Ginger Shots With Honey (Inji)- To fight Cold, Flu, Inflammation and To Strengthen Immunity

My mom says Ginger or Inji as we call it in my mother tongue Tamil, is a thaai marundhu or mother of all medicines. Ginger is used a lot in Indian cooking, especially among Tamil speaking Muslims who cannot imagine drinking tea without adding ginger to it. I would like to share the recipe of Ginger Juice or Ginger Shots, which is a very popular "medicine" among the Tamil speaking community. This juice is specially given in a very large quantity (almost a mug!) to mothers right after giving birth, since the combination of ginger and honey is believed to strengthen the nerves and also bring about "heat" to the body after the loss of a lot of blood and also for the pain relief. However, the method of preparation for new mothers is a bit different as a special herbal powder made of dried ginger is added to the mixture. Ginger has many health benefits and some of the known benefits are fighting cold and flu, aiding indigestion, etc. Ginger, with its strong anti inflammatory properties is also believed to fight ovarian cancer and diabetes.

I have memories of running around the house whenever my grandma makes this for me due to the strong taste of ginger. My mother keeps insisting that I make this juice every time I catch cold, but I've always thought that it is a very difficult process and would escape giving her some reasons. I made up my mind to try this time and it seemed successful.

Recipe- Ginger Shots/Inji 

Ingredients
Ginger-2 medium pieces
Honey- 4-5 tablespoons
Water- As required

Method
Wash and peel the skin of the ginger

Cut them into small slices

Put them in a mixer/grinder adding some water little by little.

Strain the juice and leave it in a glass for at least an hour. This is a very important step.

After an hour, you will notice that there is a white residue at the bottom of the glass. Pour the juice to a different glass leaving out the residue. That white residue is considered toxic.
Add 4-5 tablespoons of honey to a saucepan. If you are giving it to your children, you can add more.
Turn on the heat and let the honey become a little frothy
Add the ginger extract and heat it up
Turn off the stove, transfer the contents and enjoy!


Some important points to bear in mind before drinking this juice:

It is a popular belief that natural remedies will not give any side effects. It is true and it doesn't really harm like the over the counter medicines. However, one may not get the desired outcome or might even experience some unpleasant effects due to wrong preparation or not taking proper precautions.
The juice will be highly concentrated and will have a very strong flavour of ginger. A couple of teaspoons will work wonders on your kids and give it to them in a teaspoon and not in a cup due to its strong taste. Ginger is believed to produce a lot of heat in your body so make sure you don't eat anything else that causes heat like chicken, crab, etc for dinner. Also, it is good to avoid taking this after a heavy meal. The best time to take this juice is before bed time. It is also important that you don't drink milk right after taking this juice.