Bhringraj (भृङ्गराज)- An easily available herb for hair and skincare

Bhringraj (भृङ्गराज) is a common herb with little white flowers and found near moist soils.

Bhringraj/Bhangra plant and flowers
Eclipta Alba

        Bhringraj (भृङ्गराज) is a common herb with little white flowers and found near moist soils. It is widely found in the Indian subcontinent and East Asia. Locally it is known as Bhangra or Bhamroiya in Bihar/Jharkhand. The common English name is False Daisy but it belongs to the sunflower family. The scientific name of Bhringraj is Eclipta Alba.

Bhringraj/Bhangra plant
and flowers. Eclipta Alba

 

        Its medicinal properties are known to Indians for ages. In the olden days, the use of Kaajal (Soorma) was very popular. Rural women used to make Kaajal with lighting an earthen lamp and collecting the lampblack over an earthen disc. The juice of the Bhringraj plant was used to wet the cotton lamp wick so that the Kaajal will get its medicinal properties.

Bhringraj flower and seed-cups

 

          In Ayurveda, it is recommended for skin care and hair nutrient. In Sanskrit, Bhring means beetles the insects having deep black colors. So the Bhringraj plant symbolizes a plant that gives hair deep dark color. It is also known for preventing premature greying of hairs and growing hairs on the bald to some extent. For hair care, it is mixed to a carrier oil (mostly coconut oil) and applied to the hair roots. It can be prepared at home by mixing dried Bhringraj leaves to the oil and keeping in the sunlight for two to three days. This also adds shine to hairs. Application of warm Bhringraj oil to hair roots also prevents hair-fall and removes dandruff.

A Bhringraj seed-cup
after flowers

        It is useful in skincare too. Application of its paste to wounds makes recovery faster and prevents skar marks.

Bhringraj Seeds

 

       Ayurveda recommends the extracts of Bhringraaj leaves as a liver tonic. It improves digestion and is used as medicine in jaundice. This extract is also recommended to cure intestinal parasites. This plant has revitalizing and anti-aging properties. It is also recommended for sexual health in Ayurveda. People use it for different cures in rural areas of different states of India.

Bhringraj/Bhangra plant, flowers, and seed-cups

      Other than its medicinal properties it is believed to bring good luck to a person. For this, its roots are worn like amulet or Tabeez.

       There are many Bhringraj products in the market like Bhringraj Powder and Bhringraj oil. Even you can order them online. For seeing these products online at Amazon, visit the link 

- https://amzn.to/33vfKBY

At Flipkart, visit 

- http://fkrt.it/alHdI5uuuN 

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Kareel - The Edible Bamboo Shoots

Kareel (Bamboo shoot vegetable) in market
Photo: Ravi Kumar

        Bamboo is a very useful tree. Scientifically it is not a tree but a herb though it looks like a shrub. Mature bamboos are used for making huts, furniture, and art objects. Some of the things made from bamboo are Verandah curtains, mattresses, and sticks. Sticks are made from smaller varieties of bamboo and are very useful for old persons, shepherds, and farmers (for separating grains from paddy). The most common uses of the bamboo-made objects are different sizes of baskets. These baskets are known in Hindi as Tokari or Dala. And there is bamboo Soop. Soop is a shallow basket with high rims on three sides and flat at one side. Dalas and Soops are widely used in rural India for storing grains and vegetables. Both are used as a strainer during parboiling rice. Due to its strength, bamboos are used in fencing the fields, in centering & scaffolding (while making a pucca building), in roofs & columns of huts, in temporary small bridges of Nallah (streams), and as pipes also. In some places, bamboo has also been tried as a replacement for steel in RCC for minor works.

Different stages of cutting of Kareel for Bhaja

 

     For Hindus, bamboo is an auspicious tree. It is used in making a Mandap in Hindu marriages, in Palki (palanquin), and in religious flags as a post eg. Ramnavmi flags, Dala (baskets) and Soop in the famous festival of Chhath. Even the last journey of a Hindu from house to burning ghat is essentially on a bamboo made bed. 

