Not feeling hungry today?
I will make a cup of sonti coffee for the appetite.
Ate too much food at the party?
Would you want me to prepare sonti kashayam for better digestion.
Food was not good yesterday at the restaurant. My stomach is upset
Have a cup of sonti tea to calm the over working stomach.
I am tired and feeling little bit nauseous after the long day of shopping.
You sit there and rest. I will bring a hot cup of sonti coffee for you.
My head is hurting with this cold and cough.
There, there, have this cup of hot sonti tea. By tomorrow, you will be like a daisy.
Sonti Powder and Sonti
For everything and anything, sonti is the treatment at my home. Sonti tea, Sonti coffee and Sonti kashayam are prescribed to cure and to relieve almost all types small ailments from stomach upsets to cold and cough. Most of the time, they work fine.
Sonti, the dried form of ginger root is equally given importance along with fresh ginger in Ayurveda for its healing properties. Though sonti looks mild and all dried out, it is some potent stuff. The strong flavor and aroma are really energetic in small doses. At our home, if you go back to one generation before us, they’d start and end their day with a cup of sonti drink. For small ailments, whether one believes in capsules pushed on by multimillion dollar ad blitzes or in age old medicine, what matters is the trust that the stuff we would put in our bodies could comfort and relieve the symptoms. For us, the magic cure-all potion still hasn’t lost its magic.
Recipe :
From just a pinch to a tablespoon of sonti powder is added to a cup. Amount varies on individual preference and tolerance. We like to add a teaspoon of powder to a cup. Not too much, not too little, you would definitely notice the sonti taste.
To powder sonti, take sonti pieces in a mortar and pound them to smooth powder. We usually prepare powder for one month’s worth and store it in a tight lid box.
To prepare sonti tea and coffee: start the coffee/tea preparation like you normally do. And at the end add the sonti powder. Simmer few seconds. Strain. Pour to a cup and enjoy the tea enriched with sonti powder.
Sonti Tea and Sonti Coffee – Perfect for Mistress of Spices
Caution: Highly acquired taste
More about Sonti Coffee – here
Sonti Kashayam (Dried Ginger Ale) – Recipe
great indira,
sonti is chukku in malayalam. though we don’t use it for cooking much, an absolute must in any good kitchen. as a remedy for, as you said, everything from headache and cold to indigestion. the only precaution is that, (from which Andhraites might be excluded !) that its hot and heat-generating. so, lesser use during scorching summers. has a tendency to increase body heat.
for indigestion, we have a home remedy. take some buttermilk (from all traces of butter has been strained off), boil with a pinch of turmeric powder, a piece of crushed chukku (sonti), a couple of curry leaves and salt to taste.
stir continously, without stopping, until the buttermilk boils over and turns bright yellow.
this type of ‘moru kachiyathu,’ is the ultimate remedy for all and every stomach ailment at our home. and the invariable convalescent food after a bout of fever.
though buttermilk is not good for cold or fever, it is said that boiling with chukku and manjal (turmeric), reduces that property.
Indira replies:
Same at my house, we don’t use it for cooking and but this is one thing we will always keep in stock.
Our home remedy is similar to yours except that instead of buttermilk, we add sonti(chukku) and sometimes turmeric to milk or to plain water to prepare ‘kashayam’.
Interesting to know to all these things about sonti and thanks so much for sharing, Renu.!
Comment by renu — June 12, 2006 @ 11:18 am
Even tamilians call it chukku. My mother often uses this for kashayam. I have some that she got last time. Now I know what to make. Thanks Indira.
Indira replies:
You are welcome, Krithika.
Comment by Krithika — June 12, 2006 @ 11:51 am
Hi Indira,
Nice entry and good writeup with nice pictures.
vineela
Indira replies:
Thanks Vineela.
Comment by vineela krishna — June 12, 2006 @ 1:00 pm
Hi Indira, I love ginger and sonthi too 🙂
Your first point was about building up appetite using sonthi…is there any fix to kill the apetite and reduce weight? :))
I would definitely love to see that!
Indira replies:
Don’t we all? 🙂
How about drinking lots of water in-between meals. That would fill the stomach and kill the appetite for junk foods.:)
Comment by Supriya — June 12, 2006 @ 1:16 pm
Nice way to remind us all of old-time techniques. We also make kachiya mor as Renu mentioned above. Great post as usual. Boy, you take your coffee strong 🙂
Btw, where did you buy the cup on the left? It looks great…
Indira replies:
Thanks Mika.
We call our coffee ‘gunshot coffee’, that strong. 🙂
Do you remember ‘Service Merchandise’ department stores? (They filed for bankruptsy and closed shops few years ago.) We bought these small cups from that shop. They are cappuccino cups, I guess you know that already.:)
Comment by mika — June 12, 2006 @ 1:39 pm
Indira,
thanks for the great idea! Just exactly what I need… after cooking for guys (World Cup!)… am going to make this sonti tea, probably one more sonti coffee later…
Indira replies:
Soccer fans, aha…all that shouting, excitement. You need sonti drink definitely. 🙂
Comment by gattina — June 12, 2006 @ 1:56 pm
Dear Indira,
Nice post about chukku. I didn’t know it’s available in Indian stores here. Thanks for the info.
