When I’m hungry. Buttermilk.
Buttermilk is like a good friend.
It is comforting, nourishing and always there to support me. It is one of my stepping stones to greater feelings of wellbeing, mentally as well as physically.
It even can sing us a lullaby because of it’s beautiful amino acid, tryptophan, which promotes our sleepy hormone, melatonin.
When I’m hungry, I make myself a cozy cup of buttermilk and it settles any fiery hungry pitta going on inside of me. It helps me be patient.
In Ayurveda, Buttermilk is considered nectar for the gods. And I say, gods we are. The God, has made us for royalty and a simple cup of buttermilk makes me feel like I am on the banks of a beautiful river, able to listen to the sound of my heart and the hope in creating my future.
Ayurveda uses buttermilk not only for digestion but for healing diseases and promotion of good health. So it really is worthy to make buttermilk your friend.
Buttermilk shines where there is inflammation in the body, digestive issues amd aggravated vata and kapha. Although buttermilk is truly great for all the doshas.
After many of my meals, I sip on half a cup of buttermilk. This delicate drink aids in digestion and calms vata dosha. It feels soft on my tongue, and gentle on my belly.
Buttermilk is a great option when you’re feeling stressed or rushed. It is calming.
Want a sweet treat? Make instead, a nourishing cup of buttermilk. It will never disappoint.
I am grateful to make mine with the raw milk I get locally, which I then take the cream from and make into homemade yogurt. I know my buttermilk tastes even more amazing and has an incredible amount of nutrients because of this.
To make
If you already are making your own yogurt every few days, take the cream from the top of a freshly made batch and keep it aside until you collect enough of it. Either keep it aside in the fridge or the freezer, depending on when you’ll get a good cup or so worth. Then wizz this cream in the mixer and you will get a full fat buttermilk. Drinking buttermilk this way creates a full fat buttermilk and is great for pitta and vata dosha.
Or add some cold water, collecting the freshly made butter. What is left is your buttermilk without fat and is good for relieving vata and kapha dosha while increasing pitta.
Warm, not boil, slightly in a pan to calm vata dosha, or else have at room temperature, but never cold. Have it a little cooler if feeling very warm in a hot summer environment. Add some raw sugar, jaggery or spices such as turmeric and roasted cumin powder, even a teeny pinch of hing while warming it. Curry leaves are also a delicious and calming herb to add.
Otherwise, take little less than half a cup of yogurt, fresh or store bought, and wizz it in a mixer with half a cup of water and you’ll get a half water buttermilk and is very beneficial for improving digestive strength. This kind of buttermilk is called takra, when made as a half water buttermilk and considered the most beneficial of types.
You may wizz and skim the fluff from the top several times until you get a lower fat buttermilk, which helps to alleviate kapha dosha.
Now churning the yogurt and water in the mixer for at least a couple of minutes is very important. This is what creates the buttermilk and the benefits. Make sure you wizz it or else it’s just yogurt that’s been added into some water.
Create a sweet buttermilk with jaggery if you need it as an aphrodisiac, and need to calm fiery pitta. Or add some with spices leaving it a bit sour to lessen vata and kapha dosha.
There are many benefits to buttermilk. But one thing is for sure - having at least a half cup every day will promote wellbeing for all.
I take it in the car with me when I’m on the go. Buttermilk is like a friend. It allows me time to sit and contemplate, helps me to be gentle with myself, never judges me and is there reminding me to care of myself.
Now, go make yourself some buttermilk and be well :)
Journeying together,
Kari Marie