Thursday, June 9, 2011

Herbal Wine



The summer is over and the monsoons are officially in. So are the holidays and back to the grind. Its been a great vacation, with plenty of action, relaxing, meeting up with old friends, school reunion and lots of fun! The kids are back to school now and am back to work all refreshed and raring to go.

I've got plenty of posts for you to make up for the loss of action, coming soon...

Here's a herbal wine I had prepared over the summer. It's also called "Digestive Wine" because of the digestive properties of the herbs used.
These 3 herbs are almost always found in an Indian household.

Jeera/Cumin
Cumin is stomachic, diuretic(increase in urine production), carminative(gas-relieving and gastrointestinal tract cramp-relieving agent)., stimulant, astringent, emmenagogic and antispasmodic. It is valuable in dyspepsia, diarrhoea and hoarseness, and relieves flatulence and colic, Cumin stimulates the appetite.

Saunf/ Fennel
Saunf is a carminative, diuretic and mild stimulant. Fennel is also thought to possess diuretic choleretic (increase in production of bile), pain-reducing, fever-reducing, and anti-microbial actions. The seeds are used as a flavoring agent in many herbal medicines, and to help disperse flatulence. The seeds, and roots, also help to open obstructions of the liver, spleen & gall bladder, and to ease painful swellings, in addition to helping with yellow jaundice, the gout and occasional cramps.

Ajwain/Ommum
Ajwain seeds contain an essential oil which is about 50% thymol which is a strong germicide, anti-spasmodic and fungicide.
It is used in a steeped liquid form against diarrhea and flatulence. In India the seeds are used as a household remedy for indigestion and colic.


Herbal Wine
Ingredients-
100gms cumin/jeera
100gms saunf/fennel
100gms ajwain
2litres water
1 1/2 kg jaggery
1/2tsp yeast
Preparation-
  • Gently roast the spices.
  • Add the water and boil for 20 minutes.
  • Remove from the fire and add the jaggery. Stir and cool.
  • Culture the yeast in warm water for 10 minutes and add to the mixture.
  • Pour the mixture into a wine jar and ferment for 21 days. Stir once each day. After 21 days strain and preserve in bottles.
  • Cheers to good health!
You might also like-
Herbal Water

10 comments:

  1. What an interesting idea! I've never heard of this, but with all of the medicinal properties of those 3 seeds, I can see why this is popular in India. And I just happen to have all 3 on hand...thanks for sharing. Theresa

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  2. Shirley, great to see you posting something. It's been a while. Hope everything is fine on your side. I like drinking herbal wine but still pretty new to this. Cause we normally used these spices in cooking only. Thanks for sharing. Hope you're having a terrific day.
    Blessings, Kristy

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  3. we use the spices but haven't had with jaggery and yeast looks wonderful

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  4. Haven't heard from u for a while. Great to have u back! I've posted your link in my blog sometime back & also on your Facebook but I guess u missed that too since I didn't get your reply. Hope everything's fine.

    Would love to have some of those wine :) Have a good weekend, dear!

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  5. Looks like it came out beautifully. :)

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  6. It is new to me since I'd used those spices for cooking only. Thanks for this informative and useful idea...

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  7. wow what an exciting idea and it seems to be norishinthg thnks shirley

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  8. Kristy, this is so interesting...never thought in making a herbal wine.
    Have a great week :-)

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  9. How interesting Shirley! I prefer all natural remedies! Thanks for sharing!

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  10. Sounds like a great drink. I love all of the spices used to make it so I can imagine how good it tastes. Thanks for participating in the YBR & Have a great weekend!

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