by Sheela Rani Chunkath
At a party to celebrate the 80th birthday of the mother of a college-mate, many of us old friends got chatting about life, health, hobbies and organic gardening. One of my friends invited me proudly to come to see her home vegetable garden which she was keeping free of pests with a liquid mixture of ginger, garlic and chillies. Then another friend started talking about her garden in Chennai where Piper longum (thippili in Tamil) was growing in abundance. She said that nowadays when she makes rasam, she just chops a few leaves and uses it instead of coriander leaves. Then the other friend with the vegetable garden said she had an awesome recipe for thippili rasam. Piper longum is not only good for colds and coughs but it is also a wonderful rasayana drug in that it is a rejuvenator and anti-ageing herb. So I told my friend that my readers would love to have her recipe. So in the midst of the party we got a small piece of paper and pen and I wrote down the recipe. Actually it is pretty simple and my friend swears by it. So here goes:
Soak 1 tsp of jeera, 1 tsp of pepper and half a tsp of toor dhal in water. Saute four to five leaves of Piper longum with a little oil or ghee and grind coarsely along with the soaked jeera, pepper, toor dhal and a few curry leaves. Take about 10 gms of tamarind (the size of an amla). Drop it into a vessel with about 2 glasses of water and a little salt. Let the water boil till the raw smell of tamarind goes away. (My friend was particular that the tamarind be just dropped in the water. These are some of the quirks of good cooks I keep coming across). Now take this coarsely ground paste and add to the boiling tamarind water. Once the liquid starts 'frothing', temper with a little mustard seeds dropped in ghee. Adjust water if the rasam is too sour.
Great aroma, great taste and the preparation is great for colds and coughs. Actually this is just the thing for rainy days. Chennai usually has no rains in this season but we recently had a sudden downpour and this rasam is just right for rainy weather, to be had with hot rice and ghee. Some people just use the dried stems of the plant or the dried fruits to make rasam or kashayam. This is the more traditional preparation. Anyway do try and source a small cutting of the creeper because it grows luxuriantly and you can have this aromatic preparation whenever the mood takes you.
Piper longum is a warm and aromatic herb which removes toxic build up from cell walls. It stimulates the digestive fire but is excellent in a weight loss programme because it gets rids of stagnant matter in fat tissues. It cleanses skin and slows down aging. I am told it also smoothes wrinkles. In an article entitled "Phytochemical and Therapeutic Potential of Piper longum" published in the 'International Journal of Research in Ayurveda and Pharmacy', the immune-enhancing properties of the plant has been scientifically established. The paper also goes on to refer to the plant's anti-asthmatic property as well as its liver-protective ability. The herb in fact helps in the regeneration of damaged liver cells. In addition the paper states that Piper longum lowers cholesterol, has anti-inflammatory, anti-amoebic and anti-bacterial properties. However, its use should be avoided during pregnancy or while the mother is lactating. This seems a reasonable precaution as the herb is of the ushna viryam or heat-producing type.
So please go ahead and try this rasam but wait till the weather is cool or it is raining. Piper longum is indeed one of the wonderful herbs in the Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia which is well worth getting familiar with and growing in our home kitchen garden or if necessary even in flowerpots.
--- The writer is retired Additional Chief Secretary, Government of Tamil Nadu. She can be reached at Sheelarani.arogyamantra@gmail. com. Earlier articles can be accessed at http://arogyamantra.blogspot.com/