More tips Using Spices

• Soothe really bad cough and chest pain
  Get half an inch of "fire ginger" (Halia bara), pound and squeeze a drop or two of its juice, mix with a teaspoon of wild honey, consume twice a day. Halia bara is smaller in diameter, has a ring of red coat under its skin. Tastes hotter than normal ginger.
• Soothe stomach wind
• Too much hot spicy food can sometimes make your tummy full of wind. Prepare green tea with a slice of ginger. Drink slowly. Feel its magic work. An ointment prepared with menthol and nutmeg also works wonder. Rub on your stomach sparingly. Nutmeg ointment is available at the chemist. Also good for headache or travel sickness and sea sickness.
• Reduce the swelling of mumps
  This is one of the household tips using spices which I used on my son when he had mumps. The inflammation of thyroid glands at the side of the neck can be very painful and uncomfortable especially to young children. Mix a little water to tamarind pulp. Simply paste the wet tamarind pulp to affected area. I know it sounds gross, but tamarind is very cooling and soothing. Leave the paste till it dries.
• Reduce the heat of chillie (this time, the spice IS the culprit)
  Sometimes if you slice too many fresh chillies or handle too much dried ones, your fingers are in pain with burning sensation. To reduce this, wash rice grains in your usual rice cooker pot, the act of washing your hands in water mixed with rice soothes the burning sensation. Try it.
• Eliminate the smell of garlic from your hands (this time, the spice IS also the culprit)
  After chopping or handling garlic, your hands smell awful. To get rid of the smell is very simple - take a stainless steel knife or other stainless steel kitchen utensils and rub your hands against the blade as if you are washing the tool under running water at your sink. The bad smell magically will disappear.