From kids to oldies all love curd and have it atleast once a day, sometimes at night also. But what does Ayurveda say about it? Can we eat it daily? Can we eat it at Night? Is it a Virodhik Aahar? Should we eat fresh curd? And many more questions. They all will be answered in this article. Share some love by sharing it with your loved ones. So let us begin with Properties of Dahi :-
Properties of Curd :-
- Somewhat bitter ( कषाय) , Heavy ( गुरू), acidic after digestion (अम्ल विपाक), oily, kapha – pitta vardhak, Hot .
- Grahi (ग्राही), increases Appetite, increases taste in food.
- Useful in blood disorders, inflammation*, difficulty in micturition, cold, prolonged cold, fever, diarrhea.
- Increases semen, helps in weight gain and energy.
- According to dhanvantari nighantu it causes inflammation
Now let’s see properties – according to various animals.
| Cow | sweet and acidic, oily, vata nashak, sweet after digestion | builts taste in food, pure, increases appetite, Causes constipation | Good for heart, help in normalisation of BMI | Best |
| Buffalo | Very oily, kapha janak, vata- pitta nashak, sweet after digestion, heavy | Causes blood disorders | increases semen, helpful in tuberculosis | |
| Sheep | light, tridosha nashak, hot, sweet in digestion | increases appetite | stops diarrhea, helps in Asthma, cough, piles, tuberculosis and weight gain | best |
| Boiled milk | oily, pitta – vata nashak | builts taste in food | makes body good, provide energy | good |
| Tonned milk | light, vata karak, cool | increases appetite, builts taste | Grahini roga shamak, diarrhea |
Do you know in Ayurveda after telling properties of various kinds of dahi, it’s divided into various types according to taste and amount of fermentation took place. So let’s have a view on them too😁
Types of Curd :-
- Manda Curd ( mixture) – similar to milk, fermentation hasn’t take place properly, Taste can’t be figured out.
- Diuretic, feels feverish like after eating, Tridosha karaka
- Swadu Curd ( tasty dahi ) – very well fermented, sweet in taste, acidic taste is missing or can’t be felt.
- Increases semen, fat and kapha karaka, vata nashaka, sweet after digestion, Rakta pitta nashak.
- Swadu-amla curd ( sweet sour dahi )- sweet in taste, pungent in ending.
- Similar to normal curd (Dahi) properties.
- Amla curd ( sour dahi )- acidic in taste
- Increases appetite, pitta and kapha increaser, increases rakta / blood disorders
- Atyant amala curd ( Very sour in taste ) – feels like sensitivity in teeth, hotness in throat.
- Increases appetite, causes blood disorders, vata pitta nashak
- Dahi without malai or dense part –
- light
- Curd with ½ malai or dense part –
- increses semen, heavy and kapha karaka, good for energy, bad for ama, inflammation and Diarrhoea
- Dense dahi – heavy, dense, kapha karak
- Watery dahi – increases appetite, rakta pitta vardhak, not good for cold, asthma, cough.
- Yavan Dahi – made on silver or salty surface
- Yavit Dahi – made on kait, mango or chitrak juice surface.
- is dense and hard
Properties of various parts:-
- Sar – dense upper part of curd, contains ghee
- tasty, heavy, increases semen, vata nashak, increases appetite, useful in pelvis disorders, pitta kapha vardhak
- Mastu – watery part of curd
- light, decreases stress and tiredness, build interest in food, detoxify body, increases kapha, vata nashak, decreases thrust, somewhat semen increases, looses stool.
Before moving forward, like i like salty dahi similarly some of you might like sweet one? And some will go for other varieties too. let’s talk about them too :-
Effect of ingredients:-
लवणमरिचसर्पि:शर्करामुद्गधात्रीकुसुमरसविहीनं नैतदश्नन्ति नित्यम् ।
Dahi mixed with the following mentioned below are good with dahi and can be mixed with it.
- Sugar – Best one, calms thrust, Rakta pitta, fever and blood disorders.
- Jaggery – Vata nashak, increases semen, weight gainer, heavy.
- Salt – helps to cure hiccups, piles, asthma, splenomegaly, Diarrhoea, fisures, can be taken in any condition.
- Ajwain with salt – good and can be taken every season
- Hot – Poision
- Ghee – vata nashak, heavy
- Amla – kafa nashak
- Honey – light to digest, very less harmful, builds taste in food
- Moong soup – somewhat kafa karak, rakhta and vata dushak
- Salt and water – can be taken at any condition
- Black pepper – vata kafa nashak
- Trikatu – vata kafa nashak, increases appetite
- Sotha ( dry ginger) – useful in many diseases
- Rai – kafha har, increases appetite
After ingredients let me ask a question which dahi you prefer sweet or sour? Let’s see which on should we eat!
मधुरं भक्षयेन्नित्यमत्यम्लं वर्जयेत् सदा | मधुरं दधि रोगघ्नमत्यम्लं रोकारकम्
one should prefer to eat sweet dahi instead of sour one. Because sweet one cures diseases whereas other causes them.
Now moving to next session and finally you will get the answers for which you visited or clicked on this link.
