Thulasi Kashayam | Holy Basil Tea for Cough and Cold

This was the post that was supposed to to have been featured first in this the theme –Home remedies for BM #45, Week 3 mainly because this recipe was the one that gave me a sort of confidence to stick on to home remedies even after tons of medicines failed to do their jobs.


I was suffering from a haggling cough for almost a fortnight and the antibiotics did not seem to work. I was so fed up that I gave up on those meds and made this concoction. And the result was definitely something that I was happy with!

Since then I have been making this and giving my kids when ever I see the first signs of cold and cough.And surprisingly the kids don’t mind taking this instead of the meds.

If you have a Holy Basil plant in your garden , then that’s all you need along with a few kitchen staples.

I used:

Holy Basil leaves /Thulasi – a handful
Ginger- a 2″ piece
Pepper- 1 teaspoon
Ajwain / Carom seeds-1 teaspoon
Palm sugar / palm candy to sweeten the concoction

Wash the thulasi leaves and discard the twigs.Use only the leaves.
Using a motor and pestle make  a coarse paste of all the ingredients except the sweeter .
Bring to boil 2-3 cups of water and add the ground paste and simmer till it reduces to 3/4 its original quantity.Remove from heat. Strain and add the sweetener.

Note:

• Sometimes I add honey instead of palm candy and the kids love it this way.
• Do not add sugar as it is really not a good substitute. Use honey / palm sugar / palm candy

Disclaimer : This is not a medical advice. This remedy has worked for me. If symptoms persist consult your physician.

Bon Appetit…