Couple Spa Experience ‘Stay In Touch’ That Connects, At Hablis Hotels

July 18, 2016July 27, 2016 / mythoughtlane / 2 Comments

Spending quality time with your partner attains a new meaning when you take this couple-treatment “STAY IN TOUCH” at the Spa in Hablis Hotels. Staying in touch can be at a deeper level, with the calm and serenity of the spa space letting you connect as you unwind. Like they say, one connects better when the mind is calm and at peace. So it was at this beautiful Spa on the top floor of the hotel, overlooking the blueness of the swimming pool.

Perched On The Rooftop

Overlooking the swimming pool from the Spa at Hablis Hotels

A romantic getaway with your loved one.

What strikes you at once is the beauty of this place, being surrounded by the five elements of nature, water, wood, air, stone and fire. The concept is to make one feel as close to nature as possible.

It is quite unlike most other spas in the city where natural sunlight is shut out and the spaces are illumined by dim lights and candles. Jessy, the therapist explains that at Hablis Spa they believe in letting sunlight stream through gently, thereby energizing the spa recipients in the most natural way.

The Spa lounge at Hablis Hotels by day

The first thing I noticed as soon as I stepped into the Spa is that it is just cool enough. That right balance of temperature, not so cold as to ask for an extra cover. There is the pleasant fragrance of aroma oils lingering in the air that sets-in the relaxing mood. The lounge is aesthetically appointed to seat their guests while the therapists take you through the ritual of the awaiting spa therapy.

And this is how pretty it looks by night !

Spa lounge at Hablis Hotels by night

A soft, white robe made from 100% Turkish cotton is handed to you to change into, while you secure your belongings in a locker in the Hydrotherapy Chamber.

A tastefully decorated Uruli pleases your eye as you walk towards the cabin set for the therapy. Most guests stop to take a picture of the Uruli I am sure, just like I did.

Welcome Uruli at the Spa at Hablis Hotels

The Welcome Foot Bath

The Foot Bath is another welcome sight. The ritual is akin to India’s traditional way of welcoming guests in days of yore. Staipa, the male therapist explains that at Hablis Spa, the best of Eastern and Western practices and techniques are harnessed to give their guests as holistic an experience as possible.

Foot Bath at the Spa at Hablis Hotels

Soothing warm water is mixed with milk and certain flower petals along with coffee beans in another Uruli to soak and stimulate the feet. If you are wondering why coffee beans, read more about coffee’s magical effect on tired feet. After the feet are soaked and you think its done, more pampering happens. The nerve-endings in the feet are stimulated by rubbing on them rounded stone pebbles and one can feel the tensions in the body oozing away already. You are then led to your spa bed and allowed to take in slow, deep breaths and bask in pleasant anticipation of the massage.

The Stay In Touch Therapy Massage

Couple massage beds at the Spa at Hablis Hotels

Mind and body begin to align as you lie on the bed sheathed cozily with soft pristine white towels instead of the robe and eyes masked gently to set in that meditative mood. Staipa begins the massage for the male while Jessie does so for the female guest, starting with the feet and then working upwards, combining slow pressure and expert hand movements with gentle stretching to unwind tight muscles and slip into a blissful state. Call it a duet experience if you will. You know your partner is around you, connected to you in a surreal kind of way and there is nothing more beatific than that.

Preblended relaxing aromatic oils at the Spa at Hablis Hotels

A sense of well-being pervades as the relaxing pre-blended signature aroma oils start working their magic on both bodies. Lost in time, you are left wanting for more when the therapists gently wake you up from your snoozes. Its kind of comforting to know that the ritual is not over yet and there is something more to look forward to.

The Rose Petal Milk Bath

Rose petal bath – representative picture only

Time to soak into more goodness as the couple-bath tub is filled with warm water, a generous dose of milk and rose petals, rock salt and a gentle shower gel. If the aromatic oils have left you feeling light in mind and body, the rose petal milk bath will take that sense of well-being to the next level. Eased of toxins and tensions, softness engulfs your skin.

While we all know about the benefits of milk and rose petals for the skin, a small note on what rock salt does to our bodies.

