Ginger Tea| Ginger Honey Lemon Tonic for Cold

Ginger Lemon Cold and Flu tonic| Ginger tea which is a home remedy for cough, cold and flu. This Ginger Lemon Honey Tonic is one of the easiest, tastiest cold and flu remedies. Honey helps fight infection and soothes inflamed tissue; lemons are full of healthful vitamin C and antioxidants; and ginger helps fight the sore throat, cough, lung congestion, chills and stomach-ache that often accompanies the flu. You could soak the chopped ginger roots and lemon slices in honey. You could consume a teaspoon of the tonic (or) mix with tea, lemonade or with water and consume. Here is have given an instant ginger tea which includes the same ingredients for cough, cold and flu.

I always make this tea whenever is feel like catch cold, it really soothes my throat. It does not have any caffine or theanine like substance which make you awake. So you can consume this even before going to bed. They say regular consumption of this tea aids weight loss.

INGREDIENTS:

Water- 1 cup

Ginger, peeled and chopped- 1 inch (Crush slightly for more intense flavour)

Lemon- 1/2

Honey- 1 tablespoon

PREPARATION:

• In a small pot over medium heat, boil the water, ginger, lemon juice, and honey together. Strain the mixtures into a mug and serve warm.
• Or in a microwave safe cup add all ingredients and make the tea in 2 minutes.
• Note: If you are preparing a cold tonic in a jar, keep alternative layers of ginger and lemon and fill with honey and seal well; allow to soak in refrigerator and use for a month.

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Easy Lemon Pickle Recipe

Lemon Pickle| Naranga Achar| Nimbu Achar is an easy to make pickle which lasts months if it is prepared and preserved well. I have prepared this lemon pickle around three weeks backs and the pickle is now just yum. The peel is so soft and it is saucy type of pickle. Previously i have tried many lemon pickles always i found the peel is thick after a month too. I like the peel of the lemon pickle so i am so particular about that and i want saucy type not the dry ones to eat with curd rice. I am so happy with this recipe which i got the softer peel and also more sauce.
If you have juicy type of lemon you get more sauce, i have prepared this pickle with dry lemon which has not matured well. Some lemon was hard and has got the green colour peel. Even though mine was saucy if you prepare with well matured ones you get nice saucy pickle.

INGREDIENTS:
Lemon-25 nos
Oil- 1/4 cup
Fenugreek seeds- 1/2 teaspoon
Mustard seeds- 1/2 teaspoon
Ginger- 1 inch
Garlic- 10 big cloves
Curry leaves- 2 strands
Hing- 1/4 teaspoon
Chilli powder- 2 tablespoon (or) Kashmiri chilli powder- 3 tablespoons
Salt -to taste
Sugar- 1/2 teaspoon
Vinegar-1-2 tablespoons

To Roast and Grind:
Mustard seeds- 1 tablespoons
Fenugreek seeds- 1 tablespoons

PROCEDURE:

• Rinse the lemon in water and wipe to remove the dirt.
• In a idli steamer heat the water till rolling hot. On idli base plate arrange the lemon and steam for 10 minutes on medium flame.
• Donot over cook the lemon as the lemon pop open and the juice starts to come out.
• Allow to cool the lemon and cut the lemon into 4 equal pieces.  First cut vertically and then cut horizontally. 

• Remove some of the seeds while cutting, it reduces the bitterness of the pickle.
• Reserve the juices in a bowl while cutting.
• Add some salt and mix well and allow to soak in brine till the pickle masala is ready.
• If you use juicy lemon you get more saucy pickle. Mine is not a juicy lemon so i can not use for juicing so  i am preparing pickle.

• Heat oil in a pan and splutter the mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds once the seeds starts to become dark brown add the ginger, garlic and curry leaves and cook till the flavour arises and the raw flavour leaves.
• Now add the hing and red chilli powder. For less heat and bright red colour use kashmiri red chilli powder.
• Add the sugar and vinegar and allow the mixture to bubble once.

• Now switch off the flame and allow the mixture to cool.
• Meanwhile roast the mustard and fenugreek seeds in a pan till the flavour arises. Coarsely grind in a blender jar; set aside.

• Once the pickle masala cools down add the lemon with the juices and the pickle powder(mustard and fenugreek powder)and mix well evenly.

