The encyclopedia

A sharp, warming kitchen seed traditionally reached for after a heavy meal.

• digestion
• gas
• bloating

The soaked-and-peeled morning almond of countless Indian households, also ground into face packs and warm milk.

• morning routine
• gentle nourishment
• skin care

A common household succulent whose clear inner gel is a familiar soothing application for skin and hair.

• skin
• hair
• digestive wellness

A sour, cooling fruit traditionally valued as a daily rejuvenative and a household source of freshness for skin and hair.

• digestion
• immunity
• skin

A modern household vinegar made from fermented apple juice, most commonly used at home as a diluted hair and scalp rinse.

• scalp care
• hair rinse
• kitchen staple

The bark of a large Indian tree, traditionally associated in Ayurveda with heart and circulatory wellness.

• heart wellness
• circulation

A large, pale gourd valued in Ayurveda as a cooling food, most often taken as fresh morning juice.

• cooling
• morning routine
• calm

The bark of the Ashoka tree, one of the most frequently named ingredients in the classical women wellness formulations of Ayurveda. It is used within compounds prepared by manufacturers or practitioners rather than as a household herb. The tree is conservation-sensitive and its bark is among the most heavily adulterated items in the Indian raw-herb trade.

• women wellness

A classical Ayurvedic root traditionally used to support steadiness, restful sleep and everyday strength.

• stress
• sleep
• strength

The hard-shelled bael fruit, made into a cooling summer sharbat when ripe and used quite differently when unripe.

• digestion
• bowel wellness

A modest-looking mallow plant whose Sanskrit name means strength, used mainly through practitioner-prepared oils and classical formulations rather than as a household herb. It is best known as a base for traditional massage oils used in strengthening and nourishing regimens. Internally it is a restricted plant in several countries because it naturally contains stimulant-type alkaloids.

• strength tradition
• rejuvenation

The classic Indian hair-oil herb, traditionally simmered into oils for the scalp and hair.

• hair
• scalp
• skin

A dried fruit of the Triphala trio, traditionally linked with the throat, chest and comfortable digestion.

• respiratory wellness
• digestion
• rejuvenation

A sharp, heating kitchen spice used in small pinches with honey or warm drinks, and a component of the classical trikatu blend.

• warming spice
• throat comfort
• after-meal routine

A small creeping herb long associated in Ayurveda with study, calm attention and steady mental effort.

• memory
• concentration
• mind

Brahmi Ghrita is a classical medicated ghee, prepared by processing brahmi and supporting herbs into ghee by a specified cooking method. It is not plain brahmi, and it is not the ghee used in cooking: the preparation itself is what defines it. Its exact composition varies with the classical reference followed and with the manufacturer, and it is intended for practitioner-guided use.

• mind and memory tradition

Thin, churned curd water — the classic Indian after-lunch drink, seasoned with cumin, rock salt or curry leaves.

• after-meal routine
• cooling
• summer routine

A fragrant pod used in Indian kitchens for sweets, teas and warm milk, and traditionally chewed after meals to freshen the mouth.

• after-meal routine
• fresh breath
• warm drink

A thick, sticky oil pressed from castor seeds, used in Indian households mainly externally, and occasionally as a strong traditional purgative under supervision. The external and internal uses could hardly be more different, and the internal one is where most harm occurs. The seed itself is toxic and is never used directly.

• external joint care
• skin care

Chyawanprash is a multi-ingredient Ayurvedic herbal preserve, not a single herb: a cooked jam-like paste in which amla is traditionally the central ingredient, processed with a group of supporting herbs and spices, ghee, sesame oil and a sweetening base. Classical recipes list dozens of ingredients, but real commercial composition varies considerably between manufacturers, as do sugar content and ingredient quality. It is a traditional daily food-supplement preparation and should not be described or bought as an immunity cure.

• nourishment
• seasonal wellness
• rejuvenation tradition

A staple of coastal Indian kitchens and one of the most widely used household oils for hair and skin. In Ayurvedic terms it is considered cooling, which is why it is favoured in hot weather and in warmer regions where sesame oil feels too heating. Virgin, refined and fractionated versions serve different purposes.

• skin
• scalp
• hair

Seed and leaf from the same familiar kitchen plant, used in cooling infusions and everyday cooking across India.

• cooling drink
• digestive comfort
• summer routine

A watery, cooling summer vegetable eaten raw and laid on tired skin and eyes in households across India.

• cooling
• summer routine
• hydration

A warm kitchen seed used across Indian homes in everyday cooking and in simple digestive waters and teas after meals.

• digestive comfort
• after-meal routine
• kitchen staple

The aromatic leaf tempered into daily South Indian cooking, also infused into hair oils in many households.

