YogMantra | Recipes With Yoga’s Mainstay Buttermilk To Beat The Summer Heat – News18


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Yogic diet leans toward simple, soothing foods that support daily practice in the spirit of ‘sthiram, sukham’ and buttermilk fits that

Buttermilk is simple, nourishing, easily prepared, and versatile. (Image: fineartamerica.com)

YogMantra

In Yoga, buttermilk or Chhaachh counts as a mainstay food item for practitioners. It not just falls in the saatvik category — meaning foods whose subtle effects are goodness and purity — it also checks the box for easily digestible food. Yogic diet leans toward simple, soothing foods that support daily practice in the spirit of ‘sthiram, sukham’. Buttermilk fits that—it is simple, nourishing, easily prepared, and versatile.

It has one more valuable characteristic — it is cooling. This property counters body heat generated from asanas and from energy released during meditation and certain pranayama practices. Chhaachh is able to cool not just physically, but also the mind.

Crucially, it suits everyone, all constitutions (except in certain conditions). Above all, it is nutritious and a great source of probiotics, calcium and minerals.

GO FOR WHAT’S REALLY COOL — NOT WHAT APPEARS TO BE

In summer, the body needs coolants and more fluids, obviously. Curd or yoghurt, contrary to popular understanding, is not a coolant. According to Ayurveda, it is heavy to digest and hot and sour in essence.

Although buttermilk or chhaachh is made with curd, the action of churning — the manthan samskara — changes its basic quality and turns it into a coolant with a sweet essence. To make it, freshly-set curd is churned well by hand, water is added to it, and the mixture is again churned until frothy). This helps in digestion and also works as an appetiser (deepan), stoking the digestive fire gently without creating hyperacidity.

Depending on the quantity of water added, buttermilk can be of three kinds: takra (three parts curd, one part water); udashvit (equal curd and water), or chhaach (one part curd and three parts water).

For the buttermilk to be acceptable to the Yoga-Ayurveda enthusiast, it must be made with freshly set, homemade curd.

INDIA’S NATIONAL DRINK?

In India — the land of origin of Yoga — Chhaachh is savoured in some form in almost all states. If India’s national dish be ‘Khichdi’ with each state having its own version, Chhaachh can easily be India’s national drink. Each state has its version and recipe — from Gharish in Kashmir, to Jhol in Himachal, Jholi in Uttarakhand, Mattha and Kadhi in north India, Chhaas and Taak in Gujarat and Maharashtra, Majjiga Pulusu in Andhra and Telangana, Ghol in Bengal and Odisha, Mor in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, and the list goes on.

THE BASIC DRINK & ITS MORE COMPLEX USES

Buttermilk can be spiced with cumin, black salt, coriander, mint, ginger, pepper, lemon zest, etc. for a refreshing drink.

But it also turns into a wonderful base for dishes — main course, accompaniments, desserts. Rustle up a gravy for rice, or lighten raitas and other dishes by replacing curd with Chhachh. Just ensure the curd is freshly set and that you churn it at both stages (before and after adding water) with a wooden hand-churner or mathaani.

Here are some recipes that use buttermilk:

Sweet Buttermilk

Have this first thing in the morning for digestion-related issues. It helps as a probiotic, a coolant, and the added salt and sugar help restore electrolyte balance.

YogMantra | Recipes With Yoga’s Mainstay Buttermilk To Beat The Summer Heat - News18
Image Courtesy: India Mart

Ingredients:

• Half cup freshly-set curd

• 1 ½ (or 2) cups of water

• 1 tsp sugar

• 2 pinches salt

Method: Churn the curd for one minute with a wooden hand-held churner. Add water and churn again till frothy. Add sugar and salt, mix well. This is to be sipped slowly.

