↑
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Recipes A-Z
  • Travel
  • Copyright
  • Media
  • Privacy Policy
  • Shop
  • Contact Me
  • Somethin’ Fishy

Ruchik Randhap

Food & Memories of Mangalore

You are here: Home / All Posts / Kaljiryaso Kasai (Herbal Kashayam / Decoction of Ironweed Seeds) ~ Mangalorea Post Natal Recipe # 1

May 7, 2013

Kaljiryaso Kasai (Herbal Kashayam / Decoction of Ironweed Seeds) ~ Mangalorea Post Natal Recipe # 1

15
SHARES
TwitterFacebook14PinterestPocketTelegramWhatsApp1Yummly
Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
Today’s recipe is the first among the Mangalorean post natal recipe series and is probably the most unpleasant recipe on my blog. Unpleasant only in taste because it is a very bitter potion – a medicinal decoction (reduced tea) made with an unfamous herb. However the health benefits and goodness of nature is anything but unpleasant.(Click to read introductory post!)
Pin

 

Kaljiryaso Kasai is a deadly black & bitter decoction. The first medicine that is served to the new mother after she arrives home from the hospital. It is usually drunk on an empty stomach, served early in the morning. The ritual consists of the decoction freshly brewed, cooled and served with a piece of palm jaggery (pele god / ole bella). The taste is so bitter that it can knock you off your senses if you let the brew linger in your mouth for too long. This is one reason why you are advised to gulp it in one go and quickly pop the jaggery into your mouth in order to negate the bitter taste. Not more than a quarter cup of this decoction is served on three consecutive days as it is believed to remove ‘nanji‘ (a very versatile Mangalorean word that roughly sums up to ‘allergy’) and other post delivery related ailments that get nipped in the bud on consuming this medicine.
While I totally detested this drink during my first delivery, this time around I was curious – so I did taste the brew a bit, made a face, drank some more and then when I felt that my brains would pop out I bit into the palm jaggery – thankfully at first and greedily after that (asking for seconds!)
Pin
Since neither my balnti posteli (live in ayah/nurse) nor my mum, MIL or close relatives knew the botanical name of Kaljire I had a tough job ahead of me. After hours (spread across days) of searching on the net I finally found a few pictures that told me that I was on the right path. Do note that Kalijiri is NOT to be confused with Kala-Jeera (black cumin which belongs to the cumin family)
Pin

 

Kaljire is also known as Kadu Jirigay in Kannada, Kattu Jirakam in Malayalam and Kali Jiri (KALI not KALA and JIRI not JEERA) in Hindi. In English it is known as Ironweed and looks a lot like cloves without the heads.
The botanical names and gyan is as below:
Some excerpts from the net:
Centratherum anthelminticum (L.) KUNTZE (family: Asteraceae) is an erect, pubescent annual herb found widely in the Indian subcontinent which is locally known as “Somraj,” and its seeds are known as “Kalijiri” in Hindi [5, 6]; scientific synonyms for this plant include Vernonia anthelmintica and Conyza anthelmintica, among others. This plant is used extensively in Ayurveda for the treatment of cough and diarrhoea, as well as an anthelmintic, stomachic, diuretic, and anti phlegmatic agent. (Read more). Click here to see how the plant looks like
Pin
I also requested my very good friend Anjum who is a certified nutritionist freelancing in Mumbai to help provide the nutritional benefits of this herb and here’s what she has to say. Thanks Anjum for all your help!
Nutritional Benefits of Kalijiri/Iron Weed 
By Anjum Shaikh,  Nutritionist, Andheri W, Mumbai
It is used as diet therapy for a series of medical issues like diabetes, renal problems as well as in treatment of cancer in some cases. Its also used for medicinal property in Ayurveda, Unani , Homeopathy and Sidha.
It is spermicidal, antiviral and antibacterial and hence useful in treating skin infections. Its also been found effective in treating thread worm infections in hospitals.
There are researches being carried on its health benefits even in USA and other parts of the world and has been found to be good in healing purpose. However, little is known about the calorific value contained in it. But it does contain some oils that have a range of health benefits mentioned above.

