Golden Milk (Haldi ka Doodh) – An Ayurvedic Recipe

Golden milk is also known as turmeric milk or haldi doodh (in Hindi) is an ayurvedic recipe made with milk, sugar and turmeric powder, a very popular Indian drink with lots of health benefits. Traditionally, it is a recipe with just three ingredients but few recipe variations use other spices for additional benefits and flavour. But mostly, the recipe variations made with just milk and turmeric is called Turmeric Milk. However, my golden milk recipe includes few more ingredients and a vegan recipe variation as well.

I remember my grandma offering me this recipe whenever I injured myself. She used to tell me that it’ll work as an antiseptic and will help in reducing pain and it proved true many times. Firstly, let me tell you what are the health benefits of drinking golden milk which is the main reason this recipe is so popular in western countries nowadays.

Health Benefits of Drinking Golden Milk

The main ingredient of golden milk recipe is turmeric which is a very popular yellow spice in Asian cuisine and used in a majority of food and herbal and beauty products there.

Turmeric includes antioxidants because of curcumin availability which means it can prevent our cells from damage and fight infectious disease. It also has anti-inflammatory properties which may reduce inflammation and body pain, just like my grandma used to say. 🙂 Black pepper helps in absorbing curcumin well so I highly recommend using it.

Cinnamon is good for lowering blood sugar levels and reduce insulin sensitivity. And ginger helps to relieve indigestion and reduce chances of catching a cold or relieve you if you already have a cough and sneezing problem. Milk is a good source of calcium and vitamin D. However, if you are on a vegan diet, you may use coconut milk which includes several vitamins and minerals as well.

Golden Milk for Sleep

Yes, this recipe is also known for its positive effects on people suffering from sleep deprivation. In India, people mostly drink as their bedtime drink, just like hot chocolate.

When there are so many health benefits of drinking golden milk, why shouldn’t you try? Especially when you just need 5 minutes to prepare it. If you’re not making a vegan recipe, this milk is keto-friendly and also gluten-free.

Ingredients Required

• Milk or Coconut milk (for vegans)
• Turmeric powder (not turmeric root because we need to mix it.)
• Cinnamon powder
• Black pepper powder
• Sugar or honey or any form of sweetener (optional but recommended as turmeric may taste a little bitter without sugar.)
• Ginger (grated or paste)

How to Make Golden Milk Step by Step?

• Boil 1 cup milk in a saucepan.

• When milk started boiling, add 1 tsp sugar, 1/4 tsp turmeric powder, 1/4 tsp grated ginger or ginger paste, 1/4 tsp cinnamon powder and a pinch of black pepper powder.

• Mix everything well and let it cook for 2 minutes.

• Now add in a cup by filtering through a sieve so that ginger chunks will be removed.

• Soothing and delicious golden milk is ready to drink hot.

Storage Instructions

You may definitely keep this golden milk in the refrigerator for 4-5 days but I highly recommend it to drink fresh and hot because of the health benefits attached to the ingredients used.

Tips for Making Golden Milk

• Always make it fresh and drink hot. Of course, it hardly takes 5 minutes to make.
• You can use any type of sweetener in this recipe or even completely remove sweetener.
• You may simply make this recipe with milk, turmeric and sugar only. The rest of the ingredients are added to enhance flavour and health benefits.
• If you don’t have cinnamon powder, you may use cinnamon sticks.
• If you don’t have black pepper powder, crush black peppers and add it to the milk.

Frequently Asked Questions

Other recipes you may want to try:

• Carrot Halwa
• Instant Coconut Ladoo
• Moong Dal Halwa
• Gulab Jamun with Milk Powder
• Mixed Fruit Raita