Instagram’s Favourite Chefs Share Easy Immunity-Building Recipes

As the worries around the Novel Coronavirus grow, we all have found ourselves searching online about ways to bolster the immune system. Well, one of the most important and easiest ways to take care of yourself and give your immunity system the best chance to do its job is to adopt habits that strengthen immunity. That means making sure to get enough sleep, being active, de-stressing, washing your hands properly and eating healthy. And one more thing, don’t wait for a crisis to start taking care of yourself and make sure to build these habits for life. While no food or supplements will boost up your immunity in just a bite, there are some foods that you can incorporate as part of a balanced diet to bolster your immunity. Turmeric, ginger, citrus fruits, honey, nuts and seeds, chickpeas, kokum, mushrooms, and well, green vegetables are just some of the food wonders that help improve your health. And to help you all (and us!) to incorporate these into the regular eating routine, we asked our favourite food supreme beings to give us the gift of easy-to-make immunity-boosting recipes.

CURRY LEAF LEMONADE By SHAGUN MEHRA
This is an immunity booster and detox recipe that needs just basic pantry and is simple enough to make as well.

INGREDIENTS // For 5 small glasses
– 6 cups of water
– 1 sprig Curry Leaves
– 2 Lemon
– 2.5 Tbsp powdered rock sugar
– Crushed ice

METHOD
– Add water, juice the lemons, add the de-stemmed curry leaves, sugar, ice, and blend. Strain, garnish with a small curry leaf sprig and serve!

SOL KADI By SURABHI SEHGAL
Cook Time: 10 Mins
Soaking Time: 1 hour
Serves: 2-3

INGREDIENTS
– 6-7 Kokum
– ½ cup of warm water
– 2 cups of Coconut Milk
– A handful of Coriander leaves
– 1 small piece of ginger (lightly pounded)
– 3-4 cloves of garlic (lightly pounded)
– Slit green chillies (to taste)
– Himalayan Pink Salt (to taste)
– 1 small piece of Beetroot 
For Tempering:
– 1 Tbsp Oil (any neutral oil of your choice)
– ¼ tsp Asafoetida 
– 7-8 Curry leaves 
– 1 tsp Sesame Seeds 
– ¼ tsp Mustard Seeds 
– ¼ tsp Cumin Seeds 
– Green Chillies (to taste)

METHOD

To make Sol Kadi:
– Soak Kokum in water for about half hour
– To a large mixing bowl, add the coconut milk, coriander, ginger, garlic, green chillies, salt, beetroot and 3-4 tablespoons of Kokum water.
– Leave this mixture in the refrigerator to chill for at least an hour (the longer it stays the more flavourful the broth is).
– Once ready to serve strain the Sol Kadi and prepare the tempering. 

To Make Tempering:
– Add any neutral oil to a small pan.
– Once hot, add asafoetida, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, more green chillies if you’d like, sesame seeds and curry leaves. Once the seeds crackle, add the tempering to the Sol Kadhi and serve with piping hot rice. 

TURMERIC BOOSTER By ANAHITA DHONDY
The good folks and chefs at Ananda In The Himalayas shared this miracle drink recipe with Anahita Dhondy. Make sure to have this in the morning on empty stomach.

INGREDIENTS
– 1Tbsp Haldi powder (turmeric)
– ¼ tsp Black pepper
– 2 Tbsp Apple cider vinegar
– 4 Tbsp Honey
– 1 tsp Lemon zest

METHOD
– This step is most important. GET GOOD QUALITY TURMERIC. Otherwise, the purpose of this exercise is futile.
– Take 5-6 tbsp of water in a pan, heat it and add the turmeric. Cook the turmeric and water till it becomes a paste. It will not take more than 2 mins. 
– Remove from heat and add all the other ingredients except the honey. 
– According to Ayurveda, honey can only be added once the mixture is cooled. 
– Add the honey and keep in a glass jar in the fridge for 3-4days. 
– In the morning, take one tiny teaspoon in a small shot glass or espresso cup, add water, mix it up and have it before breakfast.
– If you want to store it for longer, don’t add the lemon zest as that gets bad. You can add the lemon zest in the morning, fresh to the mixture. That way you’ll be able to store it for a couple of weeks. 

GOLDEN COCOA CHAI By MIRA MANEK
This is a comforting and nourishing recipe of spices and nuts blended with rich, pure cocoa – perfect for a burst of energy and immunity.

INGREDIENTS
– 5-6 nuts of any choice (cashews, walnuts, almonds) soaked in water for an hour or overnight) or can use a mug of any milk if you haven’t got a blender
– 1 heaped tsp Cocoa Powder
– ¼ tsp Cinnamon Powder
– ¼ tsp Turmeric Powder
– 1cm piece of ginger root (or use a pinch of ginger powder)
– 1 mug water
– 1 tsp Honey

METHOD
– Blend together all the above ingredients (not the honey) in a high-speed blender – the longer you soak the nuts the easier they are to blend but soaking also makes them easier to digest.
– Now boil this blended mixture in a pan, then pour into a mug, stir in the honey and it’s ready to sip, savour and enjoy!
– If you don’t have a blender, boil together all the ingredients with any milk of your choice, then stir in the honey and sip.

CARAMELIZED CHICKEN By PABLO NARANJO

INGREDIENTS
– 2 Chicken Breasts
– ½ cup of Sesame Seeds
– ½ cup of Light Soy Sauce
– 3 Tbsp Panela, Sugar or Honey
– Mint
– Lemon

METHOD
– Start with a little oil in the pan, let it really warm-up and then add the chicken.
– As the chicken starts to cook on one side, add sesame seeds and sugar/jaggery. Mix it all together slowly.
– Once the chicken has a nice, golden colour, add soy sauce. And finish with lemon juice and chopped mint leaves.
– And your caramelized chicken is ready. Serve with aromatic rice.

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