It can be used as a bath or body salt. You can mix a table-spoon of rock salt in your bath water to have a relaxing bath. Bathing in rock salt water combats water retention, soothes sore muscles, regulates sleep, detoxifies your body and lowers your blood pressure. It also eases stress and body pains. Courtesy : Stylecraze.

Stay in the bath as long as you want, you are allowed thirty minutes to do so. And when you are done with that , step into the steam and shower chamber. Suit yourselves as you regulate the temperature and steam with the red knob on the wall opposite. Now indulge in a shower to complete the cleansing with a gentle herbal shampoo and a shower gel. Feels so light that you wish you could just be carried out and did not have to walk !

An elixir awaits you as you change into your clothes and come back to the foyer. You can choose between their signature herbal tea or a refreshing mocktail.

Herbal tea elixir at the Spa at Hablis Hotels

Time to head home, back to reality, but I think the indulgence can continue with a glass of wine perhaps or just slip into blissful sleep in the comfort of your bed. Most often, we go to the spa for a me-time, but this Stay In Touch duet experience is clearly an our-time.

It could be a great gift idea

For your partner’s special day
For your anniversary
To make your partner simply feel special and wanted
For your friend’s anniversary
For a newly-wed couple
For your parents, on their special day or just like that

Spa Details

Venue : The Spa at Hablis Hotels
Duration : Two hours
Tariff : INR 6500 + taxes
Timings : 9.00 am to 9.00 pm
Gift Vouchers available
For bookings : Call 044 4203 5555

Hablis Hotels, 19 GST Road, Guindy, Chennai 600032, India, Tel : 91 44 4023 5555

Health And Fitness, Go The Natural Way Says Milind Soman At Hablis Hotels

June 26, 2016June 26, 2016 / mythoughtlane / 7 Comments

When Milind Soman talks on fitness, people listen. We listened too in rapt attention, at Hablis Hotels. A chat session on fitness and nutrition was organized at the hotel. Milind Soman, the brand ambassador for Pinkathon was staying at Hablis for their Chennai run and how could we let him go without engaging him in his pet subject and ours too? Wellness!

The Hablis-Pinkathon team

Hablis Hotels has been Pinkathon’s hospitality partner, rather the wellness partner for the last two years and Milind Soman and his entire team do not have to struggle with their wellness needs as the hotel understands. They love the ambience and the hotel’s commitment to mind-body-social wellness.

More about Milind Soman and Pinkathon:

Running 1500 kilometres in 30 days for Greenathon-NDTV to spread environmental awareness, he became a Limca record holder. A national swimming champion, he has sports and fitness in his blood I guess. In 2015, he completed the Ironman Triathlon in 15 hours and 19 minutes in his very first try. What did he have to do to win this title ? A 3.8 km swim, a 180.2 km cycle ride and 42.2 km race in that order without a break and required to complete within 16 hours. Whew! I am burning calories just writing this!!

In 2012, Pinkathon , India’s largest womens’ only running event was set up under his guidance to promote good health and spread breast cancer awareness and has since then been conducting runs in several cities of India every year.

Milind Soman, the Pinkathon ambassador

Coming back to the wellness chat with the fitness freak that Milind Soman is, we gathered around him with the hotel’s chef team and many other wellness enthusiasts to collect as many health tips from him as we could. He had a point, he wished to address the chefs, for it is they he said that need to understand wellness as they roll out dishes that satiate the palates of the guests. He encouraged chefs to spend time working out despite their crazily busy schedules. A fit chef is a live example of what healthy lifestyle can do to a body. At the end of the session, he donned the chef’s hat and whipped up a simple healthy salad.

Chef Sathya and Milind Soman at Hablis Hotels

Milind Soman dons the chefs hat at Hablis Hotels and mixed a healthy salad

So they begin with the basics. What fosters wellness?

MS : A balanced life in all ways. Right eating, right exercising, enough sleep and mindful living. The word ‘right’ simply translates to ‘mindfulness’ in this context he explains. For when one is mindful, one begins to do most things right, cutting out negative habits, inculcating a positive approach and keeping an open mind. Hablis couldn’t agree more.

