Remedy

Turmeric & Ginger Kadha

An earthy, gently warming kitchen-spice decoction of fresh ginger and a little haldi, for cold weather.

By PranaJiva

Editorial Team

Form
Tea or drink
Preparation
12 minutes
Makes
2 small cups
Best time
After food
Suits
Vata, Kapha
Turmeric & Ginger Kadha

What you need

  • 2¼ cups Water
  • ½ inch Fresh ginger (thinly sliced)
  • ¼ tsp Turmeric powder (haldi) (culinary, or a small piece of fresh turmeric, grated)
  • ½ tsp in total Jaggery (stirred in while warm, optional)

How to make it

  1. Slice the ginger and measure out the turmeric.

    2 minutes

  2. Bring the water to a boil, add the ginger and turmeric, and lower the heat.

    1 minute

  3. Simmer gently, covered.

    6 minutes

  4. Take it off the heat and let it rest.

    2 minutes

  5. Strain through a fine sieve, stir in the jaggery if you are using it, and drink it warm after food.

    1 minute

How much, and how often

Half a cup to one small cup, occasionally, after food. This is a food-level drink — it is not a substitute for, and not comparable to, a turmeric supplement.

Best taken: After food

When to expect a change: Taste and warmth, immediately. This has not been shown to reduce inflammation, treat an infection or improve immunity, and it is not offered for any of those.

Why it works

Food-level, and why that matters

Haridra and ardraka — turmeric and ginger — are two of the most used substances in both the Indian kitchen and the Ayurvedic pharmacy, and a simmered decoction of the two is about as old and ordinary a winter drink as exists.

The confusing part is modern. Almost everything published about turmeric concerns curcumin extracts at doses many times what a quarter teaspoon provides, usually with piperine or a lipid to make it absorbable at all. None of that evidence belongs to this cup, and the honest position is that this is a warming, earthy drink with a long history and no demonstrated effect of its own. Strain it through something fine — turmeric sediment is gritty and unpleasant.

Before you try this

Do not use if

  • You are allergic to ginger or turmeric
  • You have gallstones or bile-duct obstruction
  • A doctor has told you to avoid either of these

Take care

  • Heating in nature, and it can make reflux and stomach irritation worse. Always after food, never on an empty stomach.
  • Talk to your doctor if you take blood-thinning medication, or if you have gallbladder or bile-duct disease.
  • A quarter teaspoon of turmeric in a cup is nothing like a curcumin capsule. Claims made for concentrated extracts do not transfer to this, in either direction.
Pregnancy, breastfeeding & children
Cooking with turmeric and ginger is ordinary and fine. A concentrated decoction of both is a different thing — ask your doctor before taking it regularly in pregnancy, while breastfeeding, or giving it to a child.
How long is too long
An occasional drink in cold weather. There is no treatment course here and no reason to keep it going day after day.

This is traditional Ayurvedic guidance shared for general wellbeing. It is not a diagnosis and not a substitute for medical advice. If a symptom is severe, persistent or worsening, or you are pregnant, taking prescribed medicine or managing a diagnosed condition, speak to a qualified doctor before trying it.

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