Garlic milk – A healthy drink with lots of garlic and milk sweetened with palm sugar candy! A natural home remedy for various ailments and a perfect drink for lactating moms.
The combination of garlic, milk, and palm sugar candy might sound odd, but it’s one healthy combo for sure. This garlic milk flavored with cardamom powder and palm sugar candy is perfect for folks who don’t prefer raw garlic.
In Tamil, we call this poondu paal. Poondu means garlic, and paal means milk.
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Disclaimer: I am not a nutritionist or dietitian. These recipes are passed on in my family generations after generations. I am posting them here since I felt I benefitted from it. I do not claim that these are proven methods. All these recipes are handed to me by my Mom, MIL, and grandma.
I learned this recipe from my MIL, and this garlic milk is a part of her childhood weekend ritual. Growing up, we had the weekend ritual of the oil bath. Usually, mom makes cumin-pepper rasam or a simple garlic stir-fry or garlic rice on oil bath days. The meal will be more like a detox meal but a delicious one for sure.
I love garlic, so mom adds it in rasam, kuzhambu, and rice also.
But in my MIL family, instead of adding garlic in rasam or other dishes, they make this thick garlic milk with lots of garlic sweetened with palm sugar candy.
Servings
The below measure yields 4 to 5 servings. Each serving is approx 50ml. I know that’s a small measure, but we are adding 100 grams of garlic, and each serving has all the goodness of garlic.
You can thin it down by adding more milk so each serving can be 200 to 240ml. You can also reduce the milk and make it like a gruel/thick porridge or koozh, as we say in Tamil. In that case, each serving will be 2 tbsp. We usually take this garlic milk weekly once.
There is no set measure for this recipe, and you can adjust the garlic and milk measure according to your liking. Typically we add 5 to 7 cloves of garlic per serving.
PS – If you plan to consume it daily or plan to give it to toddlers, please consult with your doctor first.
Health benefits of garlic.
We all know the health benefits of garlic. You can find many articles on the internet explaining the proven benefits of garlic and garlic milk. In our household, a postpartum diet is incomplete without garlic-based dishes. Garlic is excellent for lactating moms, and I remember eating sautéed garlic, garlic rice, garlic rasam during my postpartum period.
As I had garlic in other forms, I did not have this garlic milk during my postpartum but started having it a little later. Again, this garlic milk is not only for lactating moms. Garlic milk is an excellent remedy for gastric problems and knee pain also.
Dietary specifications
This garlic milk is gluten-free and nut-free dairy-based drink. You can opt for nut-based milk for a vegan option.
Watch me make the garlic milk.
Garlic milk recipe with step-wise pictures
- I went with the pot-in-pot pressure cooking method. Add 1 to 1.5 cups of water to the pressure pan or cooker and place the vessel, add the garlic.
- Then the milk.
- Close the pressure cooker and cook for up to three whistles/hisses. Let the pressure release naturally and open the pressure cooker. The garlic should be soft and mushy.
- Remove the vessel from the pressure cooker. Add the cardamom powder and palm sugar.
- Mix well and mash the garlic as you mix. Make sure to add the cardamom powder and palm sugar when the milk is hot so that the palm sugar dissolves easily—no need to simmer again. That’s it. Garlic milk is ready. Serve warm. I recommend drinking this warm, and I never have refrigerated or stored the garlic milk for a more extended period.
Recipe Notes:
- I highly recommend palm sugar or jaggery for this recipe. It adds a nice flavor, and please avoid white or artificial sugar.
- As mentioned before, this measure serves 4 to 5, and each serving is approx 50ml. You add more milk to increase the serving measure. Please refer to the “Servings” section for more details.
- If you like garlic chunks in your milk, then mash them coarsely.
- You can add ⅛ tsp of turmeric powder as well.
More garlic recipes
PS: If you try this garlic, please don’t forget to comment and rate this recipe. If you have any questions, please leave a comment, and I will get to it ASAP. Make sure to follow me on my Pinterest for more healthy and delicious ideas! Follow me on Instagram or join my Facebook Group for more gardening and recipe updates! You can also sign-up for my newsletter for weekly updates.
📖 Recipe
Garlic Milk | Poondu Paal
Equipment
- Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
Measurement Details: 1 cup = 240ml; 1 tbsp=15ml; 1tsp=5ml;
- 100 grams garlic approx 30 to 32 garlic cloves
- 1 cup milk
- ¼ tsp cardamom powder
- 2 tbsp palm sugar or to taste
Instructions
- I went with the pot-in-pot pressure cooking method. Add 1 to 1.5 cups of water to the pressure pan or cooker and place the vessel, add the garlic.
- Then the milk.
- Close the pressure cooker and cook for up to three whistles/hisses. Let the pressure release naturally and open the pressure cooker. The garlic should be soft and mushy.
- Remove the vessel from the pressure cooker. Add the cardamom powder and palm sugar.
- Mix well and mash the garlic as you mix. Make sure to add the cardamom powder and palm sugar when the milk is hot so that the palm sugar dissolves easily—no need to simmer again. That’s it. Garlic milk is ready. Serve warm. I recommend drinking this warm, and I never have refrigerated or stored the garlic milk for a more extended period.
Video
Notes
- I highly recommend palm sugar or jaggery for this recipe. It adds a nice flavor, and please avoid white or artificial sugar.
- As mentioned before, this measure serves 4 to 5, and each serving is approx 50ml. You add more milk to increase the serving measure. Please refer to the “Servings” section for more details.
- If you like garlic chunks in your milk, then mash them coarsely.
- You can add ⅛ tsp of turmeric powder as well.
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It varies depending upon the product types or brands.
Very user-friendly and accurate recipe.