Do you know that our bodies produce happy hormones called Serotonin? Serotonin regulates moods and makes us feel happy and these hormones get released into our bodies when we eat healthy food and exercise. Exposure to sun also helps, but make sure you get a few minutes of tender sunlight and not the harsh noon sun. Ask people who exercise and they will tell you what it does to their beings – induces happiness!

How does one determine what is right when it comes to eating, exercising and all else?

MS : Life is all about learning and continuing to learn till our last breath. Remember your grandma’s words? She was and is right. Did she advocate moderation in everything that you did? Follow that. Our ancestors’ fundamentals were strong and that is precisely why most of them kept good health till their ripe old age. Did she use jaggery more often than she used sugar? Did she pour a spoon of ghee on your plate of rice? Did she admonish you in childhood when you grimaced at eating fruits and vegetables but ran out to buy sweetmeats and savouries from the neighbourhood store?

Get back to grandma’s wisdom. Couple them with sensible new-age concepts and you will get wellness on a platter. Getting there is not easy though, you have to become a student first.

FIX : Begin by consulting reliable nutritionists and fitness coaches to know whats best for you and from thereon, become a student of wellness – it can be life-changing!

Milind Soman firmly believes that to become fit and remain that way, we all have to invest time and money in getting familiar with the basics and then on, learning to apply them in our daily lives. True that. Fitness and wellness ‘learned’ will remain with us longer than when we are spoon fed by trainers and nutritionists. We have one body to last us a lifetime, we would do well to train our minds and bodies on the path to fitness.

There is so much information on health out there, it is confusing.

MS : I agree. Read only that is relevant to you, take one step at a time. Adopt simple eating habits and food. Avoid workouts that tax you and leave you drained. And as rule of the thumb, steer clear of crash diets and quick-fix workouts, even if they are suggested by your trainers. Good health is acquired over time, every cell in the body learns to absorb and reacts to every act of us, human beings.

When I say simple food, I am referring to food that is local, seasonal and easily available without having to chase fancy ingredients. Look for nutrition in them and learn to make a balanced meal that consists of carbohydrates, proteins and a reasonable amount of fat. If someone tells you to go off carbs or fat, pause. Unless it comes from your doctor or therapist! Please don’t worry too much about gluten that is being talked about in all circles. Not all are allergic to gluten and till you are, there is no reason to block it out. Try getting most nutrients from the food that you eat everyday.

Milind Soman practices what he advocates. His staple diet be it at home, or while he travels is Khichdi, the simplest dish to make and full of nutrition. It is accompanied by lots of vegetables, and fruits are a part of his breakfast. This is not say that he does not enjoy other foods. He gives in to temptations once in a while, but then sweats it out the next day.

Khichdi, a nutritious Indian delicacy made from rice and lentils

Khichdi is a comfort food but healthy, made from rice and lentils spiced differently in different parts of India. Click here to get a recipe and then browse on google for variations in taste. He touched upon jaggery and ghee and here is what he said:

Jaggery and Ghee :

Jaggery cake at hablis hotels by chef sathya

Chef Sathya baked a jaggery cake at Hablis Hotels to welcome Milind Soman

Milind Soman has moved over to jaggery from sugar long ago. Knowing his passion for jaggery, Chef Sathya of Hablis Hotels baked a jaggery cake to welcome him and it was yummy. We also felt encouraged to bite into an extra piece knowing it was made from natural ingredients. Milind extends a word of caution here : choose dark coloured jaggery, the light shaded ones could be bleached and try to buy it from organic stores – all that said, consume jaggery too in moderation like everything else. A tip worth noting.

MS : Ghee has made a comeback and for good reason. It was never bad, he continues. Ghee became a victim of health fads and thankfully the very same people have now embraced it as a must-eat. One spoon of ghee everyday has tremendous health benefits, but do consult your doctor if you have any health issues.

(More on ghee and jaggery in blogs dedicated to them, there is so much to write about!)

