Kwath or cold infusion: arjun chaal, chirata and getting the method right

The oldest part of the Indian apothecary is also the part people find hardest to use, and almost always for the same reason: they treat everything on the shelf like tea. Bark, root, stem and leaf do not give up what they hold in the same way, and the traditional preparations reflect that with some precision.

Two methods cover most of this shelf. Learn which one a material wants and the rest is straightforward.

Decoction, or kwath

A kwath is a decoction: the material is boiled in water and the water is reduced, traditionally by half, then strained and drunk. It is the method for hard, dense materials — bark, woody stems, roots — where hot water passing through briefly does almost nothing.

Arjun chaal is the classic example. It is the bark of Terminalia arjuna, and we sell it as bark pieces rather than powder, because bark keeps its character far longer whole than ground.

• Add one to two teaspoons of bark to two cups of water.
• Bring it to a boil and keep it there until the liquid has reduced to about one cup.
• Strain, and drink once daily, ideally on an empty stomach.
• Do not steep it like tea. A three-minute soak in hot water extracts a fraction of what a proper reduction does, which is why people who brew it that way conclude it tastes of nothing.

Cold infusion

Some materials give up what they hold readily and are damaged by heat, or are simply so intense that gentle extraction is preferable. They are steeped in cold water and left overnight.

Chirata is that case. Whole dried stems of Swertia chirata, one of the classic bitters, and genuinely, seriously bitter — which is precisely the point of it in traditional practice.

• Soak two or three small sticks in a cup of water overnight.
• Strain in the morning and drink the infused water on an empty stomach.
• The same sticks can usually be steeped once more. The second cup is noticeably weaker.
• Start with two sticks rather than a handful. You can always increase; a cup that is too bitter to finish helps nobody.

Bark is boiled. Bitters are steeped. Everything else on this shelf is a variation on those two sentences.

Which method for which material

• Bark and woody stems — decoction. Boil and reduce by half.
• Dried bitter stems such as chirata — cold infusion, overnight.
• Leaf powders such as moringa — no extraction at all. Stir them into liquid or food and consume the leaf itself.
• Resins such as shilajit — dissolved in warm water or milk rather than brewed.
• Gums such as gond katira — soaked cold to form a gel, not extracted at all.

On taste, and on being honest about it

Both of these are bitter, and chirata is aggressively so. In traditional practice that bitterness is not incidental. Still, a few things make it easier.

• Drink it at room temperature or slightly warm rather than hot. Heat sharpens bitterness.
• If you sweeten it, let it cool first and add a small spoon of honey rather than sugar.
• Start with the smaller quantity for the first week and let your palate catch up.
• A very bitter drink on a completely empty stomach does not suit everyone. If it makes you feel unsettled, take it after something light instead.

The one on this shelf you do not drink

Ajwain oil is the exception. It is a carom-seed oil in a herbal base, supplied as a roll-on, and it is entirely external — traditionally applied to the stomach, the temples or the chest. Keep it away from the eyes and from broken skin, and do not take it internally.