 

Nutritional Content of Kalijiri decoction:
Since its only 1 tablespoon of kalijiri, which is boiled and strained, this decoction has 0 calories and 0 proteins. This decoction had antiseptic and healing properties and no calories.

 

Pin
About & Disclaimer: 
The above mentioned information about Ironweed/ Kalijiri has been found after a lot of research on the internet done out of personal interest – I am not a medical practitioner. Use of one’s own judgement before purchasing & preparing this decoction is advised. The nutritional information provided is to be used only as a reference and is not medical advice and hence this ayurvedic preparation should not be used as a substitute to prescribed medication.
Important:
  1. Purchase this ingredient only from renowned ayurvedic shops that have the license to sell medicinal herbs and ingredients. Ensure that packaging contains name of ingredients printed on it. When in doubt, do not purchase.
  2. If you have any medical condition/are undergoing treatment avoid having it or consult your doctor prior to consuming it.

Kaljiryaso Kasai / Kalijiri (Ironweed) Decoction

No ratings yet
Print Rate
Course: Home Remedies
Cuisine: Mangalorean
Keyword: Decoction, Herbal Medicine
Prep Time: 12 minutes
Total Time: 12 minutes
Author: Shireen Sequeira

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoons of kaljeera / Ironweed
  • 2 cups of water

Instructions

  • In a pan bring two cups of water to a boil. Coarsely powder or pound the iron weed and add it to the boiling water and simmer until the liquid reduces to approximately one cup.
  • Remove from flame. Cool and consume - preferably on an empty stomach (early morning). Munch on a piece of palm jaggery to help negate the bitter taste.

Disclaimer

The nutritional values are only indicative.

Tried this recipe?Please leave a comment & rate the recipe below or share a photo on Instagram and tag me @ruchikrandhap
15
SHARES
TwitterFacebook14PinterestPocketTelegramWhatsApp1Yummly

Filed Under: All Posts, Home Remedies, Mangalorean Recipes Tagged With: Centratherum Anthelminticum, Iron Weed, Kadu Jirige, Kalijiri, Kaljire, Kattu Jirakam, Vernonia Anthelmintica

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Comments

  1. PT says

    May 7, 2013 at 11:49 am

    thanks for introducing ironweed seeds.. never head about this..

    Reply
  2. Nisha Shenoy says

    May 7, 2013 at 12:10 pm

    lovely
    My Inhouse nurse gave me. but i refused then she gave me kashaya made from Ajwain seeds.

    Reply
  3. Rumana Ambrin says

    May 7, 2013 at 4:38 pm

    I have never heard of this seeds…

    Reply
  4. Sayantani says

    May 7, 2013 at 5:00 pm

    very informative post. never knew of this sees.

    Reply
  5. Vanamala Hebbar says

    May 8, 2013 at 1:35 pm

    Wonderful …never came to know this kashayam

    Reply
    • Nithya says

      March 18, 2020 at 5:44 pm

      Thankyou dear for sharing this helpful information. would appreciate if you could share some more herbs that were used in your tradition..

      Reply
      • Shireen Sequeira says

        March 19, 2020 at 8:56 am

        Hi Nithya,
        Thanks for your appreciation! I will surely share more information on herbs as and when I come across them 🙂

        Reply
  6. Andrea Rebello says

    May 12, 2013 at 9:46 pm

    Love your posts as always Shireen . Reminiscing about my delivery almost 2 yrs ago when mum brought this interesting (read:horrible!!) mixture to London all the way from mangalore and I had it 3 days in a row !!! Guess you can take a girl outta mlore but not mlore out of a girl

    Reply
  7. Maanasa M says

    May 16, 2013 at 11:09 pm

    Do you recommend any particular Ayuverdic shop in Mumbai to purchase the ironweed?

    Reply
  8. vaishali gaikwad says

    September 10, 2014 at 4:53 am

    Does karunjeeragam in tamil and kadu jeera in marathi are same. Kindly advice

    Reply
  9. Shireen Sequeira says

    September 10, 2014 at 1:16 pm

    @ Andrea: You bet! 🙂 Sorry my comment comes too late!

    @Maanasa: Sorry, I have no idea. Maybe you can google check a bit?

