Kabasura Kudineer – The elixir in this pandemic!
When the world cuisine was turning into Keto and Paleo, going vegan, detoxing with juices and all those FADs, bam came a shock to life in the form of (what we lovingly call) Covid-19 – the Corona virus pandemic, changing our way of life as we have known it so far! Things taken for granted have become a luxury. Going out, eating out, working out – looks like there is no more “out” we can even dream of in the near future.. When life is this unpredictable and you have to watch out for any small symptoms of illness, when all we have to do this year is try and survive it, it does sound scary but we don’t have a choice, do we? This too shall pass and we will talk about it in few years in past tense. Today when buying paracetamol has become more difficult than even anti-psychotics, and a common cold is not seen as benign, of course Indians have turned their focus to Ayurveda and Siddha home remedies to kick off symptoms of the Corona virus to avoid isolated hospitalisation.
And then comes a drink – the whole world is now looking up to boost immunity and fight foreign bodies – “Kabasura Kudineer” as it is beautifully called in Tamil – it’s a long forgotten drink of our ancestors!
While all this while we have been emulating the west, the root of the solution lies in the innumerable herbs and concoctions left behind by our very own well-knowledgeable ancestors. Kabasura Kudineer Chooranam is a traditional formulation used for effectively managing common respiratory ailments such as the flu and cold. Siddha practitioners vouch for this to relieve symptoms associated with respiratory illnesses.
Kabasura Kudineer or chooranam vaguely translates to water that helps with “fever due to excessive Kapaha – energy that forms the body’s structure”. I Kaba denotes Kapha, Asura the herb which helps relieve the ailments and Kudineer refers to the concoction. It is an immunity boosting drink made from various herbs and water. It possess anti-inflammatory, analgesic, anti-viral, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, antioxidant, hepato-protective, anti-pyretic, anti-asthmatic and immunomodulatory properties!
It is popularly known for boosting the lungs, improving respiratory mechanism and treating infectious conditions of the respiratory system. “This Churnam is gaining its long lost popularity during the time of Covid-19 owing to its therapeutic qualities. Using a whopping 15 ingredients, here is how you can make it at home:
Ingredients and benefits – Kabasura Kudineer!
Ginger – Helps with digestion
Piper longum – Also helps with digestion and treats asthma and cough
Clove – Kills bacteria
Dusparsha – Treats haemorrhoids
Akarakarabha – Heals sore throat and cough
Kokilaksha – Treats jaundice
Haritaki – Strong antioxidant and treats sore throat and allergies
Malabar nut – Treats respiratory ailments and asthma
Ajwain – Treats common cold and cough
Kusta – Treats Gout
Guduchi – Antipyretic effects
Bharangi – Treats asthma and inflammatory conditions
Kalamegha – Cleanses liver and purifies blood
Raja pata – Cures fever
Musta – Heals fever and burning sensation
Neer – Water
Process to be followed for preparing Kabasura Kudineer:
- Dry the above ingredients and grind them into a coarse powder
- Dry the powder under direct sunlight
- Add 5-10gms of powder to 200ml of water and boil it
- Boil the concoction until the water reduces to 1/4th of its volume
- Filter the concoction and consume the filtered liquid within 3 hours
- Consume 25-50ml twice daily or as advised by the physician
Though this chooranam has no side effects, it is best to get your physician’s advice before administering it. This concoction is also being distributed in a few districts door-to-door as a strategy to combat the virus and build immunity among the masses.
Nice post.