Lemongrass - Many Uses and an Easy to Grow Plant

Lemongrass, also called fever grass, is a perennial plant with thin, long leaves. While the grass smells like lemon, it tastes milder and sweeter. 

USES:

It is used as a herb in various cuisines as a flavoring agent due to its potent flavor.

It is also useful in alternative or complementary remedies for many ailments. It has many beneficial medicinal properties including analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antidepressant, antipyretic, antiseptic, antibacterial, antifungal, astringent, carminative, diuretic, febrifuge, galactogogue, insecticidal, sedative, and anti-cancer properties. The leaves, stems and bulb of lemongrass are used in various treatments.

NUTRITION FACTS:

Lemongrass contains vitamins A and C, folate, folic acid, magnesium, zinc, copper, iron, potassium, phosphorus, calcium and manganese. It also has minute traces of B vitamins.

The 100th Post - Litchi the wonder fruit

This blog has seen it all - a lot of quick burst posts, some lull and no activity - and now its a great moment to see that its seeing its 100th Blog post. 
I choose this post to write about the "Litchi " fruit. It is called a wonder fruit, and not without reason. 
The fruit is supposed to aid in protection against heart disease and cancer.  
Litchis contains soluble fiber which controls bowel problems and keep the stomach free from toxic compounds and help to clean the colon. Lychee is an amazing source of Vitamin C and other nutrients that are beneficial for your skin.
It helps in bone maintenance, and also leads to weight loss. It helps in strengthening the hair. 



With so many benefits, it certainly deserves to be put in the Wonder Fruit Category.
Happy Litchiying!!!

Soaps contain Animal Fats?

Did you know that most commonly used soaps contain Animal Fats?

Its safer to look for soaps that contain a "Does not contain Animal Fat" label / mark and buy them. The store at the link below has a variety of Herbal Bath Soaps without any animal fat content, and in an exotic set of Flavors - Sandal, Jasmine, Vettiver, Lavender, Lemon Fresh, Cool Splash etc.

https://www.payumoney.com/store/buy/itsrainingdeals

Clean Ganga & other projects - Are we following the right approach?

At the outset, I would like to congratulate all those who have come up with the noble initiatives of cleaning Ganga and other rivers, and wish them well. A National Mission for Clean Ganga has also been established. 

Yes, first-up, we need to get rid of the dirt, and garbage and what not that has already gotten into the rivers. 

The question raised by me is "Are we following the right approach?".  All our policies and initiatives related to water management focus on how to clean and manage good water and water sources like the rivers. But looking upstream, the prioritization would be better if we focus on "how to manage the garbage and dirty water". More often than not, the filth and dirt that are produced due to our everyday living (personal, economic etc.) is bound to be produced. If there were proper disposal systems in place, why would anyone let these wastes into the river? Do we have a proper waste-disposal system? 

As a practical expression of this approach issue, we have "Water Tax" for utilizing water supplied by the local bodies like panchayats. But we never talk about "Garbage Tax" which is more critical, and is an area that requires more investment for building and operating waste disposal units. Let's hope all the talk and brainstorming leads to a better future for our rivers, and ultimately ourselves. 

Fruit Names in Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi

English	Tamil	Malayalam	Hindi
Apple	Applepazham அரத்திப்பழம் / குமளிப்பழம்	Apple pazham	Sev
Apricot	Sarkkarai Badami சர்க்கரை பாதாமி		Khoobani/ khumani
Avocado (Butterfruit)	Vennai pazham  வெண்ணைப் பழம்		Makhanphal
Banana	Vazhaipazham வாழைப்பழம்	Yethampazham	Kela
Blueberry	Avurinelli அருவிநெல்லி		Falsa
Cantaloupe	Parangi pazham பரங்கி		Kharbuja
Coconut	Thengai தேங்காய்	Thenga	Nariyal/ Kopra
Custard Apple	Seetha pazham சீதா பழம்	Seethappazham	Shitaphal/ Saripa
Dates	Pericham pazham பேரீச்சம்பழம்	Eetha pazham	khajoor
Fig	Atti Pazham அத்தி பழம்	Athi pazham	Anjeer
Gooseberry	Nellikai நெல்லிக்காய்	Nelli	Amla
Grapefruit
Grapes	Dratchai திராட்சை	Dratcha or Munthiri	Angoor
Green Berry / zizyphus			Ber/ Bor
Guava	Koiya கொய்யா	Peraka	Amrud
Jackfruit	Palapazham பழாபழம்	Chakka	Kathal
Jambu fruit / bell fruit	Panchali pazham / பஞ்சலிப்பழம்		Jamun
Lemon	Kolinchi pazham	Naranga	Galgal/ Nimbu
Lime	Elumichai எலுமிச்சை	Cherunaranga	Nimbu
Lychee			Lichi
Mango	Mam pazham மாம்பழம்	Mangnga	Aam
Mulberry	mulberrypazham		Shehtooth
Musk Melon (Cantaloupe)	Mulam pazham		Kharbooja
Olive			Jaitun
Orange	Naaram	Naaranga	Narangi
Papaya	Papalipazham பப்பாளி	Omakka	Papeeta
Pear	Berikkai பேரிக்காய்	Sabarjil	Nashpati
Pineapple	Annasi அன்னாசி	kaithachakka	Ananas
Plum			Aloobukara
Pomegranate	Madhulam மாதுளம்	Maadhala naarnga/ Urumampazham	Anar
Prunes	Kodi Mundiri pazham/ கொடிமுந்திரி		Alubokhara
Raisins	kismis	Unakkamunthiri	Kismis
Sapota/ Sapodilla	Sapota	Chikku	Chikku
Starfruit	Pulichikai	Ilumbi Puli	Kamrakh
Stoneapple	Vilvam or koovilam	Koovalam	Bel/ Siriphal
Strawberry
Sweetlime	Chaatukudi சாத்துக்குடி	Musambi or Madhuranaaranga	Mosambi
Tamarind	Puli புளி
Water Chestnut			Singhara
Watermelon	Tarboosni தர்பூசணி	Thannimathan	Tarbooz / kalingad
White goosefoot			Bathua

