How to use cumin to treat common illnesses

Cumin can either be ground, roasted, added to foods whole or boiled in water to treat many common ailments. It is used alone or in combination with other herbs and or with rock salt or sugar to treat many illnesses. 

Cumin for the Teeth and Mouth

Roasted cumin seeds can be eaten freshen the breath. Chewing roasted cumin seeds can also heal soars in the mouth and reduce excess saliva.

Healing properties of Cumin

Cumin, a seed from the parsley family, is renowned for its irresistible aroma and its essential role in Mexican, Spanish, Middle Eastern, and Indian cuisines. Beyond its culinary applications, cumin is a powerful traditional medicine valued for thousands of years.

4 Cooking Churnas using Cumin

In Ayurveda, a Churna is a balanced combination of powdered herbs, spices, or dried fruits. Creating your own spice blends is a simple way to streamline your weekly cooking, save time, and ensure you are using the freshest ingredients possible.

Preparation & Storage Tips

• Preparation: Combine ingredients in a jar and shake thoroughly, or pulse in a food processor for a more uniform texture.

• Best Practices: Always use freshly ground spice powders for maximum potency.

• Storage: Keep in an airtight jar. Properly stored, these blends will last for up to six months.

• Yield: The following recipes each make approximately 1 cup.

Seasoning Blend Recipes

Ingredient	Taco	Curry	Fajita	Chili
Chili Powder	1/4 cup	-	1/4 cup	1/2 cup
Cumin Powder	1/4 cup	1/4 cup	1 tbsp	1/4 cup
Hing (Asafoetida)	1 tbsp	-	1 tbsp	1/4 cup*
Onion Powder	1 tbsp	-	1 tbsp	3 tbsp
Paprika	1 tsp	1/2 cup	2 tbsp	2 tbsp
Oregano	1 tsp	-	-	1/4 cup
Pink Salt (opt.)	1/4 cup	-	2 tbsp	-
Turmeric Root	-	1/4 cup	-	-
Coriander	-	3 tbsp	-	-
Mustard Powder	-	2 tbsp	-	-
Fenugreek	-	2 tbsp	-	-
Fennel Powder	-	1 tbsp	-	-
Red Pepper Flakes	-	1 tbsp	-	-
Cardamom	-	1 tbsp	-	-
Cinnamon	-	1 tsp	-	-
Cloves	-	1/2 tsp	-	-
Ground Pepper	1 tsp	-	-	-
Cayenne	-	-	1 tsp	-
Thyme	-	-	-	1 tbsp

*Note: For the Chili Seasoning Mix, the 1/4 cup can be either Hing or Garlic powder.

Key Ingredient Benefits

• Fenugreek Powder: Included in the Curry blend for a distinct, pleasant sweetness.

• Cloves: Added to the Curry blend to introduce a deeper, more complex flavor profile.

• Optional Ingredients: Many of these blends include optional spices (indicated in the table) to allow you to customize the heat and flavor depth to your preference.

Lime and Rose Summer Drink

One of the joys of summer is to prepare cooling drinks from the garden. I don't have a lemon tree, but I do enjoy fresh mint from the garden. This drink is cooling and fortifying, excellent for Pitta dosha.

Ingredients:

1-1 ½ limes (depending on how tangy you like your beverage)

2 cups          spring water

5 tsp fresh mint, minced and ground

4 tbsp organic maple syrup OR jaggery syrup

½ tsp minced/ground ginger

1 tsp ground chia seeds

½ tsp rose water

Directions:

Juice the limes and mix all of the ingredients together. Let the mix steep for approximately 20 minutes. Place in the refrigerator to cool.

Beat fatigue with ayurvedic herbs

According to Ayurveda, the strength of your Agni (digestive fire) is the cornerstone of vitality. How effectively you convert food into energy and healthy tissue determines your overall energy levels. When this process is impaired, fatigue often follows.

Tongue cleaning

We are very happy in selecting good food and preparing. Equally we need to take care of our beloved digestion system. We can do it in many ways, with fasting, mono-diets and panchakarma.

The tongue is the entry way to the digestive system.  In fact, it is the only part of the digestive tract that is easily accessible and observable. Most of us don’t generally think much about it, but there is much information that can be gained from examining the tongue. Each morning, soon after arising, get in the habit of inspecting your tongue. Does it have a

Kapha Balancing Detox soup.

Cook this soup in times of purification or when kapha dosha is high. You can take this soup as a main and only food  for 3 days. This will clear kapha dosha conditions like excess of mucus in lungs, fatigue or a simple cold.

Ingredients
Whole green mung- 1 cup soaked for 10-12 hours
Cumin - 1 tsp
Ginger - 1-2 inch grated
Black pepper - few peppercorns whole or crushed
Turmeric - ½ tsp

Greens with Fennel and Raisins

 In the kitchen we truly can enjoy simple recipes and still have a good tasty meal. This dish can be assembled in 10 minutes, the same amount of time you need to cook the quinoa.
You can use any green vegetable, like spinach, kale, mustard greens, and collard greens. You can use any of these greens or a combination of them in this recipe. As spices are concerned, I chose fennel to make this dish suitable for children. However, you can use cumin, hing or nutmeg as a main flavor.

 

Cauliflowers with Coconut, Red Peppers and Peanuts

Nothing like a shredded fresh coconut, it has the fresh enzymes that pitta need to cool down and the right amount of fat to pacify vatta. This recipe is a colorful addition to a rice of quinoa dish, and of course it is a great companion to any fresh salad. If you are not that friendly to peanuts, you can use almonds, walnuts or sunflowers seed to add a little crunchy texture to this dish.

For vatas you can add a little more ginger, for pitta more coconut and for kapha more chilli. Customize your dish for where you are at.

Cardamon the Queen of spices

Cardamom is also known as Chhoti Elaichi in India. It is a highly valued herbal spice that is used as a culinary agent in Asian cuisines because of its intrinsic flavoring capacity.

Moreover, when used as a home remedy it helps cure various ailments like indigestion, nausea, lightheadedness, etc.This aromatic spice is straw-green to bright-green in color with small, black seeds inside a pod. The fibrous, oval pod has about 8 to 16 seeds.

There is another variety of this herb, that is, Black Cardamom or Cardamomum amomum which is mostly found in Asia and Australia.