• Transfer the pickle on a air tight container and store for a week in room temperature and then refrigerate for further use.
• Use after 3 days of preparation for good taste. 

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Ginger Lemonade

Ginger lemonade is an easy to prepare ginger flavoured lemon juice, which could be prepared very quickly. It is a simple beverage which includes very limited ingredients which are readily available in our pantry. Lemonade prepared with the extra kick from the ginger tastes really awesome. It is an absolutely a wonderful concoction.

Consuming  plenty of liquids during summer is important to stay hydrated. These quick and simple cool beverages come handy when one feels lazy to prepare a detailed fruit juices. I got this recipe from Aval vikatan magazine.

INGREDIENTS:
Ginger- 1 inch
Lemon- 1 big
Sugar- 4 teaspoon
Salt- 1/4 teaspoon
Chilled water- 2 cups
Ice cubes- if required

PROCEDURE:

• Chill the water to prepare the lemonade.
• Peel the ginger and finely chop them.
• Add the chopped ginger inside a blender jar and crush them by pulsing thrice.

• Then add half a cup of water and  blend well again to make ginger juice.
• Strain the extracted ginger juice using a strainer in a bowl.
• Add the sugar, salt and squeeze the lemon with out any seeds.
• Dilute the juice with two cups of chilled water.

• Add extra sugar if needed to balance the taste. Serve chilled.
• Note: Replace 1 cup of water with any unflavored soda and serve with ice cubes.

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Strawberry Lemonade

Strawberry lemonade becomes one of my favourite drinks. I used to buy the  store bought strawberry juice which is so pulpy and it wont taste mild. After having that fresh juice i feel heavy like had some food. Unlike that this one is thin and a perfect thirst quencher. On summer days if you have the strawberry syrup this could be prepared in a minute.

This strawberry flavoured lemonade is so colourful and tasty which kids love to taste it. Healthy home made lemonade with home made ingredients with out any preservatives. I planned make tomorrow too the same lemonade. Do try and Enjoy!!!

Preparation Time: 2 minutes
Cuisine: Continental
Makes: 1 cup

INGREDIENTS: (1 cup)

Strawberry Syrup- 3 tablespoons (Increase according to your taste)
Lemon- 1 medium
Water (Chilled)- 1 cup
Ice cubes- If desired

PROCEDURE:

• Chill the water inside the refrigerator. Set ice cubes if desired before hand.
• In a glass squeeze the lemon and add the juice without any seeds.
• On top of that add the chilled water.

• Then add the strawberry syrup a tablespoon at a time. It settles at the bottom so stir well using a spoon and add till you get the sweetness.(Click here to get the home made strawberry syrup recipe)

• Add a pinch of salt to lift the sweetness if required.
• Add some ice cubes if desired and serve chilled.

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Pazham Sarbath/ Pazham Sharbath

       Pazham Sarbath is a popular beverage of my native place. On summer in all roadside shops start selling this tasty thirst quencher. It is simple to make and a yummy drink. I have not tried this drink from outside as all say that in shops they use bananas which are starts to spoil. So i make this drink at my home and relish my taste buds.

     Perfect taste from the bananas, nannari sharbatha  and the mild sourness from the lemon. You could prepare this drink using home made nannari syrup or using store bought ones. There are many versions of this sharbath available in our place. Other versions ranging from simple lemon sharbath, ice apple (Nungu), tender coconut etc..

INGREDIENTS:

Small banana, well ripen - 2/ glass
Nannari Syrup (Home made/ Store bought) - 1-1½ tablespoons/glass
Lemon, big- 1/2/glass
Chilled water- 1 glass

Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Cuisine: South India
Serves: 2

PROCEDURE:

• Peel the banana and keep inside a bowl. Mash them using a fork or back side of ladle.

• Add the nannari syrup and chilled water and mix well.(Add according to your sweetness)

• Squeeze the lemon juice(remove seeds or use lemon squeezer) and mix well.

• Note: Add nannari syrup more if you need more sweetness in sharbath.
• Add more lemon juice if you donot feel the mild sourness from lemon.

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Nannari Sharbath/ Nannari Sarbath/ Nannari Syrup/ Naruneendi Sarbath

       "Imagine our backyard wells filled with Sharbath" was my sisters Childhood dream. So that whenever we needed a drink of sharbath we could instantly draw it from the well. That much we had grown to love this nanari sharbath during our childhood. Nannari surup is prepared from a root called Nannari in Tamil, Naruneendi in Malayalam and Sarasaparilla roots in English. You could get this roots in Siddha shops (Naatu marunthu Kadai/ Vaidya Shala).

