All you need to know about golden milk!
Haldi ka doodh aka turmeric or golden milk has become the current buzzword. So, what is it all about?
Ek chutki haldi ki kimmat (the importance of a pinch of turmeric) is what we all need to know at this point of time. Turmeric is not new to the Indian kitchens. The yellow coloured spice has been a staple and often a symbol of being auspicious. It adds flavour, colour and packs a punch of health benefits to the dishes. And over the months, haldi ka doodh aka turmeric or golden milk has become the current buzzword. So, what is it all about?
“Golden milk has become super popular in the West because traditionally their cuisines don’t use turmeric but with so many recent scientific studies about its benefits, it has become a popular drink in all the leading cafes”, says chef Neha Deepak Shah. She also adds, “The main ingredient of golden milk is turmeric and it has an active component, curcumin that is known to boost immunity and also fight chronic diseases.”
Highlighting the benefits of the ingredient, nutritionist Pooja Makhija says, “Turmeric is an important need of the hour as it is antibiotic antifungal , antiviral, antibacterial so it works on many fronts. It inherently reduces inflammation in our body, so all health problems that are caused because of inflammation whether it is arthritis or infection, can be beautifully fixed with all of this.”
“Though turmeric is great but milk is an inflammatory food. It increases inflammation of our gut lining and therefore isn’t as healthy as we initially thought it.The milk should be kept on lower quotient in the golden milk,” she explains. Makhija also feels that it’s better to go for unsweetened nut milk like almond milk , pistachio milk instead of animal milk.
Nutritionist Tripti Tandon who agrees that it is absolutely safe to consume it everyday and the best time to consume it is before going off to sleep and a few hours after dinner, says, “When there were no fancy syrups, people used to have haldi ka doodh or thandais.”
Looking for some twists and tweaks to prepare the golden milk, chef Nishant Choubey says, “Turmeric can be used right from latte to ice cream. The world has understood that not all the spices are spicy and turmeric is pungent.” For a flavoursome spin, one can add ginger, cinnamon, fennel, vanilla, honey, coconut or walnuts.
Orange Turmeric & Vanilla Yogurt Smoothie by chef Neha Deepak Shah
Ingredients:
1/2 cup frozen mango cubes
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup vanilla yogurt
2 tablespoons walnuts halves
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 frozen banana
Method:
Place all ingredients in a high speed blender and blend until smooth.
Fresh Haldi Pickle by nutritionist Pooja Makhija
Ingredients:
Fresh yellow haldi (turmeric)
Fresh orange haldi
Fresh ginger
Black pepper corns
Lemons
Method :
Chop all the ingredients into tiny pieces, make sure you cut the lemon along with its rind. Put them all in a jar with their own juices. Add the whole pepper corns. Leave to ferment in a sunny area for 5-10 days.
Follow htcity for more updates.
