Recipe for kashAya....

October 11, 2008

Kasturi Akka of Dodda Mane, Agumbe, on 041008e gave me this recipe for the kashAya that they served us (and delicious it was, too!)with 23 ingredients:

Some of the ingredients are still unknown to me; I will be going to the herbs/spices shop and seeing for myself what they are. Before I make this powder, I will be photographing all the separate ingredients.

Kothamalli (coriander seeds) 2 pAv (a pAv is about a quarter kg, perhaps 200g.) Bagly shappu (Saunf, anise) 1 fistful neggina muLLu 1 fistful gasagasa 1 fistful Jeera 1 tbsp pepper 1 tbsp methi (fenugreek) 1 tbsp vAy vilinga 1 tbsp black jeera 1 tsp bitter jeera 1 pinch arisina (turmeric) 1 tsp jEsthamadhu 2" X 4 pcs ashwagandha 2" X 8 pcs shunti (dried ginger) 2" X 4 pcs (Crush jEshtamadhu, ashwagandha and shunti separately first) chekke (dalchini ..lavangapattai in Tamizh) 2 X 2" pcs lavanga (cloves) 15 elakki (cardamom) 15 hipli (thippili in Tamizh) 15 bajE 1 small pc jaikkAi (nutmeg, jAthikkAi in Tamizh) 1 small dry fruit thuLasi kadi (bark of thulasi plant) 1 pc OmA (Omam in Tamizh) 1 tsp amruthavalli 1 pc bellA (jaggery...vellam in Tamizh) two "rounds" or balls as they are available (All these items can be asked for in a "granthigE" shop) All these items must be crushed and powdered. Boil 1 litre of water and add the powder as desired to it, and serve.

I was in a hurry to get this recipe down on paper; now I have to do the research to find out the names of the ingredients!

Here’s the photograph of the kashAya as it was served to us:

kashAya served to us

It’s supposed to be excellent for health (as one can see from this picture of a smiling Kasturi Akka AND her mother)…but it’s certainly excellent on the palate!

kasturi akka and her mother

Lovely to be in touch with such things….