A cheap, but rich vegetable that is also the easiest solution for weight reduction

 

We keep talking about increasing prices of vegetables. All these discussions are restricted to the potatoes, onions and carrots. Why not look at cheap, but richer vegetables or plant products?

Today's generation may not be familiar with the properties of the Banana Stem. 

When bananas are harvested, the stem/tree is cut away. The tender inner stem of the banana plant can be used as food. Not only is it tasty but it also has wonderful medicinal properties.

Layers of hard outer stem are peeled away and only the tender inner stem is used. It is very fibrous, so the thread fiber has to be cleaned. The stem is chopped into small bits and soaked in buttermilk or diluted yogurt for half hour. In Southern parts of India, it is cooked as a vegetable and eaten along with rice.

The banana stem has fiber – this is very beneficial for those on a weight-loss programme.  Forget all those expensive diet-reduction programmes and tablets, this is the cheapest solution. 

It is also a rich source of potassium and vitamin B6 which helps in the production of insulin and hemoglobin. Eating banana stem once a week keeps high blood pressure in control. Banana stem also maintains fluid balance within the body. It is a diuretic and helps detoxify the body. The popular belief is that eating banana stem is very good for kidney stones.

Also called Vazhai Thandu in Tamil, केले का तना in Hindi

A "Make in India" solution to our Farmers' Problems

India is an agrarian country. A good show in the agri. business is vital not only for the individual farmer, but for the entire nation. It is quite disturbing to see all kinds of news on how our agriculture sector is suffering. Of course, it becomes all the more complicated when people tend to view the whole problem with politically coloured eyes. It certainly is no solution to this challenge.

The biggest problem in agriculture today is the soil - the quality of soil needs to be maintained. The easier solution is to dump lots of urea and chemicals and fertilizers to ensure quality soil and thereby quality produce. Like all other quick-fix solutions, this approach has led to the ruining of our soil. 

Why not think about a "Make in India" solution to the problem? The time-tested approach in our country has been to use natural soil nourishing products, and what better than the cows' manure (aka Panchagavya). It is quite natural for the farmer to rear some cows. The cow dung, cow urine, milk, curd and ghee - the FIVE products(even the dung is a product! - such is the beauty of the cow) - together are used to compose the PANCHA- GAVYA (In Sanskrit, Pancha means five(5) and Gavya means that which is produced by the cow). In plants Panchagavya promotes growth, yield and immunity and is also an organic pesticide. 

Panchagavya can also be used for animals and humans. For animals, Panchagavya stimulates the production of anti-bodies increasing immunity. In humans, Panchagavya has been reported to increase appetite, heal wounds, and as a cure for psoriasis and white patches. 

This approach is closer to nature, a true "Make-in-India" recipe for our agri-crisis. It is sustainable in the long term, and absolves the farmer from depending on costly fertilizers and chemicals. 

Go Green- Go Clean- Go Panchagavya

(Incidentally, 'Go' in Sanskrit means COW)

A very strange flower

Wonder if someone has come across a flower like this - it looks quite strange!

Can you believe it? Its a Miracle - Saffron now grown in Tamilnadu

The Hindu today reported-

Pride of Kashmir now comes to Kodaikanal

A small group of farmers have successfully grown Saffron at Kavunji and Poondi villages on the Upper Kodaikanal hill, thanks to excellent climate and enriched soil condition.

It's really amazing that the quality and weight of the saffron is found to be better than what is grown in Kashmir. 

full article at: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/pride-of-kashmir-now-comes-to-kodaikanal/article7215412.ece

Ooty Flower Show - Beautiful Pic

Ooty Flower show

The 119th Flower Show is being held this year and commenced on the 15th May 2015.

Around 21,000 tourists are said to have visited the show on the inaugural day (Friday, May 15) and the number, official sources say, could double today.