Recipe
Warming pepper and ginger decoction (kadha)
- Herb:
- Black pepper Piper nigrum
- Method:
- Decoction
- Plant part:
- Fruit
About 15 minBeginnerRecipe science profile
Procedure
- Crush 4–6 black peppercorns in a mortar or with the flat of a knife; add 3 slices of fresh ginger.
- Put into a small pan with 300 ml of water and bring to a gentle boil; simmer uncovered for 10 minutes until reduced by about a third.
- Strain into a mug, let it cool to drinking temperature and sweeten with honey; a slice of lemon or a tulsi leaf goes well too.
- Sip warm, 1–2 mugs a day while the cold lasts.
Extraction
- Herb:
- 4–6 whole freshly crushed peppercorns + 3 slices of ginger per 300 ml
- Solvent:
- water, simmer for 10 minutes; add honey when the drink is warm, not boiling
- Shelf life:
- drink warm, the same day
- Target compounds:
- piperine (pungent taste) is poorly soluble in water; crushing and boiling help; essential oil provides the aroma
Notes
A traditional Indian household drink for colds. Sharp; skip it with heartburn or stomach ulcers. Piperine increases absorption of some drugs — anyone on narrow-therapeutic-range medication should not self-experiment with pepper in remedy amounts.
Why it works
Boiling releases piperine and volatile oil from crushed pepper and gingerols from ginger; the 'warming' is the sensation of pungent compounds on TRPV1 receptors, not a change in body temperature. Piperine is a documented inhibitor of gut and liver enzymes, which raises levels of some drugs — hence the note above.
Literature
- Piperine: A review of its biological effects. Phytotherapy Research (2020) — Review of piperine pharmacology, including its effect on the absorption of other substances.
Related
Black pepper — Herb card
Decoction — Processing method detail