Recipes – № 34
Golden Milk
Turmeric and ginger are well known for their healing properties in much of South and South East Asia. In India, turmeric in particular is often used to treat colds. I’m more of a fatalist when it comes to healing colds and I’ve long subscribed to the German adage that, depending on how you treat a cold, it can last as long as 7 days or as little as a week. However, when the medicine tastes and feels this good, who cares? It’s slurped hot and flavored with Indian spices such as cardamom and black pepper in addition to the ginger and turmeric, and together they make the milk fragrant, lend it just the perfect amount of gentle heat and color it a luxurious yellow.
Serves 4
1 quart milk
2½-inch piece of fresh turmeric root. Around 1 Tbsp chopped. Alternatively, use 1 tsp of dried ground turmeric.
1-inch piece of fresh ginger root. Around 1 ½ Tbsp chopped.
16 black peppercorns
8 cardamom pods
8 cloves
2 tsp pollen (to intensify the honey flavor without excessive sweetness, optional)
5 Tbsp of honey, or more to taste
Equipment: mortar and pestle
Wash and chop the fresh turmeric root (if using) and ginger root. Use gloves for chopping the turmeric if you want to avoid staining your fingertips yellow for a day or two. No need to peel either root, since you’ll be straining the milk before serving. Remove the seeds from the cardamom pods and grind in the mortar and pestle along with the peppercorns and cloves.
Bring all the ingredients except for the honey to a boil, stirring occasionally initially and more frequently as the milk nears the boiling point. Remove from the heat immediately once the froth starts rising from the milk to avoid boiling over. Pass through a fine sieve or mesh skimmer and sweeten with the honey. Serve hot.
Recipe adapted from healwithfood.org.
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