Golden Milk

Some days ago I discovered this drink made of milk and turmeric. Turmeric is a plant native to Suoth Asia used mainly as a spice in Indian cooking, turmeric in fact is one of the many ingredients of masala ( we know it  as “curry” which is essentially a mix of ground spices). Turmeric is also called "Indian saffron" because of its bright yellow color that it’s released in the food to which it is added. I read that turmeric has anti-inflammatory medicinal properties and this drink is very suitable for those who suffer from joint problems and is an excellent remedy for any type of inflammation. It’s been a year since my husband  has decided to become an athlete and instead of watching thousands of sports on TV, now in addition to do that, he puts his running shoes on and goes running. Doing sports it’s good for your health and your mind, but it also brings out some little problems like joint pains. Nothing serious, but these nuisances require some solution and so I decided to follow Yogi Bhajan’s advice, he is a Master of the Kundalini yoga discipline and recommends this drink for more articulated and flexible joints. I did some research and I found that the recipe is very simple. You just need to prepare a paste made out of turmeric and water and keep in the fridge. Then every day you prepare the drink by heating a cup of milk, adding the turmeric paste, stir in some sweetener, add sweet almond oil to lubricate the joints and if you like you can also sprinkle a pinch of cinnamon on top. That’s your drink, just heat the milk and it’s ready. I tried it this morning and I found it very nice, the turmeric flavor diluted by the honey which I added as a sweetener. You can’t taste the bitterness of turmeric as claimed by some people who have tried this drink. Just don’t overdo with the turmeric paste. The touch of cinnamon makes it almost as good as a piece of cake in liquid form. If you want to try this drink I recommend you start with a small amount of turmeric and then increase it to meet your taste. The same applies to the sweetener, it is better to avoid refined sugar but you can add honey or other natural sweeteners.
Here are the doses to make the turmeric paste:

• 120 ml / (1/2 cup) of water, preferably mineral water (I didn’t used tap water because it has high levels of  lime and these days it tastes of chlorine)
• 60 ml / (1/4 cup) of turmeric powder (I'm not able to give you the weight because I measured it with cups)

Put the water and turmeric in a small saucepan and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon. Be careful because turmeric stains! When the mixture begins to thicken is ready. Pour it into a glass container, close it with a lid and store in the fridge.

For the golden milk:

• 240 ml / (1 cup) of milk (you can use cow's milk, goat's milk or vegetable ones such as soy or rice milk)
• about 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric paste
• 1 teaspoon sweetener (honey, maple syrup or agave syrup or stevia), optional
• 1/2 teaspoon of sweet almonds oil  (make sure it's the edible kind) or cold pressed vgetable oil
• 1 pinch of ground cinnamon, optional.

Heat the milk and stir in the turmeric paste until dissolved, add the sweetener, oil and cinnamon, stir and the drink is ready.
You should drink the golden milk for at least 40 days but if you like it you can continue having this drink. Great for breakfast in the morning, you can have it in the evening as well and it help for a good night’s sleep.

Alternative uses of turmeric paste.
Last night I stir-fried some vegetables and chicken morsels – that I had previously dredged in cornstarch, and then I seasoned everything with a teaspoon of turmeric paste dissolved in a little water and some soy sauce. I served my meat and veggies with some basmati rice and dinner was delicious, slightly spicy and definitely good for you!