Healing My Gut The Ancestral Way | A 3-Step Village Ritual

🌿 A Gut-Healing Day in My Village Kitchen
This self-care ritual begins with sun-dried neem flowers — a bitter herb our ancestors trusted to gently cleanse the gut and cool the body from within.

In today’s vlog, I’ll be sharing three simple, time-tested recipes from our village:
🍲 A traditional neem flower soup to support gut health
💧 A cooling vetiver-infused herbal water
🍚 Our village-style curd rice made with fresh homemade curd

Each recipe is lovingly passed down and prepared the way my grandmother used to — with slow hands, quiet mornings, and simple ingredients.

🪔 Join me for a healing day in our countryside kitchen, filled with soft sounds, old routines, and soul-soothing ancestral food

📌 CHAPTERS

0:00 – A Healing Day Begins
0:04 – Collecting and Drying Neem Flowers
2:23 – Making Gut-Healing Neem Flower Soup
4:32 – Farm Sounds & Removing Coconut Husks
6:57 – More Farm Work
7:02 – Preparing Herbal Vetiver Infused Water
8:26 – Restoring My Kerosene Lamp
9:44 – Making Village-Style Curd Rice
13:28 – A Calming Self-Care Meal

🔬 SCIENTIFIC REFERENCES

Immunomodulating Properties of Neem Flowers:
https://www.tmrjournals.com/public/articlePDF/20250312/e0ae125a33df7b348284ff535bacaad0.pdf

Anthelmintic (Deworming) Properties of Neem:
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4675597/

Gastroprotective (Gut Health) Effects of Neem:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15454339/

Vetiver Antioxidant and Anti-inflammatory Properties:
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6273215/

Vetiver Anxiolytic (Calming) Effects:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25553641/

Probiotics Like Curd & Gut Health:
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4045285/

Fermented Foods & Immunity:
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6723656/

🔖 HASHTAGS:

#NeemBenefits #GutHealingRecipes #TraditionalRemedies #VillageKitchen
#AyurvedicHealing #HerbalWater #CurdRiceRecipe #NaturalGutCleanse
#SimpleLivingIndia #HolisticSelfCare #SelfCareVlog #CottagecoreIndia
#SlowLivingVlog #HealingWithFood #VillageLifeVlog #Wildturmeric
#GutHealth #GutHealthForLife #GutHealthyFoods

Today marks the beginning of a week-long 
process for a traditional gut-healing day. It all begins with collecting these fresh 
neem flowers from our tree. For generations, we have used them to create 
a powerful healing soup. I’ll let these dry in the sun for 
about a week, and once they’re ready, I’ll show you how to make that traditional 
soup. Then, to complete our day of wellness, I’ll share two more simple recipes from my 
village that help cool and nourish the gut.” It’s been a week, and the sun has 
worked its magic. Our neem flowers are now perfectly dry and crisp, and their 
medicinal properties are concentrated. Now that they’re ready, we can begin 
making the ancestral healing recipes I told you about. We’ll start with 
that powerful neem flower soup. To start the soup, I soak a lemon-sized 
ball of tamarind in water. While it softens, I coarsely pound some black pepper, cumin seeds, one green chilli, two garlic cloves, 
and a couple of sprigs of curry leaves. Next, I chop a tomato and add it to the tamarind 
water, along with some salt and turmeric powder. I crush the tomato well with my hands and remove 
the skin — just like how my grandma used to do it. Meanwhile, at the farm, our helpers are 
removing the outer husks from coconuts that were harvested two days ago. It’s 
such a calming sound in the background. Back in the kitchen, I heat a 
little oil and add mustard seeds. Once they splutter, I add a split red chilli, the crushed spice mix, and a small 
handful of the dried neem flowers. I fry everything until aromatic. Then, I pour 
in the tamarind mixture and let it heat gently. To balance the bitterness of the neem flowers, I add a little powdered jaggery — just enough 
to taste. I make sure not to let it boil. Once the soup starts to foam 
lightly, I take it off the heat. This soup is deeply rooted in our traditions. It’s believed to help cleanse the gut, reduce 
intestinal worms, and gently support the immune system. And though neem flowers are quite bitter, 
this recipe reduces their bitterness greatly. Now I’m getting ready to make herbal infused water 
— something I love sipping throughout the day. I lightly pound a piece of dry ginger and 
place it on a clean white cloth. Then I add a small bunch of fragrant vetiver root, 
a few coriander seeds, and some cumin seeds. I tie them into a little bundle and drop 
it into a clay pot filled with fresh water. This herbal water is soothing, 
cooling, and supports digestion. Since we’ve been having power 
cuts in the evenings lately, I’m also cleaning up our old kerosene lamp. 
It brings such a peaceful glow to our nights. Drinking vetiver-infused water is an 
old practice here — it’s been around for hundreds of years, and I can see 
why. The aroma itself feels calming. For lunch, I’m making a simple, nourishing curd rice — our village-style 
version that’s rich in natural calcium. I start by mashing some hot, boiled rice. Then 
I add a spoonful of fresh homemade butter, pour in some milk, and add salt to taste. Next, I finely chop an onion, two green chillies, 
a bit of ginger, and some fresh coriander leaves. I grate a small carrot and 
scoop out the seeds from a pomegranate — it adds such a 
lovely crunch and sweetness. I mix everything into the rice along 
with a generous amount of thick curd. For the tempering, I heat 
oil and add mustard seeds, curry leaves, and a dry red chilli 
— and pour it over the curd rice. It brings everything together beautifully. Enjoying this simple meal of cooling curd 
rice and mango pickle is the perfect end to a day of gentle, internal care. 
The warming neem soup to cleanse, the cooling vetiver water to soothe, and 
the nourishing curd rice to strengthen. It’s a beautiful reminder that the most profound 
healing often comes from the simple, ancestral wisdom found right in our own kitchens. 
Thank you for sharing this day with me.