It is that time of the year when festive occasions are in full swing and loads of savories and sweet treats are consumed in abundance.
So this is when the Old Grandmothers’ magical herbal medicine comes into play to ensure that the stomachs are all in order!!
One such authentic medicine is popularly known as Lehiyam or Diwali Marundu (in tamil nadu) which literally means Diwali Medicine!!!!
A combination of the wondrous herbs is powdered, stirred in with Jaggery for sweetness. A teaspoon is had to ward off those nasty stomach disorders, colds, cough or the flu!!!!
The beauty of this medicine is that it stores in the fridge for about 6 months and does not lose its purity and effectiveness!! I can vouch for this as Diwali is summer time in Australia where I live and I had the Lehiyam stored in the fridge 6 months later in winter when the family had the cough and cold!!
(I simply added some hot water and honey to a teaspoon of this marvel medicine and it worked wonders!!!!
(please note that you can use the ingredients that you can lay your hands on from the Indian Grocery store and the medicine still works well as some ingredients may not be readily available) –
**these ingredients may not be available if you live overseas – although if you live in Sydney like I do most of them are available in the Indian Grocery Stores..
Dry Herbal Ingredients
20 cloves
20 cardomom
20 Pepper with stick like in appearance (Kanda thipili)**
20 Long Pepper (Arisi thippili)**
1inch piece Dry Turmeric
2 inch piece Thai ginger or finger root (chitharathai)
2 inch piece Liquorice (Athimathuram)**
½ Nutmeg (Powdered)
1 inch piece Dry Ginger
3 Tsp Ajwain (Omam)
3 Tsp Black Peppercorn
3 Tsp Cumin Seeds
3 Tsp Coriander Seeds
Dry roast all the above herbs and grind into a fine powder
Ensure that it is sieved through again to a very fine powder
Soak the powder in water till it is completely immersed.
Grind the above mix to a fine paste
For the sweet syrup
¼ Cup Melted Ghee
Jaggery Equal amount (based on the quantity of the powder)
Diwali Medicine
Preparation
Bring a cup of water to the boil, add the powdered ingredients (paste)
Keep stirring on a medium flame and let it cook for about 10 to 15 minutes till they are mixed thoroughly
When the mix comes together, lower the heat
Pour in the ghee and stir for a few minutes and pour it on to a dish immediately
(do not keep it on the stove for longer than few minutes as the mix tends to get hard)
It is optional to add a few teaspoons of honey if required to the mixture
Note: If stored well, this medicine can be consumed months later!!!