Cool curd rice for summer

Ingredients:
Rice: 1 cup
Water : 3 cups
Thick curd: – 3 cups
Finely chopped coriander leaves – ¼ cup
White grapes (slit into halves) – 1 cup
Broken Cashews – ¼  cup
Curry leaves – 15
Red chilly – 2
Mustard – ¼ tea spoon
Asafetida – 1 pinch
Sugar – ½ spoon
Ghee – 2 tea spoon
Oil – 2 tea spoon
Salt to taste

Method: cook rice in a pressure cooker with recommended quantity of water. The rice should be cooked till it becomes soft. Take out the rice from cooker and spread it in a large bowl and allow it to cool. When rice gets cooled add finely chopped coriander leaves, curd, grapes, salt and sugar to rice. Place a ladle on stove and roast cashews with ghee and add it to rice. Heat oil in a ladle, add mustard to it. When it crackles add curry leaves, chilly and asafetida. Pour this on curd rice. Mix everything well.

Benefits of Ingredients:

Rice consists of lots of carbohydrates. This acts as an instant energizer and refreshes body and mind. It gets digested easily and quickly. It is an ideal health food for those who are debilitated and weak and require easy assimilation and quick energy. Texts of ayurveda recommend rice gruels along with buttermilk for digestive disorders such as diarrhea, dysentery, morning sickness, colitis, and jaundice.

Grapes: Grapes act as body coolant. They boosts memory power and act as a brain tonic. They help to relive constipation and promote digestion. These berries act as cardiac tonic and increase blood hemoglobin. Grapes are known to balance rakta (blood) and pitta. Hence they are very useful in gout and allergies. They strengthen the lungs and help in patients who are recuperating from tuberculosis, bronchitis and asthma. Grapes help in cystitis and burning micturition as they sooth the inner layers of bladder and act as diuretic. Fertility of men and women increases with the regular consumption of these berries. They strengthen the female reproductive system and increase the sperm count and sperm motility. Grapes play an important role in boosting immunity of skin and thus protecting it from various skin disorders.

curd:Intestinal infections like cholera, typhoid, amoebiasis etc usually surface during summer. Consuming curd daily during summer helps to increase intestinal flora (friendly bacteria present in intestine). These bacteria increase the resistance of our intestines to these infections. Hence curd is known as a probiotic.

Probiotics are the good bacteria that promote healthy digestion and build immunity. The most common friendly bacteria (probiotics) are lactobacilli and bifidobacteria. These probiotics are easily available in the form of curd (yogurt). Persons who cannot digest milk can digest curd easily.

Consuming curd rice daily especially during summer, keeps the digestion and intestinal problems away. According to ayurveda curd absorbs water from intestines (hence called as Grahi). By the virtue of this property it is widely used to treat diarrhea and dysentery. It mitigates vata dosha, increases kapha and pitta. Curd helps to increase quality and quantity of semen, strengthens the body, accelerates digestion (agni), stimulates taste buds and acts as an appetizer.Curd reduces irritability of bladder and helps in emptying bladder easily.

Rejuvenation therapy with Drakshadi Rasayana

Rasayana therapy or Rejuvenation therapy helps to slow down ageing process, increases memory, boosts body immunity, and enhances complexion and youthfulness of skin. Sense organs and voice regain their sharpness. Rasayana therapy rejuvenates whole body and as well reproductive system thus making one to feel young and energetic in all aspects of life.

Consumption of herbal rasayana preparations is known as “Aushadha rasayana”. One can reap the benefits of rasayana therapy by regularly consuming “Aushadha rasayana”.  “Drakshadi Rasayana” is one such herbal rasayana preparation.

Drakshadi rasayana contains draksha (grapes or Vitis Vinifera) , amla or amalaki (Indian gooseberry or Emblica officinalis ), Honey, Ginger, Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra or madhuyashti), sugar , long pepper and ghee

Grapes: Grapes act as body coolant. They boosts memory power and act as a brain tonic. They help to relive constipation and promote digestion. These berries act as cardiac tonic and increase blood hemoglobin. Grapes are known to balance rakta (blood) and pitta. Hence they are very useful in gout and allergies. They strengthen the lungs and help in patients who are recuperating from tuberculosis, bronchitis and asthma. Grapes help in cystitis and burning micturition as they sooth the inner layers of bladder and act as diuretic. Fertility of men and women increases with the regular consumption of these berries. They strengthen the female reproductive system and increase the sperm count and sperm motility. Grapes play an important role in boosting immunity of skin and thus protecting it from various skin disorders.

Amalaki or amla (Indian gooseberry or Emblica officnalis): Amla or amalaki balances tridoshas. It strengthens hair follicles and rejuvenates skin on scalp. Regular consumption of this fruit boosts immunity of skin and prevents outbreak of acne and pimples. It reduces burning sensation of eyes, enhances memory, strengthens nervous system, normalizes digestion, reduces acidity, rejuvenates liver and relieves constipation. It acts as good cardiac tonic and helps to increase hemoglobin level in blood. Amla acts as an aphrodisiac and increases sperm count and sperm motility. It rejuvenates male reproductive system. This berry soothes burning sensation of urinary tract and very useful in cystitis and burning micturition.

