Why Kadhi should be a part of our summer diet

Raise your hands if you love Kadhi! Well, we guess many of us love it for the simple reason that it is tasty and easy to digest. But, do you know that traditional Kadhi and similar preparations like Ambil, Kheru, Kalan are at least 2000 years old. In a recent post on Facebook, celebrity nutritionist and author Rujuta Diwekar mentioned the same and stated that Ayurveda has used it as a therapy for increasing appetite, boosting recovery and skin health during summers. (Image: istock)

According to her post, appetite drops during summer and the heat can take a toll on the skin and the gut. The abdomen feels cramped, constipation & gas become frequent and even periods get painful. In such cases, consuming Kadhi is helpful as it is rich in nutrients that help soothe the digestive system and also helps control dehydration.

In summer loss of appetite means diminishing vitamin B12 and the best way to improve that is to consume food items like dahi, which is good for the stomach and skin as well. In the early days, our dadi and nani used to make it more nutritious by adding pulses like besan and tempering it with spices and curry leaves and that’s how Kadhi became the ultimate savior for the summer heat. It is best consumed with rice and turns out to be a perfect combo of pre + pro-biotic and with a complete amino acid profile. (Image: istock)

According to Rujuta Diwekar, Kadhi is known to reduce bloating, constipation, acne and is even used as a prevention for migraine and mood swings. It is one of India’s ‘soon to be lost’ secrets. (Image: istock)

Like any other dish, Kadhi also has many variations and the recipe changes from state to another. However, the benefits remain the same. Rujuta states, “While making it with besan is the most common one, sour dahi is also mixed with millets like ragi or with pulses like kulith to make ambil or with hyper-seasonal veggies like desi cucumber to make Kheru.” (Image: istock)

“So, if you are losing appetite, feeling constipated, breaking out - bring back the Kadhi,” concludes Rujuta. (Image: istock)