In Āyurveda
Dhānyaka is the answer to the question every pitta summer asks. Cooling where its cousin cumin is merely calm, it is one of the few spices the tradition hands freely to inflamed stomachs and feverish bodies, the whole plant, root to leaf, is food.
Dravya profile · Dhānyaka
- Part used
- Seed (and fresh leaf as food)
- Tastes
- sweet, pungent, bitter
- Properties
- cooling, light, mild
- Doshas
- vāta · · pitta + · kapha ·
Traditional indications: Cools burning digestion, acidity and acid reflux (pitta-type complaints); Gentle diuretic of the classical list (mūtrala), urinary comfort; Cooling teas in fever and hot weather; Fresh leaf chutney as a daily pitta-pacifying condiment.
Use with caution: Culinary amounts are essentially safe for everyone.
Preparation: Coriander seed tea: steep 1 tsp of lightly crushed seeds in a cup of hot water for 5–10 minutes, for a stronger cooling effect, the classical move is to steep overnight in cool water and drink it in the morning. Seeds also temper dals; the fresh leaf is chutney and garnish.
Used in 8 recipes
References
- Bhāvaprakāśa Nighaṇṭu , Bhāvamiśra (dhānyaka, sweet, cooling, digestive and thirst-quenching)
- Ayurvedic Cooking for Self-Healing , Vasant Lad & Usha Lad