       Whenever we visit India my hubbys grand father gifts sharbath bottles to his grandson as he liked it in his childhood. I also get my share from my in-laws house too. The place where i stay here i have never seen these sharbath bottles still. So i have planned to make it here by myself from scratch. My mom sent some roots from my native place and here comes the recipe. We loved it. The amber colour of the syrup is just amazing.

INGREDIENTS:

Nannari Syrup:
Nannari/ Naruneenthi/ Sarasaparilla roots - 1/2 cup (50 grams)
Sugar- 2 cups
water- 3 cups
Lemon juice- 1/2 small

Nannari Sharbath:
Nannari syrup- 2 tablespoon
Lemon juice- 1/2
Ice cubes- 3
Water- 1 glass

PROCEDURE:

Nannari Syrup:

• Clean the roots if any clay particles sticking to it and dry them properly.
• Crush the roots with pestle and motor or an end of a rolling pin to remove the pith(white) inside the roots. It should be removed before preparation.
• Powder finely the outer skin (dark brown) of the roots in a blender.

• Boil water in a vessel, once it starts to become rolling hot (bubbles pops on top) switch off the gas.
• Immediately add the nannari powder into the boiled water it starts to sink immediately then tightly close with a lid and keep it undisturbed for 6-8 hours or overnight. I kept it over night.

• Strain the nannari water by passing through a clean cloth cotton/ banian/ muslin cloth to collect all the debris and to get a clear amber coloured nanari water. Nannari water shall seem lightly sandy & not clear at first but shall eventually turn clear while cooking.
• Add 2 cups of sugar in to the nannari water and bring it to boil.

• Cook till you get a light sticky consistency on low to medium flame by constant stirring.
• Do not make it as a thick syrup. when you stir with a laddle you can feel the syrup is starts to getting thick. Beginning stage itself you have to stop the cooking. Because once it cools down it gets more thicker consistency.

• Allow the syrup to cool. Once it reaches room temperature add the lemon juice.
• Transfer this syrup into a clean bottle and store it in room temperature for a week or refrigerate for a month. 

Nannari Sharbath:

• In a clean glass add the nannari syrup, lemon juice, ice cubes and water and mix with a spoon and serve the sharbath.

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Easy Lemon Rasam/ 5 Minutes Rasam

        Lemon Rasam generally prepared using toor dhal and tomatoes. My easy to make version is so easy and is normally ready in minutes. At home everyone likes this version than the original version.This rasam comes in handy when you are running out of time. Especially if you have prepared a nutritious Stir fry/ Porial/ Thoran/Kootu, this is the best easy to prepare curry combination.

       Goes well with all dry curries. Curry will  look watery though i do not add any thing to thicken the curry but still is flavourful  and tasty. Try this someday when you are really running out of time. No soaking, no pressure. I'm sure you are going to love this ....

INGREDIENTS:
Lemon- 1 ½ -2
Oil- 2 teaspoons
Mustard seeds- ½ teaspoons
Fenugreek seeds/ Methi seeds- ¼ teaspoon
Asafetida- pinch
Turmeric- ¼ teaspoon
Coriander leaves- hand full
Curry Leaves- 1 sprig

To grind:

Garlic- 3 big cloves
Jeera- ¼ teaspoon
Pepper- ½ teaspoon
Coriander seeds- ½ teaspoon (optional)

PROCEDURE:

• Grind garlic, jeera, pepper, coriander seeds as a coarse powder.
• Heat oil in a pan and splutter the mustard seeds; add fenugreek seeds and fry till golden colour.

• Add curry leaves and asafetida. Add the ground powder and fry in the same oil for fifteen seconds.
• Add turmeric powder; immediately add 2-3 cups of water and salt.

• Sprinkle some chopped coriander leaves.Cook the rasam in low flame till you get the frothy stage on top of rasam.
• Put off the gas and squeeze the lemon juice. Mix well and serve. Check the salt and add if you require more.

• Yummy rasam ready in just under 5 minutes.
• Dont allow the rasam to boil. The taste may turn bitter.

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