Also there is a contest going on in Foodnetwork. I hope some of you wud be interested..
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/contests_offers/text/0,1904,FOOD_9817_47381,00.html
Indira replies:
You are welcome and thanks for the link to Food network contest.
Comment by JustLikeThat — June 12, 2006 @ 4:36 pm
I hardly ever get sick, but was sick as a dog for a month this past wet winter in California. I drank cups and cups of hot ginger tea. I never thought of ginger coffee – that sounds great!
The dried whole ginger is available in Indian stores here in northern California. I just discovered it recently and have taken to grinding my own ginger as needed in small batches. It’s so much more fragrant than the pre-powered kind.
I love the fact that you branch out from recipes to this kind of thing – it’s knowledge I wouldn’t find anywhere else!
Indira replies:
I hope you are doing better now. Sometimes, body crashes without no reason, I know.
Ginger tea is great to clear the head. Ginger coffee is little bit acquired taste same with sonti also. Give it a try and see how you like it.
Food blogging is great, no editors to filter out the information saying ‘too ethnic, too folksy or not scientific’ etc.:)
Thanks Diane!
Comment by Diane — June 12, 2006 @ 7:49 pm
I knew it will a totally different post! Was waiting for it! Sweet!
Hope you dont mind, but an off topic:
Saw your comment on Sumitha’s Kitchen Wonders about cassava/kappa/tapioca.If you havent made this before,just wanted to tell you that you should peel two layers of skin for the fresh cassava, the brown one and the pink one inside,then boil the diced pieces and strain the water when it boils, add water again, when it boils strain it again. It is very important to strain it twice, when you cook cassava. Sometimes the cassava can cause mild irritant to your unaccustomed stomache if not strained. Have and enjoy this delicious dish from Kerala. It replaces rice and is a main dish, so you can have it instead of rice or chapathi with any gravy.
Indira replies:
I totally thought the date was July 4th. Problem with numbers.:)
Got it, LG. Thanks so much for sharing this information on kappa. I’ll certainly follow your suggestions and I want my first experience a pleasant one. 🙂 Thanks again!
Comment by L.G — June 12, 2006 @ 9:05 pm
Indira; thank you for the wonderful recipe! I will definitely be trying this the next time I’m ailing…
Indira replies:
Try it first with tea, Stephanie. It’s just like fresh ginger tea but without that fresh smell of ginger.
Comment by Stephanie — June 13, 2006 @ 4:23 pm
Hi Indira
I like the way u present your recipies…and the choice u makeabout the vegetables..each of a diiferent kind..and this Ginger tea is awesome..
Indira replies:
Thanks, RV.
Comment by Regular visitor — June 13, 2006 @ 5:33 pm
I love the taste of ginger. The stronger the better. I have been adding it to my tea for a long time without knowing that it was medicine. Have you ever tried the ginger flavored Altoids?
Comment by Keith — June 17, 2006 @ 12:34 am
Very good photos and good recipes, esp for bachelors like me.
Comment by Ravi — October 31, 2006 @ 8:14 pm
you have wonderful photos with good recipes everyone should be interested in using them.I want to see more of your products in nigeria.Has a student me and my friend will want to use sonti tea and coffee.Thank you
Comment by samuel kayode — September 17, 2007 @ 6:59 pm
Indira please can you clarify my doubt. M new to US of A , I am missing filter cofee as
I didn’t bring, can I replace Cofee maker for my traditional indian coffee filter
Thankyou
Kalyani
Comment by kalyani — November 4, 2007 @ 8:48 am
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Pingback by Tofu for Two » Orange Ginger Spice Drink — April 19, 2008 @ 7:41 am
sonthi I think can be used as medicine for swelling of body/body parts due to vatam. Get me feed back after using sonthi. Sonthi power can be preparted after heating sonthi against fire and then to be pounded. Directly it cannot be put in mixy since it has fibre. The sonthi pouder (half spoon can be mixed with rice)and eat first before starting meals.
Comment by Murali Krishna Kasibhatta — March 3, 2010 @ 10:35 am
sonthi powder after processing (ie. putting sonthi against fire for getting dried and pounding and then mix salt) to be mixed daily with rice and eat one or two muddas (neembu size). This will help in reducing kapha and generates heat in the body and works against welling of body/body parts
Comment by Murali Krishna Kasibhatta — March 3, 2010 @ 10:43 am
Is the sonti powder same as dry ginger. In order to treat for swelling does anything else need to be added.
Comment by Ritika — August 9, 2010 @ 11:36 pm
hi,nice receipe thanqs to indira
Comment by sehana — July 7, 2011 @ 12:56 am
Been using Sonthi for past two weeks REGULARLY. My blood sugar levels decreased appreciably as I am taking it supplementary medicine for my diabetes,apart from regular allopathy medicines to which I am becoming RESISTANT gradually.
Comment by Prasad Palukuri — November 10, 2015 @ 11:06 am
hi,nice receipe thanqs to indira
Comment by web development company in Jaipur — March 9, 2018 @ 3:29 pm