MS : Say No To Refined Foods :

If you wish wellness for you and your families, stay as close to nature as possible. By that I mean,

Consume food made from natural ingredients.
Refined foods are a no-no, they satisfy your palate but add empty calories.
Keep tinned/canned food for emergencies only and discourage your kids at an early age to do so too.
Reward your kid with a healthy food every time they win something, you are doing them goodness for a lifetime.
Similarly, we do not need external health supplements. Eat healthy and balanced meals and try to make food your medicine.
Our ancestors’ (Indian) eating habits are a treasure-house of home remedies. Read, consult, understand and apply those tips and you are well on your way to good health.
Include lots of vegetables and fruits in your everyday meals.
Eat fruits on an empty stomach or eat them one hour before or after a meal. Take this as nature’s command and do not ever eat fruits along with a meal.

I could see a smile of satisfaction on the chefs’ faces, for Hablis strongly implements the ‘no tinned/canned ingredients’ concept. Milind Soman was excited that the hotel uses only fresh and seasonal produce in all its cooking. Chef Sathya and his team do rounds of the market almost every day to procure fresh fruits and vegetables and every sauce and dressing is made in-house.

We see around us a lot of people injuring themselves while working out. What is the best way to exercise?

MS : Start working out under supervision and gradually build your knowledge of the body and workouts. Listen to your body. Challenge it but do not push too many barriers – leave it for later when you are in intermediate or advanced stage of fitness. The safest way to build healthy strong muscles is with body-weight exercises. The chance of injuries is lesser. That is not to gainsay the role of weights in building a fit body, but weights have to be borne with caution and a certain technique.

The key to a toned body is form or posture to begin with. When form is right, you cant go wrong. Practice proper posture in every walk of life. Chefs, you need to be on your feet for most part of your working hours, nothing is more important than maintaining right posture if you want your body to cooperate with your work!! Tuck your tummy in at all times and do not slouch. If you feel good within yourself, you will churn out good food.

Train your bodies for functional fitness. We need energy and a fit body to do all the pulls and pushes in our daily lives. We do not lead our lives in the gyms. I know people that can lift the heaviest of weights at the gym but ask them to bend down and pack a suitcase, they complain of back pain. Focus more on strengthening your body holistically rather than building it for how you want to appear. With fitness comes good posture, with posture comes confidence and with confidence you are bound to look good.

Milind Soman’s workout pattern : Run, run and run and at other times, do body-weight exercises. He runs long distances three to four times a week and works out to strengthen his core and upper body. He has trained to run marathons and is equipped to run right. Running does not come easily to many of us and so let us do what suits our bodies and life-style keeping in mind all of the above. Thank you Milind Soman!

We are hoping to get more from him on health and fitness when he stays at Hablis Hotels next. In the meantime, Hablis Hotels, Chennai’s urban wellness destination has a lot of interesting wellness facilities like their Infinity Swimming Pool, open air fitness zone, Spa with customised soothing, blended oils and all their restaurants serving food made from natural, seasonal fruits and vegetables. You can also take home wellness in jars that comprise of dehydrated fruits, whole spices and spice powders, seeds, millet cookies, jams and pickles. Contact :

Hablis Hotels, 19 GST Road, Guindy, Chennai 600032, India, Tel : 91 44 4023 5555

Sous Vide Cooking Is Futuristic

May 12, 2016May 12, 2016 / mythoughtlane / 2 Comments

I was not a foodie nor a fitness enthusiast once upon a time. I didn’t watch what I ate and I hardly exercised. I had gotten lucky with genes that had gifted me a high metabolic rate. But, pregnancy and childbirth changed all of that. Knocking off post pregnancy weight became a daunting task, but I quickly learnt to eat right and workout hard, kind of fast and furious!

I have come a long way since then and so has my love for a healthy and fit body. I fell in love with mediterranean cuisine, replete with fruits and vegetables. I now don the chef cap often at home, but the focus is on healthy, wholesome yet low calorie food.

