Pantry Fun

Get-Well Herbal Çay

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Those of us who live in Turkey know full well what manav means: (greengrocer) and kasap (butcher). But I wonder if we all know this one: aktar? Do you?

 

this is our local aktar: its name means Ginger Aktar!

I have lived here for years and this particular type of shop has only just registered with me. It means, well I suppose the nearest we have is Health Food Store but that’s not really it. These shops are fabulous little treasure troves selling the most wonderful assortment of oils and potions, mostly for medicinal purposes but also cosmetic (not culinary). They can also sell dried fruits and nuts (kuru yemiş) and spices (baharat). Altogether extremely enticing!

 

natural oils ranging from thyme to poppyseed to seaweed oil ….
.. and many others that you can’t even imagine

Thinking about it, I suppose in the past I was never particularly interested in natural remedies but now, information relating to what we eat, how we eat and how different herbs and spices affect our bodies is everywhere and I am increasingly intrigued.

 

So this is why I went along to an IWI talk recently on How To Stay Healthy Through the Flu Season given by an interesting-sounding doctor with impressive qualifications and an alternative outlook.

It was kismet/fate: the very next day I could feel a cold lurking on the horizon. This was the last thing I needed so I reread the notes we had with care before rushing off to our local aktar – I had never even been inside it before – to buy the ingredients to make this herbal tea which is recommended for the first signs of cold/flu.

here they are in my glass teapot

 

Ingredients for Get-Well Herbal Tea
as given by Dr Onur Aydınoğlu from Heal Istanbul,
Centre for Eastern Healing Arts, Moda-Istanbul

 

4 sticks cinnamon/çubuk tarçin

 

1 tbsp ground ginger/toz zencefil OR 4-5 slices fresh/taze zencefil (don’t peel)1 tsp  black pepper corns/kara biber – tane

1 handful yarrow flowers/civan perçemi çiçeği

you get it from the aktar
1 handful mixed dried echinacea/ekinezya flowers and leaves

 

5-6 red dates or jujube/hünnap (if available)
Method
  • Place everything in a pot, add 3 glasses of water, bring to the boil, then simmer on low heat for 15 minutes. Strain and drink the tea.
  • It’s best to do this on an empty stomach, then have a light meal and then either directly go to bed or first take a hot bath/shower in order to initiate sweating and then go to bed. If you continue sweating, wait until it stops, then change clothes and then sleep or rest.
NB: don’t take this formula if you develop a high fever or after the flu goes into your lungs.
********************************************************************************
So, feeling quite full of cold, I duly drank this çay and took extra vitamins C, D and Zinc as Dr Onur recommended. Of course you should also rest which I could do for a day and a half but then my commitments got the better of me. I firmly believe that if I had been able to rest fully, this cure would have been completely effective. The taste is shall we say, interesting, but you certainly feel good that you are doing something natural to combat those germs and that’s probably half the battle.
I didn’t have a sore throat but if you do, here is a remedy that we were recommended: mix 1 tsp turmeric powder and a small pinch of freshly ground black pepper with enough raw organic honey to make a thick paste. Optionally you can mix half part honey with half part organic coconut oil to make the paste. Then slowly lick the paste until all is eaten. You can repeat this several times in the day. Apparently turmeric is better than paracetemol!
Many of my friends have been feeling under the weather so I have been wanting to post this recipe: you may need it but I hope you don’t!

 

Reader Interactions

Comments

    • Claudia Turgut says

      Hey hello Annie! I specifically asked if it should be peeled or not and Onur said not to – I think it's just healthier!
      PS made that coconut milk pumpkin soup yesterday – delicious!!

      Reply

  2. BacktoBodrum says

    I'm fascinated by all the new remedies re-appearing in Turkey. It used to be just Thyme water, thyme oil and cupping on the back for a cold. I don't think we have an Aktar in Bodrum any more, but once it stops raining I'm going out on a search for one.

    Reply

    • Claudia Turgut says

      Well I think that would be v interesting if you really don't have one in Bodrum. They look so very old and traditional, you wld think every place had at least one. Yes, I think you're right: bit by bit people seem to be going back to the old ways..

      Reply

  4. Erica (Irene) says

    Great post….next time I'm there I'll visit one of those Aktar shops…. this is funny because when my husband goes to Turkey himself he brings back these mixtures of different herbs and things that his sister passes on to me in plastic zip lock bags…..and I ask what is this? Some kind of cay and he always said I don't know she just gave it to me….maybe she assumed I knew what it was….but he sure didn't know:-( Actually they look like the mixtures you have on the pics.
    Thanks for the recipe…..the flu is going around here fast. Hope you feel better.Gecmis olsun 🙂

    Reply

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