    Reply
  10. Shireen Sequeira says

    September 10, 2014 at 1:18 pm

    @ Vaishali Gaikwad: I have no idea about that. Sorry, maybe you could try googling it a bit

    Reply
  11. Sunny says

    December 2, 2015 at 2:10 pm

    You can purchase it online at http://www.nutramine.in

    Reply
  12. WilliamKing says

    September 20, 2016 at 12:34 pm

    nice

    Reply
  13. Shireen says

    September 27, 2016 at 5:18 am

    @ WilliamKing: Thanks!

    Reply
  14. Ayesha says

    January 8, 2020 at 5:29 pm

    I’ve been trying to gather information about kalijiri for DAYS and your post explains things perfectly! Thankyou!

    Reply
    • Shireen Sequeira says

      January 9, 2020 at 7:08 pm

      I am so glad that your hunt for information ended at my blog! Thank you for stopping by and I hope you come back for more recipes Ayesha!

      Reply
  15. Arti says

    March 16, 2020 at 7:40 pm

    Shireen, I am glad you wrote this. So little is out there on www on this medicine. It took me few minutes to get to your blog- perhaps the only one that talks about ialjire.
    Thank you for saving my time web searching.
    This ingredient and couple others brewed together is a master dote for so many conditions.
    I hope people continue and spread our rich tradition of nature based medicines.

    Reply
    • Shireen Sequeira says

      March 19, 2020 at 8:54 am

      Hi Arti,

      Thanks a lot for your appreciation! I am glad that my post was helpful. Yes, at the time of writing this post even I went in circles trying to even get the English name for this herb. Was lucky to get some inputs from my friend who has an ayurvedic shop and hence the journey of learning more about this herb was started. Thanks for your feedback!

      Reply
  16. Alice says

    September 30, 2020 at 7:29 pm

    Very useful n thanks a ton

    Reply
    • Shireen Sequeira says

      October 2, 2020 at 10:43 pm

      Thanks for the feedback!

      Reply

Primary Sidebar

Looking for Something?

Stay Connected

I am Shireen Sequeira a Mangalorean living in Dubai. I love trying out new recipes and giving them a twist of my own. However, I do try my best to preserve the authenticity of traditional Mangalorean recipes. Know More...

Trending This Week

  • Butter Cake | How To Make Soft & Moist Butter Cake
  • Traditional Irish Christmas Cake
  • Gule Sukhe (Black Eyed Peas Sukka)
  • Special Surmai (Kingfish) Curry (With Or Without Coconut)
  • Egg Butter Masala
  • How To Cook Brown Basmati Rice
  • Fish Vindaloo ~ Reader’s Choice!

Subscribe To Receive Recipes Directly In Your Mailbox!

Categories

  • Airfryer Recipes
  • All Posts
    • Recipe Compilations
  • Baby & Toddler
  • Bakes
    • Breads
    • Cakes, Cupcakes & Brownies
    • Cookies, Tarts & Bars
    • Healthy Bakes
    • Pies & Puffs
  • Basic Recipes
  • Beverages
  • Breakfast
  • Chicken
    • Indo Chinese
  • Chutneys Dips & Sauces
  • Coconut Milk Based Recipes
  • Eggs
  • Festive Cooking
    • Christmas
    • Monthi Feast
  • Global Cuisine and Fusion Food
  • Home Remedies
  • Mangalorean Recipes
  • Meal Ideas
  • Mince
  • Mutton Beef and Pork
  • Poli & Seasonal Specialities
  • Preserves
    • Pickles & Jams
    • Spice Blends & Curry Pastes
  • Pressure Cooker Recipes
  • Recipes With Video
  • Restaurant Reviews
  • Rice, Pasta and One Pot Meals
  • Seafood
    • Fish
  • Soups & Salads
  • Starters, Snacks & Savouries
    • Appetizers & Starters
    • Snacks & Savouries
  • Sweets & Desserts
    • Indian Sweets
    • Western Desserts
  • Thanksgiving Recipes
  • The Boshi Series
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized
  • Vegetarian
    • Curries, Dals and Sambhars
    • Paneer
    • Sides
    • Vegan
  • When The Hubby Cooks!

Copyright © 2022 · Ruchik Randhap by Shireen Sequeira · Hosted & Managed by Host My Blog