I had thoroughly enjoyed watching John Wells movie “BURNT” starring the brilliant Bradley Cooper and was in complete awe of the kitchen scenes. As serendipity would have it I dined at Novella, the rooftop poolside restaurant in Hablis Hotels that serves European fusion food the very next day. The Head Chef walked to our table to chat us up in ‘that’ inimitable way and he turned out to be a product of the Michelin Star hotel in London. I was fascinated! To appease my curiosity, Chef Sathya (CS) took me over to the cooking counters and pointed to a compact machine which bubbled with water and some food packets. “So that is the secret of the fine food you just tasted, its called sous-vide cooking”, he said.

Sous-vide apparatus

I found it so interesting, I had to write about it. So here goes…….

Me : Tell me what is this sous-vide cooking all about.

CS : Sous-vide literally means ‘under vacuum’ in French. It is a method of cooking wherein food is sealed in air-tight plastic bags and placed in a temperature controlled water bath, or a steam environment. The temperatures set in this method are generally much lower than normal cooking, typically around 55-60° C (131-140° F) for meat, and higher for vegetables.

Me : What is the advantage of this method of cooking?

CS : It ensures that the insides as well as the outer layers of the food are uniformly cooked and retain moisture.

Me : So, no water is used to cook the food?

CS : Yes, sealing the food in air-tight plastic bags retains the juices and the aroma that otherwise would get lost in the process. Every food has a certain desired final cooking temperature. So by setting that temperature we avoid over-cooking, because the food cannot get hotter than the bath it is in. With proper setting of time and temperature, even irregularly shaped or thick items get cooked uniformly.

Me : Why is temperature control so important?

CS : Because lower temperatures result in much higher succulence. Unlike food cooked on high temperatures, sous-vide cooking method does not allow cell walls in the food to burst. Meats do not lose their moisture and vegetables while being cooked just right (and pasteurised too) attain a somewhat firm and crisp texture. Besides, the spices and ingredients added and enclosed within the bag transfer their flavour directly to the item being cooked.

There are three simple steps to cook the sous-vide way:

Season the food with your favourite herbs and spices
Vacuum seal the food in a food grade plastic pouch
Drop the pouch in the water bath with the set temperature and walk away to attend to other jobs.

Me : All this sounds too cool. So is this the best method to cook then?

CS : There is only one limitation, that of browning. Since the flavour or the texture achieved by the browning of the food cannot be obtained with the sous-vide cooking technique, we do it before or after placing it in the water bath, by a simple ‘searing’ that gives us the best of both the worlds.

Me : How safe is food cooked this way? What about using the plastic bags?

CS : It is perfectly safe to eat food cooked the sous-vide way, because time and temperature compliment each other in rendering it safe. However, people prescribed pasteurised food can avoid it.

Food grade plastic, polyethylene is used to prepare these specially formulated bags, hence no cause for concern.

Salmon with crushed pepper in the cooking pouch

Salmon with crushed pepper, thyme, rosemary, salt and olive oil

Now for some vegetables………

Vegetables ready to be cooked the sous-vide way

Me : So is this method of cooking only for restaurants or can we use it for domestic cooking too?

CS : Sous-vide cooking technique is used in many high-end gourmet restaurants by master chefs all over the world. Amtrack, the popular American passenger rail-road service uses this method for meals served on their trains. Sous-vide cooking has taken cooking shows on television by storm. Non-professional cooks have started using this method too because it is hassle free. In our restaurant kitchens, we use the most superior sous-vide equipment, but less expensive ones are being made available for domestic cooking in the last few years.

Sir Benjamin Thompson first introduced this technique as long back as 1799 and since then has gone through a lot of improvements to make it the technique it is today.

Me : What kind of foods can you cook sous vide?

CS : All kinds actually! Meats like beef, pork, lamb, chicken, or poultry. Fish and sea-food are best cooked the sous-vide way as there is no fear of over-cooking. Almost all kinds of vegetables and fruits cooked this way yield delicious results. You can even make custard-style ice cream base, béarnaise sauce, crème anglaise, custards, cheese, yogurt, beer, and some cakes. Just about anything that requires a precise temperature to cook properly can be a candidate for sous vide cooking.