Mint Cucumber Pomegranate Raita

YogMantra | Recipes With Yoga’s Mainstay Buttermilk To Beat The Summer Heat - News18
Image Courtesy: Pistachiodoughnut

Ingredients:

• 1 cup fresh homemade Curd

• ½ cup Water

• ¾ cup finely-grated Cucumber

• 1/3 cup Pomegranate

• Small handful of Mint leaves, torn by hand into small bits

• Small green Chilli (optional), chopped fine

• 1/2 tsp Cumin powder

• Salt to taste

• 1 tsp Honey or Jaggery Syrup

Method: Churn the curd for one minute with a wooden churner. Add water and churn till bubbles appear. Add mint, salt, cumin, honey or jaggery and chilli and mix well. Add grated cucumber and pomegranate. Mix well, garnish with a few mint leaves and pomegranate pearls and serve chilled.

Majjiga Pulusu — Vegetables in Spiced Buttermilk

Works as main course with rice. Use any vegetable like bottle gourd, ash gourd, okra, amaranth leaves, spinach, drumstick or banana stem.

YogMantra | Recipes With Yoga’s Mainstay Buttermilk To Beat The Summer Heat - News18
Image Courtesy: www.sailusfood.com

Ingredients:

• 2 cups diced bottle gourd

• 2 cups fresh homemade curd

• 1 cup water

• Salt to taste

• A large pinch of turmeric powder

• 1 tsp besan (optional)

• Paste made of: half cup grated fresh coconut, one green chilli, 1-inch piece ginger

• For seasoning — half tbsp ghee, 1/2 tsp mustard seeds, 1/4 tsp methi seeds, pinch cumin seeds, pinch hing (asafoetida), 10 curry leaves, 1 dry red chilli

Method: Steam or boil vegetables in half cup of water. Let them cook completely. In another bowl, churn the curd well with a hand-held wooden churner. Add water and churn again till it froths. Add coconut-chilli paste and keep aside.

Heat ghee in a pan, add mustard, cumin, methi. Once they splutter, add curry leaves, red chilli, asafoetida. Add besan if using, and stir well for a few seconds. Add cooked vegetables and mix well. Add the curd-coconut mixture to the vegetables, stir for a minute on a slow flame. Add salt and turn off heat. Cover and let it rest for the flavours to get absorbed for an hour. This makes a simple delicious dish to be eaten with rice.

Apple, Walnut, Dates Cake – Healthy Happy Version

In this, eggs are easily replaced by Chhaach.

YogMantra | Recipes With Yoga’s Mainstay Buttermilk To Beat The Summer Heat - News18
Image Courtesy: www.lightscamera-bake.com

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoon fresh homemade Curd

• 1/2 cup Water

• 1 cup Atta (wholewheat flour)

• 1/2 cup Sooji (semolina)

• 1/3 cup Butter or Ghee

• 1/2 cup grated Jaggery

• 1/2 cup diced Apple

• 1/4 cup chopped Walnuts

• 1/2 cup chopped Dates

• 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon powder

• A pinch Clove powder

• 1/2 teaspoon Baking powder

• 1/4 teaspoon Baking soda

• Pinch of Salt

Method: In a bowl, add the flour, semolina, cinnamon, clove, baking soda, baking powder and salt and mix well. In another bowl, whisk together the butter or ghee and jaggery. Mix in the fruits and walnuts. Keep both bowls aside.

Churn the curd well with a wooden hand churner. Add water and churn again till frothy. Add this to the butter-fruits mixture. Add flour mixture and mix gently with a spatula, taking care to fold it in. Pour into a greased dish and bake in a preheated oven at 180 degree C for 30 minutes or till an inserted skewer comes out clean. Cool completely before cutting.

Piyush — A lighter Version of the Dessert Drink

YogMantra | Recipes With Yoga’s Mainstay Buttermilk To Beat The Summer Heat - News18
Image Courtesy: Whisk Affair

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Buttermilk (made with equal parts curd and water)

• 1 tbsp Jaggery powder

• 1/4 cup Shrikhand (store-bought or homemade)

• 1/2 tsp Cardamom powder

• Chopped Almonds and Rose petals for garnishing

Method: Take buttermilk in a bowl, add jaggery powder and Shrikhand and churn with a wooden churner. Add cardamom powder and mix. Pour into serving glasses, garnish with chopped almonds and fresh rose petals. Serve cold.

The author is a journalist, cancer survivor and certified yoga teacher. She can be reached at swatikamal@gmail.com.

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