From my understanding, Jamu is a type of Indonesian healing practice which encompasses a range natural medicines. This practice includes elixir type drinks that can be made using ingredients such as turmeric, ginger, galangal and spices as well as honey, bee pollen or royal jelly.
Those who have travelled to Bali will have seen Jamu drinks for sale. I tried a few when I've visited and loved them all! The ones I tried included turmeric and ginger and I've created a similar one here.
Turmeric and ginger are excellent for supporting the immune system with their strong anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antiseptic properties but they're also excellent for enhancing digestion via the liver and gall bladder. This Jamu drink is also perfect for anyone with inflammatory conditions.
In my recipe I also included pineapple and orange. They add a little sweetness and also further the immune and digestive system enhancing actions with additional Vitamin C from the orange and bromelain from the pineapple. Bromelain is a digestive enzyme mostly found in the core of the pineapple so make sure to never throw the core away!
RECIPE
(This is a very loose recipe as the exact amounts don't really matter..)
Ingredients
- 2 finger sized pieces of turmeric
- 2 finger sized pieces of ginger
- 1/2 ripe pineapple (it needs to be ripe and sweet, you can tell by the way it smells)
- 2 oranges
- A pinch of black pepper (this enhances the anti-inflammatory action of turmeric)
- 1-2 cups coconut water
Method
- With a teaspoon scrape the skin from the turmeric and ginger then chop into chunks
- Slice the skin from the pineapple and roughly chop (use the core too!)
- Slice the skin from the oranges and roughly chop
- Add all ingredients to a blender and blitz until smooth
- If you prefer, you can strain out the pulp through a sieve but I like to keep it in as the pulp is fibre!
- Store in a glass bottle/jar in the fridge
To Serve
- Drink around 1/2 cup at a time.
- If you prefer, fill the rest of the glass with filtered water & sweeten to your liking with honey or maple syrup also