Slow poached salmon

Braised leg of the lamb

A few basic food safety tips :

Whether cooking sous vide or with other techniques, it is best to follow these practices :

Make sure food is fresh, of high quality and thoroughly cleaned.
Don’t cross contaminate – use separate cutting boards and storage units for different food, such as vegetables, ﬁsh, fruit, poultry, and meat.
Cook all food properly. Most bacteria are killed at 130F/54.5C, and most sous vide cooking temperatures are higher than that, but it’s a matter of both temperature and time as mentioned earlier.
Serve food right away or follow proper storage and chilling practices, so that you do not leave food out at unsafe temperatures for more than an hour.

For additional food safety and handling tips, we recommend visiting an approved food safety site such as www.foodsafety.gov, www.foodsafety.org or www.fda.gov

And here is a site to find sous-vide recipes : Anova .

My main course had arrived at my table and we walked back. Chef Sathya pointed out to the braised lamb on my plate and said meats from sous-vide cooking always emerged more pink and juicier. And he added, “when cooking sous vide, most foods will taste just as good even if they spend a few extra minutes at a target temperature, letting you relax and attend to the more interesting and creative aspects of cooking. A final important benefit is that the closed bag creates a fully humid environment that effectively braises the food, so ingredients cooked this way are often noticeably juicier and tender”.

He took leave of us with a promise of putting together a sous-vide workshop soon if we could form a group and give him a date. So, if you are from Chennai and are keen on familiarising yourself with sous-vide method of cooking or dining at their fine-dining rooftop restaurant, you can contact :

Address

Hablis Hotels, 19 GST Road, Guindy, Chennai 600032. Tel : +91 4023 5555

Spices That Help Keep Cool In Summer

April 27, 2016April 17, 2019 / mythoughtlane / Leave a comment

Summers are blazing hard in most parts of India and scurrying for cover from the harsh sun into air-conditioned spaces is top of our minds. The loss of appetite, indigestion due to the heat, dehydration, sun-burns, prickly heat, I could go on and on with summer woes. While a lot on ‘hydrating ourselves in summer’ is being written about and suggested, I am taking the spice-route to keeping cool.

According to Ayurveda, summer time is categorised as the ‘Pitta’ or fire season and certain spices can help ease the discomfort the season brings along. Listing a few here with some tips, but its best to get experimental and creative and add these spices in as many foods and beverages as possible. These spices are not specific to Ayurveda alone, but are used in everyday cooking in most cuisines.

Researching these spices was fun, but proved to be a tough job filtering information pertinent to this blog. I would love to write in detail about each spice some day when the need arises. But what stood out amongst all the spices was their power to combat inflammation in the body caused by the rising heat of summer. Thankfully, they are all everyday spices and not some exotic stuff that we have to go looking for. But it’s always best to go for organic produce like these.

Organic Mint :

People turn to mint most often as a remedy for bad breath, but there is more to this herb than being a mouth freshener. It is interesting how mint (pudhina) helps cool the body. See what Naina Marballi, an Ayurveda physician says “Packed with menthol, it helps soothe ‘pitta’ by dispersing heat and cooling you down by opening up the pores of the skin thereby encouraging sweating”.

Add freshly picked mint to your summer salad or lemonade. Actually grow it in your backyard garden, even pot it. Its got its uses throughout the year.
Did you know it eases indigestion and chest pains?
It can relieve heart-burns.
Can be used to lighten sun-damaged skin. Grind mint leaves, mix with rosewater and lemon juice and apply it to the affected areas.

Try this : Get a jar of infused water with watermelon and mint. Keep it refrigerated overnight and sip on it all day long.

Organic Fennel :

Fennel is known as saunf in India and widely used in many cuisines for its nutritional benefits. We are now adding its cooling properties to the list. It is also a popular mouth freshener in many cultures.

They stimulate intestinal juices, hence aid in digestion. They are also known to reduce acid-reflux. Precisely why chewing a few fennel seeds is recommended before and after a meal.
It is an excellent source of Vitamin C and is known to calm inflammation of the stomach and intestine which is on the rise in summer.
Known to protect eyes from inflammation too.