       Such a useful tree is also used in the kitchen as a recipe in India and East Asian countries and it is a delicacy here. But the bamboos used as vegetables are the soft shoots of a new bamboo tree which is known as Kareel in Bihar-Bengal areas. In the rainy season during monsoons, new bamboo grows adjacent to the existing old bamboo trees. New bamboo growth is in the shape of a soft conical shoot which grows rapidly. Shoots up to ten inches long are cut and dressed for vegetables. 

Fermented bamboo shoot slices (Karil)
on sale at a vegetable market in Ranchi.

         The Kareel (or Karil) is known by different names in different regions. In Assam, it is called Khorisa, Karadi in Odissa while in South India it is known as Kanile. The radish shaped Karil has a very intense smell. Some people find the smell of raw Karil very repulsive. Like Cassava, Karil also contains natural toxins (cyanogenic glycosides). That is why it can not be consumed fresh. Before cooking Kareel vegetables, these natural toxins must be destroyed. It is done by leaving sliced/cut Kareel in water for at least 15 hours and then boiling. Fermented Karil is also used to keep away its acrid taste. Fermented Kareel is called Tama in Nepal where it has been used for centuries. They cook Tama with potatoes and beans. 

Kareel & Arabi mix vegetable
Photo: Ravi Kumar

   In Jharkhand, it is cooked by frying (Bhaja, Bhujiya) or as a mixed vegetable with Arabi (Taro roots). Since it is available in the rainy season during monsoon, people enjoy it like other seasonal vegetables like mushrooms, Kantola, and Rugda. In Orisa its curry is made which is called Ambila. In Nagaland, fermented Kareel known as Bas Tenga is cooked with pork and it is very popular here. It is cooked with fish also in Meghalaya and Chittagong area.

Kareel-fry, Photo: Ravi Kumar

 

        Not only in Indian Subcontinent, but it is also a sought after vegetable in Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Myanmar. They cook the fermented bamboo shoots with locally available items like coconut milk or rice powder. Bamboo shoots are also preserved as Murabba (like Petha).

Kareel Achaar (Bamboo shoot pickles), Photo: Ravi Kumar

   Apart from Bhaja, mixed vegetables and curries, Kareel is also used in making pickles. Pickled Kareel is preserved for a long time. Mostly salted pickles are made but in the Philippines sweet pickles are also made. For salted pickles, the fermented thinly sliced bamboo shoots are sun-dried for a few hours so that residual water is evaporated. It is then mixed with mustard oil (heated then cooled), red chilly powder, and spices. It is kept in direct sun for a few days. Salted bamboo shoot pickles are known as "Kareel Achaar". This Kareel Achaar is recommended in Ayurveda as anti-acidic, anti-cough, and blood purifying. They also say that it heals the body wounds, removes swellings, and cures leucoderma (Safed-Daag). 

        Though it is a popular vegetable during monsoon in the areas where bamboos are grown, people trying to taste it for the first time may be disappointed due to residual acrid taste and smell but after a few trials, taste-buds develop a taste for this vegetable.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CEzFEP4hxOg/?igshid=trdnk1uh5zaf 

Bamboo-shoot products are also available online at Flipkart and Amazon. Here are some links.

Murabba 

Pickles  

Bamboo-shoot plants, Lucky Bamboo 

Bamboo-seeds, Bamboo-rice

Books related to Bamboo 

Bamboo chairs

Bamboo Curtains

Canned raw Bamboo-shoots, Pickles, Murabbas

Bamboo-shoot plants, Lucky Bamboo 

Bamboo-sticks &Lathi

Bamboo Kebab/Burger/barbecue skewers

Bamboo chopsticks

Bamboo toothbrush 

Bamboo cups

Bamboo baskets

Bansuri/Bamboo flutes 

Books on Bamboo 

Bamboo chairs 

Bamboo curtains for balcony