Curd at night = Virodhik Aahar?
In Ayurveda 18 types of Virodhik aahar is mentioned and one of them is “kala virudha”! Is curd at night kala virudha?
रात्रौ दधिभक्षणस्य निषेधमांह न नक्तं दधि भुञ्जीत न चाप्यघृतशर्करम् । नामुद्गसूपं नाक्षौद्रं नोष्णं नामलकैर्विना ॥
One shouldn’t eat dahi at night, but if you want to eat dahi at night then consume it with ghee and sugar or with moong dal, or fresh but not hot and at last with amla.
शस्यते दधि नो रात्रौ शस्तं चाम्बुघृतान्वितम् । रक्तपित्तकफोत्थेषु विकारेषु तु नैव तत् ॥
One shouldn’t eat curd at night but if curd is mixed with water and ghee. Then there is no issue in eating it at night. But the same should be avoided if you have rakta, pitta and kapha diseases.
तल्लवणाम्बुसंयुक्तं दधि शस्तं निशि ध्रुवम् (Harita samhita)
Curd mixed with water and salt can be taken at night.
Disadvantages:-
ज्वराक्पित्त वीसर्पकुष्ठपाण्ड्वामयभ्रमान् । प्राप्नुयात्कामलां चोग्रां विधिं हत्वा दधिप्रियः ॥
Any curd lover when eats curd without following the rules set, may get fever, raktapitta, visarpa, kustha, anemia, nausea, and jaundice. (Mostly blood disorders).
Apart from the diseases, kaideva in his book has also mentioned that eating curd at night brings loss to prosperity.
निश्यलक्ष्मीकृच्च तदाऽप्यम्भः पटुयुतं हितम्
Eating curd at night brings bad luck and loss. If taken by mistake we can consume salty water to prevent its harmful effects.
According to different seasons:-
| Varsha (Rainy season) | Best, helps to cure tuberculosis, dilemma, tiredness, diarrhoea. |
| Shardha (Autumn) | heavy, acidic, increases blood , pitta vardhak, causes fever |
| Hemant (early winter) | heavy, oily, kapha karak, increases strength, semen, memory, weight and relaxes mind |
| Shishir (late winter) | dense, acidic and sweet , oily, sticky, heavy, increases kapha, semen, strength, pitta and reduces tiredness |
| Vasant (Spring) | Vata kapha karak, sweet and slightly acidic, oily, increases strength, semen. Overall not good. |
| Greesham (summers) | slight acidic, very hot, rakta pitta karak, helps in tuberculosis, thrust. Not good to take. |
शरद्ग्रीष्मवसन्तेषु दोषकृन्न हितं भवेत् । हेमन्ते शिशिरे चैव वर्षासु तद्धितं मतम् ॥
Curd should be avoided in sharad, grisham and vasant ritu.
अतिसारेऽ रुचौ कार्ये दिवा च दधि शस्यते ।
Person with diarrhoea, anorexia, weakness should eat curd in the day time.
Curd and diseases:-
ज्वरासृक्पित्तवैसर्पिकुष्ठिनां संप्राप्तकामलानाञ्च शोफिनाञ्च पाण्डुरोगिणाम् । विशेषतः राजयक्ष्माणामपस्मारे च पीनसे । प्रतिश्यायार्दितानाञ्च भोजनेन हितं दधि।।
Person with fever, rakta pitta, visarpa, skin problems, jaundice, inflammation, tuberculosis, epilepsy, common cold, facial paralysis should avoid curd.
पीनसे चातिसारे च शीतके विषमज्वरे | अरुचौ मूत्रकृच्छ्रे च कार्ये च दधि शस्यते ॥
In diarrhea, common cold, fever, problem in micturition, thin & lean person curd should be preferred.
शशिकुंदसमुज्वलशङ्खलिभं युवतीकरनिर्मितनिर्मथितम्। घृतसैंधवहिङ्गुयुतं मधुरं पिब तक्र महो नृप रोगहरम्।।
Dahi mixed with ghee, salt, hing (Asafoetida) can be taken in any disease and kings (rich people) should consume it.
- Vatik disorder – sour curd + salt
- Pitta disorder – sweet curd + sugar
- Kafa disorder – curd + trikatu + kshaar
Some collectable references :-
भोजनं देहि राजेंद्र घृतसूपसमन्वितम्। माहिषं च शरच्चंद्रचंद्रिकाघवलं दधि।।
The king offered me food with ghee, soup & pure buffalo dahi which was similar to an autumn season’s moon in appearance.
Here, buffalo curd is praised and asked but cow’s curd is better so it makes a collectable and rare reference.
यत्र नास्ति दधिमंथनघोषो यत्र नो लघुलघूनि शिशूति । यत्र नास्ति गुरुगौरवपूजा तानि किं वत गृहाणिवनानि।।
A house is not really a home if there isn’t sound of making lassi from curd, voices of kids, respect for guests and prayers for god.
So much information about curd ! But it’s just a trailer wish to read more then refer to dahivargha of Nighantus. Hope you loved the trailer.