Narthangai Urundai/Digestive Churan Goli

One of my aunts is in Tirunelveli who does traditional recipes of the South Indian Cuisine and she is the go-to person for any cooking help.  We visit her place often and it is always a pleasure to be with them.  When we had been to visit them recently, I happened to meet my aunt's co-sister who stay to their next door, Vasantha aunty, and she gave me a big pack of narthangai urundai (the churan golis) which she had freshly prepared herself, inspite of her old age.  Now that these things have become rare to get hold of, I readily accepted it and asked her for the recipe too as such traditional recipes (treasures rather) we can learn only from our elders.  She happily shared her recipe and has been my to-do recipe every year during the summer time though these are not to be dried directly under the sun.

Ingredients:

Sukku (Dry Ginger) - 100 gm

Omam (Ajwain) - 100 gm

Milagu (Pepper) - 100 gm

Seeragam (Cumin Seeds) - 100 gm

Perungayam (Asafoetida) - 100 gm

Indhuppu (Himalayan Salt) - 100 gm

Podi Uppu (Powdered/Table Salt) - 100 gm

Lemon - 40 (medium sized)



Method:

1.  Sun dry all the ingredients except lemon.  They should be crisp enough to be easily powdered.

2.  Powder them separately and keep aside.

3.  Wash and wipe the lemons.  Cut them into halves and squeeze the juice out of them.  Strain and remove seeds.

4.  In a bowl, mix all the powdered ingredients and the squeezed lemon juice until combined together.

5.  Keep aside undisturbed and closed.

6.  After 1 or 1-1/2 days, the mixture would have solidified a bit to a consistency that would enable to make small balls (urundais/golis).

7.  Roll small sized balls (urundais) and allow to dry completely in shade itself (do not sun dry).

8.  Store in airtight containers.  They have shelf life of more than a year if stored properly.

These balls (urundais/golis) are very handy when one suffers from indigestion or gas trouble.  They provide immediate relief from stomach pains and is a very good home remedy for such gastric issues.

Though the name is Narthangai Urundai, generally lemons are used to make these digestion enhancers.  If Narthangai (Citron) is available, its juice can be used to make this recipe.  This can be considered as homemade Hajmola (with a different and natural flavor) to remedy your digestive problems.