• kitchen staple
• hair care
• after-meal routine

Dashamoola means ten roots, and it is a classical Ayurvedic group formulation, not a single herb. It combines five roots from tree species and five from smaller shrub and herb species into a decoction base used within many traditional preparations. Correct botanical composition is the whole point of it, and it cannot be recreated at home from whatever roots happen to be available.

• traditional whole-body and joint wellness

The sweet after-meal seed offered at the end of an Indian meal, valued for comfort and fresh breath.

• digestion
• mouth freshness

A slightly bitter kitchen seed used in tempering, pickles and traditional hair packs across Indian homes.

• digestion
• food wellness
• hair care

Clarified butter, made by simmering butter until the water evaporates and the milk solids separate out, leaving a fragrant golden fat. In Indian homes it is everyday cooking; in Ayurveda it is also a carrier for herbs and the base of medicated preparations called ghrita. It is important to keep those uses apart: culinary ghee, external ghee and medicated ghee are not the same thing.

• nutrition
• food carrier
• rejuvenation tradition

A climbing vine traditionally valued in Ayurveda during seasonal changes and periods of low vitality.

• seasonal wellness
• general vitality

A warming kitchen rhizome used fresh as adrak and dried as sonth, each with its own traditional character.

• digestion
• seasonal wellness
• circulation

A small spiny fruit traditionally used in Ayurveda in the context of urinary comfort and general strength.

• urinary wellness
• reproductive wellness

The gum resin of the mukul myrrh tree, and the base of a whole family of classical formulations whose names end in guggulu. Raw resin is never used as it comes: classical practice requires purification, usually by cooking it with triphala decoction, milk or other liquids. What reaches the market ranges from well-made classical tablets to unpurified resin sold loose.

• joints
• metabolism tradition

A dried fruit that is one of the three components of Triphala, traditionally associated with comfortable bowel movement and lightness.

• digestion
• bowel wellness
• rejuvenation

Raw honey has a long place in Indian households and in Ayurveda, where it is described as a carrier that helps other ingredients act and is valued in small quantities rather than as a sweetener. Classical texts are unusually specific about it, particularly the caution against heating it or mixing it into hot preparations. Modern honey also carries real safety and adulteration issues worth knowing.

• throat comfort
• food wellness
• skin care

The husk of psyllium seed, a pale, almost tasteless fibre that swells into a gel in water. It is used across Indian households as a simple bulking fibre and appears in both traditional and modern products. Its behaviour depends entirely on water: taken without enough liquid it can do the opposite of what is intended.

• bowel wellness
• digestive wellness

Unrefined cane or palm sugar, used in Indian homes as a sweetener and paired with warming spices in seasonal sips.

• warming
• seasonal routine
• traditional sweetener

An aromatic Himalayan root traditionally used in Ayurveda for calm, quiet evenings and restful sleep.

• mind
• sleep
• relaxation

Known as the king of bitters, Kalmegh is a leafy annual whose taste is unmistakable and unpleasant. It appears in classical Ayurvedic and folk formulations linked with seasonal fevers and sluggish digestion, and is one of the better-studied Indian herbs, though study quality varies. Its bitterness limits casual household use.

• seasonal wellness
• digestion

A intensely bitter Himalayan root used in classical Ayurveda in tiny quantities, traditionally associated with the liver and with bitter digestive formulations. It is a slow-growing, high-altitude plant that is now conservation-sensitive and widely adulterated. Use belongs firmly with a qualified practitioner.

• liver tradition
• digestion

The everyday sour citrus of Indian kitchens, used in warm drinks, throat sips, hair rinses and cooling summer waters.

• refreshing drink
• throat comfort
• morning routine

A tree bark used in classical Ayurveda within practitioner-guided formulations of the women wellness tradition, and in some regional external preparations for the skin. It is astringent in taste and is almost always used as part of a compound rather than alone. Like Ashoka, it is frequently adulterated in the raw-herb market.

• skin
• women wellness

A small creeping herb of damp ground, long associated in Ayurveda with the mind, memory and calm attention. In several regions the name Brahmi is used loosely for this plant as well as for Bacopa monnieri, so the two are often confused on labels. Traditional use is gentle and food-adjacent in some cuisines, but concentrated extracts are a different matter and belong with a practitioner.

• memory
• concentration
• mind

A deep red root traditionally used in Ayurveda in the context of skin and complexion care, and historically as a natural dye.

• skin
• complexion care

The everyday carrier for warm night drinks in Indian homes — golden milk, cardamom milk, ashwagandha milk and more.

• night routine
• warm drink
• carrier

A cooling, aromatic leaf grown in kitchen gardens across India and used in summer drinks, chutneys and light infusions.

• cooling drink
• summer routine
• fresh breath

The everyday drumstick tree, whose pods and leaves are cooked as food across India and valued for their nourishment.