Make this summer energiser : Soak fennel seeds in water overnight. Strain the water, add a pinch of sugar, black salt, lemon or anything else you like. Replace refined sugar with palm sugar for added benefits and drink it the next morning.

Organic Turmeric :

freshly ground turmeric from organically grown roots, my thought lane

Freshly ground organic turmeric

The golden hue of turmeric is mesmerizing visually and how it adds that dash of colour to food! It is also known as the wonder spice, Ayurveda’s favourite.

Turmeric cleanses the liver and purifies blood.
With the healthy chemical ‘circumin’ at its heart, turmeric promotes healthy heart functions.
With its astringent properties, it acts as an inflammatory agent, is an anti allergen and an anti bacterial. All the above go into lending it excellent cooling properties.

Most of Indian cooking uses turmeric in at least one of the dishes, for our grannies knew better than us about its healing properties.

You must try this : You can make a delicious and soothing tea using honey and turmeric paste.

Bring four cups of water to a boil.
Add one teaspoon of ground turmeric and reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes.
Strain the tea through a fine sieve into a cup, add honey and/or lemon to taste.

Organic Green Cardamom :

Just the word cardamom sends whiffs of flavourful fragrance to your olfactory senses. This is one spice that can be added to almost any Indian dish to add that ‘goodness aroma’ to food.

It is known to counteract stomach acids and relieve stomach cramps.
It is a good digestive aid, just why cardamom is added to most rich foods.
Why, in India, it is even added to tea, making it ‘masala chai’!

Try This : Cardamom can be added to a cup of cold and warm milk alike to turn them into comfort beverages. Add it to lemonades, smoothies, desserts or simple plain yogurt.

Organic Coriander:

Precious coriander is treasured in India, China, Europe and North Africa as a highly cooling herb, as also to flavour meats and vegetables. The seeds and the leaves of the coriander plant are both cooling when used in foods. In Europe, it is more popularly known as Cilantro.

It is known to stabilise blood sugar and aids digestion.
It tones down the inflammation in our bodies caused by the heat.
It is known to contain oil in it that makes it a great relaxant.
Coriander aids appetite and digestion.

Remember to eat this herb raw – when cooked it wilts and loses its flavour. Hence, chefs always sprinkle their dishes with the leaves for the finishing touch. But the seeds are almost always ground into fine powder to be used to flavour dishes while they get cooked.

Organic Saffron :

Saffron is another versatile spice that is widely used in sweets as well as curries and meats. This spice is known to be a mood enhancer and that is due to its cooling fragrance and flavour. It is even used in teas and beverages, adding a certain richness to every dish or beverage.

Try this summer beverage : Add some saffron and a couple of cardamom pods to boiling water and let it boil for a few seconds. Add tea bags to it and allow it to steep to the desired strength. Strain it and sweeten with your favourite sweetener.

Organic Cumin :

The very aroma of cumin is cooling. A savoury spice that adds oodles of taste to grain dishes, vegetable recipes and soups.

Used in small amounts, it acts as a detoxifying and a cooling agent.
It is known to remedy bloating issues due to accumulation of gas in the body.
When someone around you has prickly heat issues, remember to include cumin in their diet.
Drinking cumin water induces sleep and rest.

Beat the heat : Add Cumin powder to buttermilk to give that extra dollop of taste and cooling.

Organic Cinnamon :

Cinnamon is a spice that can cool in summer and warm you up in winter.

It reduces inflammation, lowers cholesterol and increases brain power.
It regulates blood sugar and here is something interesting, it can curb your cravings if you have a sweet tooth. So all those watching their weights, time to add cinnamon to your diet regularly.

The herbs and spices nature has provided us with are a bounty of health benefits. Very often, or almost always we tend to focus merely on the taste and flavour aspects. I stand guilty too till I started blogging about these spices. It helps if we are to use these everyday spices knowing their medicinal properties. One way of reminding ourselves is to probably make a chart of the spices and pin them on somewhere in the kitchen.

Just like so many of you I am going the organic way too, wherever and whenever I can.

Wishing Wellness ! So long !