Suddenly the weight watching world has discovered the magical properties of jeera but we have been having the jeera chai as a health drink for ages, says ROSHANI DEVI
Surfing the net the other day, I was amazed to read about the newly discovered weight loss properties of the good old jeera (cumin seeds)! One teaspoon can lose up to 15 kg of weight, they claim quite unbelievably.
But yes jeera is packed with potential for all kind of ailments and treatments. Kerala, for example, has been sipping this water for years as a digestive drink which also deals with all the chillies in the region’s cuisine.
In Himachal, we have been having it for ages as delicious and healthy chai. My grandmother told me jeera chai was the real answer to enjoying your cuppa without all the nicotine. She gave it to me when I was gaining weight as a teenager; she gave it to me when I had loosies; she insisted I have it regularly on an empty stomach through the winters, and that was not just for warmth but also for the easiest and most natural detox I could think of. Jeera works at multiple levels because it is rich in antioxidant and phytosterols. Phytosterols are natural substances of plant origin similar to cholesterol in structure and function. They inhibit the absorption of harmful cholesterol in the digestive tract, which explains why it has wondrous weight-reducing effect.
My recipe: Soak a teaspoon of jeera overnight in a litre of water. In the morning, boil the water for at least 5 minutes to get out all the juices of the jeera. Boil till it turns pale. Put it through the sieve, squeeze a dash of lemon and black salt into it. Sip to your heart’s and weight’s content.