Honey: This ingredient acts as an instant energizer, as sugars in honey are quickly absorbed by digestive system. Due to its hygroscopic properties it helps in quick healing of wounds and growth of healing tissue. It is very useful in bed wetting disorders. It rejuvenates damaged skin and acts as antioxidant. Honey boosts body immunity as it increases number of white blood cells. It is known as “Yogavahi” as it penetrates the deeper tissues. Its addition in herbal preparations helps to enhance the medicinal properties of herbs and help these herbs to reach the deeper tissues.

Thus the medicinal properties of the above ingredients have made “Drakshadi Rasayana” useful in many conditions like

Anemia: The precious ingredients like grapes, amla and honey help to nourish blood and help in anemia.

Indigestion: Drakshadi rasayana helps in promoting digestion and increasing appetite.

Acidity: Amla and grapes are known to reduce acidity. Thus drakshadi rasayana helps to reduce acidity and flatulence. It also help to reduce vomiting sensation and nausea.,

Asthma, Tuberculosis,Bronchitis and cough: Drakshadi rasayana boost immunity of lungs. It strengthens the lungs, boosts immunity and nourishes blood. All these facts together help patients who are recuperating from Asthma, Tuberculosis, Bronchitis and cough. It also prevents further damages due to repeated infection of  respiratory system.

It is very useful in pregnancy and acts as a fetal nourisher. It helps to prevent miscarriages and abortions. Drakshadi rasayana reduces acidity and vomiting.

Home Remedies with grapes

Do not use any fruits as face pack if you are allergic to them.

For wrinkles: Cut fresh ripe green grapes or red grapes into two halves and rub them gently on wrinkles in circular motion. Take care not to rub it on eyes. Wash it off after 15 minutes. The anti aging property of grapes helps to slowdown aging process of skin.

Grape Facial Scrub: Mash 1/2 cup o fresh ripe white grapes and remove its skin. Mix almond powder to this pulp and use it as a scrub. This helps to remove dirt and oil.

Grape Cleansing pack: mash 1/2 cup of seedless white grapes with 1 tea spoon of organic honey. Apply this on face and leave it for 12-13 minutes. Wash it off with cold water. This pack helps to cleanse the skin from inside.

To relieve constipation: Eat around 20 to 25 ripe purple grapes daily at night. This helps to relieve constipation

(Persons who are diabetic and obese should consul family physician or dietician before consuming grapes internally)

Ayurveda Medicinal Properties of Grapes

Common Grape Vine ( Vitis Vinifera ) is known as Draksha in ayurveda.  This is widely grown in western parts of India, Punjab, Kashmir, central Europe, Turkey, Morocco and Portugal . The grape vine has long, woody stems rooted to ground. Stems are covered with flaky bark. The grapevine usually grows up to 35 meters. It has alternative, broad, palmate leaves. The unripe fruit is usually green and ripe fruit is dark purple in color. Ripe fruits are covered with light grey wax coat.

Grape vine has acquired numerous names by virtue of its shape and medicinal properties.  These names have been coined by ayurveda acharyas. It is known as “Draksha” as it is liked by one and all. Due to its medicinal properties it increases the moistness of our body tissues and softens the dried ones. Hence the name “Mrudweeka”.  Grapes get the name “Gosthani” as the shape of fruits resemble mammary glands (udder) of cow.

Chemical Composition of Grapes

Grapes contain 70 to 80% water and numerous organic and inorganic compounds. These are sugars, organic acids, phenolic compounds, nitrogenous compounds, aroma compounds, minerals, pectic substances. They are also good source of bioflavonoids

Ayurveda Medicinal Properties of Grapes

Grapes are sweet to taste and act as body coolants. They are soft, heavy to digest and increase the moistness of body tissues. By virtue of these properties this fruit alleviates vata and pitta. Hence these berries are used in diseases which arise due to vitiation of vata and pitta.

Usefulness of grape berries on different organ systems are given below.

Nervous system: Due to their property of alleviating vata the use of grapes is recommended as nervine . It boosts memory power and acts as a brain tonic.

Digestive system: Vata and pitta regulate functions of digestive system. Since grapes alleviate vata and pitta, they are widely used in digestive disorders like constipation, jaundice and thirst.

Circulatory System: These berries act as cardiac tonic. They strengthen the muscles of heart and increase the nutrient components (hemoglobin) of blood. Grapes are very useful in diseases which arise due to vitiation of rakta (blood) and pitta . Therefore the use of this fruit is recommended in Gout and allergies.

Respiratory System: Draksha or grapes help to strengthen lungs. Expectoration of kapha or Phlegm can be very easily achieved with the help of this fruit. Thus grapes are used as main ingredients in ayurvedic preparations which are administered in respiratory conditions like Tuberculosis, cough, bronchitis etc.

Urinary System:  Grapes act as diuretics and increase frequency and volume of urine. It soothes the inner layers of bladder. For this reason grapes are recommended in burning micturition and cystitis.

Reproductive system: Grapes help to increase fertility of Men and women. It increases quality and quantity of semen, sperm count and sperm motility. It also helps to strengthen the female reproductive system. These berries are known as “Vrishya”, which means they help in erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation.

Effect on skin: Grapes help to reduce burning sensation of skin and skin allergies. It boosts the immunity of skin  and help to prevent various skin diseases.

General health: Grapes facilitate a good supply of nutrients for recuperating patients. This fruit is of immense help to persons who want to increase their body bulk.