MEXICAN MINT or KARPOORAVALLI or OMAVALLI

Karpooravalli /Omavalli or Mexican mint (as its known in US) is a perennial herb.It has flesh and aromatic leaves.Its very commonly found herb in chennai,India.

I remember my Amma giving me the juice of the leaves to me and my brother when we were kids for our cold. I don't think i liked it then ,but as i grew and started realising its value...i started eating it raw..

My appa used to tell its very good for sore throat and cough too.

I have also seen that they use this leaf as kashayam(tea) for indigestion.My father in law eats this for his bronchitis .

After i came here to US i saw one of my neighbour Make bajji using this leaf.. it tasted very good.Though the medically value may not be the same its nice way of taking the leaf for those who don't eating it raw.

Another common wonder herb in the list will follow...

HERBS AND FOOD

Nature has always been kind to us by providing us all her good things.Lot of plants around us help to maintain good health.Only thing is we have not recognised these plants or we have ignored their goodness.

I have noticed dogs,sometimes feed on grass(ARUGAM PUL)for digestion.This is just an example... There are lot more which i can say..

My dad,who is a naturopath and siddha doctor, have been doing lot of research on food and herbs and have written lot of books on this.I would like to share with you all my knowledge regarding this.I will keep posting about each herb or vegetable daily so... keep checking

Here are the list of some of the herbs that i know which are commonly used as home remedies .Some of their properties have also been described in ancient Siddha -Ayurveda books.Though many have not been proved by the scientific society it has been used widely as home remedy by many.

First to come to my mind was THIRUNEETRU PACHILAI/KRISHNA TULASI/SWEET BASIL.This is one of my favourite herb guess why???!!! It helped me to have a clear face during my adolescence.We used to make face cream using this herb.These days i heard some face creams using this herb are available in chennai.

SWEET BASIL: This is a small perennial plant that grows in warm climates. They look very much like basil except for the size of the leaves and the flavour.

Siddha literature talks a lot about its medicinal value like.. it reduces body heat,helps treat dysentery,white discharge etc. From my personal use i can say this really helps cure pimples and black marks on our face(we can either apply the juice or paste of the leaf on our face for a hour or so and wash the face) recent research shows the compounds in this plant have potent antioxidant, properties.

And one more things which i know from personal experience is snakes are scared to come near this plant..This happened long back... we used to get snakes(small ones) near our house and we used to have this plant in pots outside our house and when these snake enter this area they just stood frozen!!! they wouldn't go near this plant to hide.Then i was told that snakes don't go near this plant.

DISCLAIMER:

Article written here is based on personal experiences , siddha literatute and home remedies that have been in use for ages and have not been proven scientifically.