Respiratory remedy

Made from Kapha-pacifying pungent spices and honey to heat and detoxify the body, this coarse thick paste is the Ayurvedic remedy for coughs, head colds and sinus infections... and it tastes delicious. You’ll need a taste for pungent spices, but combining them with a little cinnamon and honey makes the medicine go down. I’ve used whole peppercorns, cloves, cinnamon sticks and fresh ginger here to ensure the active ingredients of these spices are as fresh as possible but otherwise go for the ground spices.

Serves 2

12 black peppercorns

8 cloves

1cm (½in) piece of fresh ginger, chopped, or 1 tsp ground ginger

1 cinnamon stick, broken, or ½ tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp raw honey

1 In a pestle and mortar, crush and grind the peppercorns, cloves, ginger and cinnamon as finely as possible.

2 Transfer to a bowl and stir in the honey to make a paste.