the inflammation. And if science is to be believed, vitamin C from lemon should help with your cold too.
Over the years of conducting experiments to make the best lemon tea, I have a favorite version now. It is sugar free and perfect for any cozy evenings.
Ingredients:
1. 1 inch of mace
2. 1/2 inch of ginger
3. 1 cardamom pod
4. 1 teaspoon of your favorite tea leaves.
5. 1/2 of lemon
6. 4-5 mint leaves
7. 200-250 ml of water.
Directions:
- In a pot, bring water to boil.
- Grind the ginger, cardamom, mace in a mortar pestle and add to the boiling water. Let it simmer.
- Brew for 30 seconds. Add tea leaves of your choice to the mix and simmer for a short period to avoid the bitter taste.
- Remove the mixture out of the heat and strain the mixture.
- Squeeze in juice from 1/2 lemon. Use atleast a tablespoon if you have store bought lemon juice. The amount can be adjusted to personal taste
- Add mint leaves to the strained syrup. It is now ready to serve!
3. 1/2 inch cinnamon
4. 3 peppercorns
5. 1/4 tablespoon turmeric
6. 1/2 inch ginger
7. Optional 1 tablespoon grated/desiccated coconut.
8. 200 ml of Non-diary milk (I prefer Chobani Original oatmilk or Oatsome oatmilk. Coconut milk is a good option if you know what brand to buy. If you are using any low consistency milk, then reduce the turmeric amount to avoid the overpowering flavors of turmeric.)
- In a pan, bring your favorite non-diary milk to a boil.
- Grind cardamom, cinnamon, clove, peppercorns, ginger, desiccated coconut in a mortar grinder and mix with the milk. You can alternatively use a coffee grinder for the spices.
- Add turmeric along with the spices and let it simmer. Turmeric has a bitter flavor which blends and subsides once boiled in the milk. Adding too much can make it bitter. Adjust according to personal preference.
- Once the milk has been boiling for a bit, remove it from the heat. Strain the golden, delicious drink and is now ready to serve.
