WV4 ~ Ginger Buttermilk (Allam Majjiga)

Nitya Malli from Frontyard
Nitya Malli (Vinca/Periwinkle)

Morning:
A glass of ragi ganji without sweetener
Was in a rush, so just had few pieces of apple

Noon:
Half cup of leftover Pea Sprouts Soopa with Kale
One cup of Spinach sautéed with onion and fresh garbanzos
One cup of Tomato dal in rasam consistency

Evening:
A glass of ginger flavored buttermilk from homemade yogurt

Night:
One cup of cut carrots and cucumbers
One big bowl of hot tomato rasam
For dessert: half apple grated and added to a cup of cold soymilk. No smoothie but tasted good on this warm summer night.

Workout:
Weights and Abs class, and an hour walk at the gym – morning
Gardening in the evening

In retrospect:
Busy day, stressed out by evening and that triggered carbo cravings. Big bowl of hot, hot tomato rasam and cold ginger buttermilk saved the day.

Indian Yogurt, Ginger and Kavvam
Indian Yogurt, Ginger and Kavvam

Ginger Flavored Buttermilk (Allam Majjiga)

Ginger buttermilk saved the day many times in my life. My mother prescribes it to comfort stomachache, headache, sunstroke and lack of energy. It’s a cure-all elixir in her world. Continuing the tradition is this amma’s daughter. There is a saying in the Sutras “Just as nectar is for Gods, buttermilk is for humans”. I believe it.

Preparing buttermilk at home is very easy.

Take a ladle full of homemade yogurt in a glass. Add a pinch of salt. Churn with a Kavvam (traditional wooden churner from Bharath) until well blended. Then add a cup of water and churn again until a light froth appears on top.

To flavor the buttermilk with ginger: Take a thumb sized fresh ginger. Peel the skin and grate it finely. Take the grated ginger with your fingers and squeeze the ginger juice into buttermilk. Churn again until well mixed.

Enjoy this refreshing drink after a meal. You could also add few pieces of crushed ice or ice cubes for that cold effect. Ginger buttermilk is a neat alternative, if you are trying to avoid caffeinated drinks.

Allam Majjiga
Allam Majjiga ~ for Today’s Meal

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17 Responses to “WV4 ~ Ginger Buttermilk (Allam Majjiga)”

  1. Nirmala says:

    I love this nithya malli and the subtle scent if you dig your nose into the flower almost 😉 (its that subtle).
    Yeah, ginger with buttermilk is a real cure for stomach ailments. Good that u’re back in form. You can as well have some coconut ginger chutney to mix with you guggulu to make it easily digestible. The eclipse heated up my body like an oven and with oil bath I cooled it down now. 🙂

  2. DK says:

    My mother used to make ginger halwa which used to taste like heaven! Never knew of the buttermilk though! sounds perfect..will try 2morrow. thanks for the recipe Indira

  3. Nitya says:

    Hello Indira,
    I have been a regular to your site for many many months now. It’s a shame that I didn’t leave you a comment sooner though. The way you describe and the pictures you put up send me instantaneously into a blissful state. I love buttermilk too, and remember amma always telling me “Majjiga,Amrutham tho samanam”, which I truly believe. Good luck with the diet and thank you so much Mahanandi. It’s a home away from home for me. 🙂

  4. Dee says:

    Yes Indira , it is indeed a saviour. , a great alternative to caffeinated drinks. I used to add some lemon juice too instead of salt along with ginger when i was pregnant.

  5. ranjan says:

    Indira, sounds wonderful. Love ginger, must try it this evening. Periwinckle looks beautiful.

  6. Sudeshna says:

    Hi Indira,
    Looking at your pic with the kavvam made me remember my mother’s technique of preparing ghol (Bengali for butter milk), she still relies on manual churners rather than the electric hand mixer.

  7. tigress says:

    this sounds absolutely delicious indira! we went to turkey recently where their national drink called ayran, is exactly as you’ve described minus the ginger. I have been drinking it daily since we came home. but i love ginger so i will try it this way. thanks!

  8. Padmaja says:

    Indira,

    I use a japanese ginger grater that would grate the ginger for your allam majiga perfectly.

    http://www.amazon.com/Kyocera-6-5-Inch-Ceramic-Grater/dp/B000KKK4YC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1248350643&sr=8-1

    If you get the grater, I hope you will feature it in a post. It’s one of my most treasured kitchen tools.

    Thanks for your WV posts. I’ve been looking for something like this for a long time. My only doubt is how/what would I feed the rest of the family?

  9. kalva says:

    i would love it with jeera

  10. Sowmya says:

    Whether I am interested in your recipes or not, I cant afford to miss your clicks, even a simple recipe of yours will have amazing photography. I am a big fan of that.

    Ginger in majjiga seems new and great. I love ginger flavour, will try it today itself.

  11. krithika says:

    This flower is called Sadabahar in Hindi and I believe has a lot of medicinal power and is used in the treatment of diabetes.

  12. srividya says:

    buttermilk is a regular at most homes. but this is a nice way of incorporating ginger into daily regime. ginger is used regularly in curries and in ayurveda its prescribed with honey.nice alternative! love ginger tea too.but buttermilk is better than tea anyday!

  13. Jaya says:

    Hi Indira,
    Just loved your pics and the vratham menu you have given.
    Preparing buttermilk…ah!! that triggers old memories, everyday morning my granny used to sit with a big pot of yogurt and churn it with this mathu ( in tamil), she used to say early mornings are best time to make buttermilk. However, after churning, she used to seperate the butter and the buttermilk…the butter would later be melted and used to prepare ghee. Hmm…I just love the fresh buttermilk aroma..

  14. Kalyani says:

    wow love the buttermilk … pictures look great indira … love this flower … it smells so good …..

  15. Kay says:

    The ginger flavored buttermilk sounds great, Indira! I’ll give it a try soon.

  16. vineela says:

    Hi Indira,
    Even i made the same majjiga today for wv.Here it is very hot today and i dont have an excellent choice than this healthy buttermilk.
    thanks for sharing.Love the picture.

  17. Jenni says:

    This sounds really refreshing. I make a hot ginger tea, which I also ice to make iced ginger tea. It’s a very healthy drink, sweetened with a bit of jaggery, and full of nuturing spices. I have some good pictures on my blog: http://mangosoup.blogspot.com/2009/08/ginger-tea.html

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