My husband had a bad throat a few weeks ago. He was suffering from a Streptobacillus infection - a bacterial infection.

He was adviced liquid or semi solid food and I was able to cook thanks to guidance from friends and well wishers.

Here are a few recipes which will help you if God forbid you are afflicted with a bad throat -

Jeera (Cumin) Kashaya

Kashaya is a home made cough syrup which one can drink several times in a day.

Method:

Take about half a teaspoon of cumin - powder it.

Use about quarter of pepper powder

Pour both the powders into a glass of milk.

Warm the milk adding sugar as required and drink this concotion as a supplement to beverages. Your throat will feel much better.

Rice Porridge

This is the simplest rice porridge I have ever made.

Make rice for the person afflicted with the infection - about half a cup of it.

Allow it to rest and take about an inch of ginger - put both the rice and ginger together and grind it with water liquefying it.

Boil the rice ginger liquid frm about 2 to 5 mins with salt to taste until it becomes a thicker consistency.

You have yummy rice porridge.

Rava(Semolina) porridge

Roast about a bowl of semolina (rava) in a spoon of ghee for about 2 minutes.

Add milk and water in 1:2 proportion to this rava and add cinammom pwder to add flavor. A quarter teaspoo is sufficent.

Add sugar to the cooked rava.

It takes about 5-8 mins for it to coagulate with the milk and become like a soup.

Sago/Sabudana dish

Soak about half a bowl of Sago for an hour in water.

Cook the Sago after an hour in the cooker upto a whistle.

Take a cup of yogurt and beat it.

Add it to the cooked sago.

Seasoning:

Heat oil in a pan, add cumin seeds, mustard seeds, asafoestida(a pinch), a small piece of ginger and 1 green chilli (thai/indian)

Add this seasoning to the sago curd mixture.

Add salt to taste and heat the dish for about 4 mins.

The Sago dish is ready to serve.

Cumin curry

Ingredients:

grated coconut - about a bowl

one teaspoon cumin

half of a medium onion (chopped finely)

split dalia - about half a teaspoon

garlic - 3 cloves

Put all the above ingredients in a blender and make a smooth paste of it.

Take a separate pan, make a seasoning of oil(1 spoon) and mustard seeds(about a handful) and add the smoothened cumin paste. Add about 2 spoons of tamarind paste to the same and boil the mixture by adding salt as per taste.

The above dishes are all mild on the throat and will help heal the infection.