During the festival of Deepawali, many families prepare Deepawali marunthu (a kind of lehyam/jam) that is an excellent digestive and immunity enhancer. During the festival season, people tend to overeat and overexert themselves. This marunthu is an excellent restorative.
In the US, there seems to be a similar tradition. During Thanksgiving and Christmas, one tends to go overboard on turkey and duck roast, gravy, chocolates and cakes. The Americans don’t have a nuanced preparation like our marunthu but cranberry sauce is their answer to overeating issues. In many households cranberry sauce is a holiday staple. Massachusetts produces 27 per cent of the world’s cranberry and since I am in Boston, I am intrigued by this popular berry, which is harvested once a year in October—the holiday season.
Harvesting cranberries is a unique process. Cranberries grow on vines or on runners in boggy areas. Once the fruits ripen, farmers flood the bog and a machine runs through the water detaching the fruit from the vine. And then you have the entire lake floating with beautiful red cranberries. A harvester collects them from the water and it is then packed for the market. Cranberries are tart and a good substitute for tamarind or lime.
Cranberry sauce eaten with turkey helps in digesting the meat as its sour taste increases bile production, which improves fat digestion and metabolism. Cranberry is high in antioxidants, which detoxify free radicals. It is also rich in betacarotene, a blood alternative and liver restorative. Cranberry also has an astringent taste, one of the six tastes spelt out in Ayurveda. This fruit tightens and tones tissues. It is cooling and reduces inflammation.
Cranberry helps in maintaining proper bowel movement, and preventing the growth of E coli and urinary tract infections (UTI). Proanthocyanide in cranberries prevents the attachment of microbial cell with the uterine lining, thus preventing their growth. Cranberry is said to be useful in fighting cancers because of the flavonoid and antioxidant compounds in it.
Apart from improving the immune system and maintaining a healthy heart, they tend to increase HDLs (the good cholesterol) and lower LDLs (bad cholesterol). The anti-adherence properties of the fruit help prevent the adherence of microbes to the uterine lining and LDL to blood vessels. Cranberry juice is good for those with UTIs, but it should be taken with caution by those having kidney stones and the ones on blood thinning medications.
This Thanksgiving, I ate a lot of home-made cranberry sauce teamed with creamy mashed potatoes and oven-roasted Brussels sprouts. The preparation is simple: Cranberries - one cup, sugar - one cup, water - one cup. Finely grind them till all the cranberries burst and you get a jam-like consistency. You can spice it with a little chilli powder. And enjoy the home-made cranberry sauce.
The writer is retired Additional Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu. She can be reached at sheelarani.
arogyamantra@gmail.com/arogyamantra.blogspot.com