Kashaya [Ancient Traditional Beverage of India]

I would like to cover couple of things in this post. They are , "Kashaya Powder Reciepe - from the scratch " and "How to make a traditional beverage Kashaya using kashaya powder?.
 This is an Ayurvedic beverage prepared in most of the regions in India.This helps to reduce cough,cold and flu.People prepare kashaya powder in many ways. Its all about using diff spice-combo as ingredients.I personally enjoy this hot drink when I have overeaten.Many a times I prepare kashaya and serve my husband and three year old son who would like to have comforting drink before going to bed.

Without wasting any time, Here we go with my version of Kashaya with only 4 common ingredients available in the kitchen:-)

recipe source: My grandmother ( Handadi Dodda) 

Kashaya Powder 

Ingredients :

1/2 cup coriander seeds

1/4 cup cumin seeds

1/2 to 1 tbsp black pepper corns

1 clove (optional)

How to Prepare?

• Dry roast all the ingredients mentioned above for 30-50 secs  in a low flame just to get off with the moisture if any.
  
• Let all the roasted ingredients cool down.Once it is completely cools down , grind everything into a fine/coarse powder.
  
• Transfer the kashaya powder into a airtight container.

 Kashaya [ Traditional Drink]

Ingredients:

2 cups of water 

2-3 tsp of kashaya powder

4-5 tbsp of milk (optional)

sugar as per the taste

How to Prepare?

• Boil water in a stain less steel vessel. Add in 2 tsp of kashaya powder to it. Let it boil till it becomes half.Now add in sugar as per your taste.Make sure sugar dissolves completely and then switch off.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Strain it and you are done with the hot kashaya-decoction:-). Ready to drink !!.
  
  
  
  
• This step is totally optional , You can add hot boiling milk to kashaya decoction and drink when it is still hot.You enjoy this kashaya only if you drink when it is hot.

Notes/Alternative:

• Instead of sugar you can use jaggery. If you use jaggery, do not add milk to it. Mixing jaggery and Milk is against the rule of Ayurveda if I am right.
• Ensure you serve this drink hot...
• You can add 1 tbsp of methi seeds( fenugreek seeds ) along with other ingredients while roasting.

Thanks so much for going through my recipe.Kindly get back to me with your comments. .Please do share it with your friends and family if you like the recipe :-)