• nutrition
• joints
• daily wellness

A naturally sweet root traditionally chewed or infused for throat comfort and voice care.

• throat comfort
• digestion
• voice care

A soft mineral clay used across Indian homes as an oil-absorbing face and hair pack.

• skin care
• oil control
• summer routine

A bitter tree whose leaves and oil have long been part of household skin, scalp and mouth-care traditions.

• skin
• scalp
• oral hygiene

A pungent, bitter oil pressed from neem seed kernels, used externally in Indian households for the scalp, skin and garden. Its smell is distinctive and strong, and it is almost always diluted before use on the body. It is an external oil only, quite separate from neem leaf preparations, and it must never be swallowed.

• scalp
• skin
• external cleansing

A hardy shrub whose aromatic leaves are used mainly externally in Indian household and classical traditions, especially in warm compresses and medicated oils for stiff, aching areas. In many villages the leaves are simply warmed and applied rather than taken internally. Internal use is a classical, practitioner-guided matter and is quite different from the familiar external use.

• joints
• muscles
• external wellness

Long pepper, a warming spice-herb that is both a kitchen ingredient and one of the most important classical Ayurvedic herbs. It is the P in the Trikatu group and is classically valued for making other ingredients act more strongly, which is exactly why quantity matters. Culinary pinches and classical medicinal use are two different things.

• digestion
• respiratory wellness

A monsoon-season plant whose root is traditionally associated in Ayurveda with urinary comfort and fluid balance.

• urinary wellness
• fluid balance

Dried grapes soaked overnight and eaten in the morning — one of the gentlest and most familiar household routines in India.

• morning routine
• gentle nourishment
• bowel regularity

Unrefined mineral salt used in fasting foods, gargles and simple household preparations across India.

• throat comfort
• fasting food
• kitchen staple

The fragrant distillate of rose petals, used as a skin toner, a cooling summer flavouring and a household comfort.

• cooling
• skin care
• summer routine

Pressed from sesame seeds, this is the classical oil of Ayurveda and the default base for most traditional medicated oils. In everyday Indian life it is both a cooking oil and the oil used for household massage, especially in cooler weather. Cold-pressed, toasted and refined versions behave quite differently.

• skin
• scalp
• massage

The gum resin of the Indian frankincense tree, collected by tapping the bark and hardening into fragrant tears. Classical Ayurveda uses purified resin within joint-related formulations, and standardised boswellic acid extracts are now sold widely as supplements. The raw resin and the modern extract are very different products.

• joints
• mobility

A cooling, nourishing root traditionally used in Ayurveda as a rasayana, especially in the context of women's wellness.

• women's wellness
• nourishment
• rejuvenation

A sticky, tar-like exudate that seeps from rocks in the Himalaya and other high mountain ranges, formed over very long periods from compressed plant material. Ayurveda uses it only after purification (shodhana), and the difference between purified shilajit and raw scraped material is the single most important thing to understand about it. It is among the most adulterated and most over-marketed products in the Indian supplement market.

• rejuvenation tradition
• vitality

Trikatu means the three pungents, and it is a classical Ayurvedic formulation combining pippali (long pepper), black pepper and dried ginger, usually in equal parts. It is deliberately warming and is used within compounds far more often than alone, so it behaves quite differently from any one of the three ingredients used on its own in cooking. Because it is heating and stimulating, it suits some constitutions and clearly does not suit others.

• digestion
• warming tradition

A classical Ayurvedic formulation of three fruits, traditionally taken at night to support regularity and gentle renewal.

• digestion
• bowel regularity
• rejuvenation

Triphala Ghrita is a classical medicated ghee containing triphala-related ingredients processed into a ghee base by a specified method. It is distinct from plain triphala powder and from ordinary culinary ghee, and the processing is what makes it a different preparation altogether. It is used only under practitioner guidance.

• eye, digestion and rejuvenation traditions

A fragrant household herb kept in courtyards across India and traditionally taken as a daily tea during seasonal change.

• respiratory wellness
• seasonal wellness
• digestion

The golden kitchen spice at the centre of Indian cooking, and one of the most familiar household wellness ingredients.

• skin
• joints
• seasonal wellness

A marsh-growing rhizome with a sharp, camphor-like aroma, used in classical Ayurveda in very small, carefully processed amounts. It is one of the herbs where traditional purification (shodhana) genuinely matters, because the raw rhizome contains beta-asarone, a compound restricted in food use in several countries. It is not a household self-use herb.

• mind
• speech tradition
• digestion

A shrub whose leaves and flowers appear across classical Ayurveda and Indian household traditions in preparations linked with the breath and the chest. It is one of the most familiar respiratory herbs in the classical repertoire and forms the base of several well-known syrups. Traditional use is supportive and short-term, never a substitute for asthma or infection treatment.

• respiratory wellness
• throat comfort