Sattva Issue 05 | Springtime Special
Spring cleaning tips, Gulkand, Sundrying produce, Springtime special playlist & more
Sattva (सत्त्व) is a beautiful Sanskrit word that has many meanings—spirit, true essence, good sense, wisdom, quality of purity, energy, consciousness and mind, among other things.
Through this fortnightly newsletter, I want to bring to you all things good, which will make your life better. My focus will be on topics such as mindfulness, productivity, slow living and sustainability, accompanied by genuinely useful recommendations of products, books, music, links to read, and of course food and recipes. Through these, I hope to instil some Sattva in your life.
Hello April.
The pale pink tabebuias, yellow copper pods, purple jacarandas and feathery pink flowers on rain trees have dressed up Bengaluru in happy colours. Welcome to the springtime edition of Sattva.
Taking a cue from nature, it is the right time to spring clean our thoughts, our food and our homes.
Keep a list of uplifting thoughts, notes and music to replace the ones that weigh us down.
If you are trying to move towards a healthier diet, spring clean your kitchen cabinets by removing all the packaged foods. What you see is what you eat. Keep glass containers filled with freshly cut veggies and fruits right at eye level in the fridge. This ensures you reach out for them whenever you want to snack on something. A couple of yoghurt-based dips or a mustard dressing is perfect to have along with the veggies.
To spring clean your home, tackle small sections every day. Take no more than 15 minutes at one go so that you don’t feel overwhelmed by the impending cleaning.
My 15-minute room cleaning routine
Most of us are still working from home. If you look around the room and you feel the mess getting to you, may I suggest you take a 15-minute break from work and do an express cleaning session? I did this exact same thing in the morning. Before you start, keep a cooling drink in the fridge, so you can reward yourself with it post the cleaning spree. There’s an idea for a truly cooling beverage coming up for you in the next sections of the newsletter.
Get all the cleaning supplies that you may need (dust wiping cloth, broom, mop etc.) in one basket/bucket. Hit play on your favourite playlist. Start by wiping down the often touched surfaces like switchboards, door handles and wardrobe handles. Put papers, books, laundry, cushions etc in their place. Wipe the mirrors/glass surfaces with a cotton cloth dipped in a diluted vinegar solution. Do a quick sweep or vacuum the floor. Don’t push yourself too hard, just do whatever you can in 15 minutes. In fact, I recommend keeping a timer so you don’t exceed the allotted cleaning time.
Don’t make your bed first thing in the morning
A lot of morning routine and productivity articles and videos will tell you that you must make your bed first thing in the morning. But let me tell you why you should NOT make your bed first thing in the morning. We do sweat quite a bit and shed skin cells at night. Dust mites thrive under these conditions. Your blankets /bedding and sheets need to air out under the fan for at least 30 minutes before making the bed. If your room gets sunlight, draw the curtains and let the sun in. This helps reduce or remove the moisture from the bedding. Sunning and airing the bed for a couple of hours before making it especially in humid weather conditions is definitely a good practice.
Gulkand and 6 ways to use it
Gulkand or desi rose petal preserve is made by combining rose petals and sugar and leaving it in the sun for 3-4 weeks. It is an exercise in harnessing the beauty and aroma of roses in our food. The fragrance of desi gulaab along with its cooling benefits can help make hot days more bearable. Here are 6 ways in which you can use gulkand. Do share your ideas on using gulkand with me in the comments.
A spoon of gulkand in ice-cold milk (dairy or plant-based) is perfect on hot days when you don’t feel like drinking tea or coffee. (your post-cleaning reward)
Mix gulkand along with cream cheese and spread on toast, or drizzle over peanut butter on toast.
Gulkand + extra virgin olive oil + lime juice + black pepper + crushed fennel seeds + salt makes for a cooling summer-friendly salad dressing.
Look for all-natural gulkand flavoured ice creams or kulfi to relish on hot days.
Thick yoghurt + some chopped seasonal fruit + toasted seed mix + spoonful of gulkand makes a chilled yoghurt bowl for breakfast
If you like paan, spread a spoonful of gulkand on paan and eat it after a meal for cooling + digestion.
I don’t expect you to find the perfect desi gulaab and then spend 4 weeks preparing gulkand. I have tried the one from Sidhagiri’s Satvyk and it is made with care, also smells and tastes beautiful.
Sundried stuff
You can use the sun not just to make gulkand, but sundry a lot of fresh produce. It is one way of preserving ingredients that we highly underutilize in a country where most places receive abundant sun. One of my friends swears by the flavours of onion powder and garlic powder in dishes. Whenever I have bought them, I have always been underwhelmed by the freshness and potency. Now that sun is shining down for a few hours each day, I play to sundry sliced onion, green chillies, ginger, garlic and even raw mango to make my own dried spice powders. I did that with the freshly harvested turmeric from my garden. More than the colour, I’m in love with the flavour. I recently bought this Premier spice grinder and I used it to grind turmeric. The small jar and powerful motor make it perfect for grinding small quantities of dry or wet spices.
Now that we have talked about all the things to do, I want you to relax with some music.
A specially curated springtime playlist for you
It makes me very happy when so many of you message me that you love the music I use in my Instagram reels. It is my aim to give you a sneak peek into ragas, bandish and Hindustani classical music in general. We have ragas for different times of the day and for different seasons too.
Some of the spring time ragas are Basant, Bahaar, Sohani, Hindol, Basant-Bahar and Hindol-Basant. Hori is another genre of songs that are sung during springtime. Hori is a semi-classical genre of Hindustani classical music, sung in parts of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar around the festival of Holi. This is also called dhamaar where the song is set to dhamaar taal (beat). Hori or dhamaar usually depicts a scene of Radha and Krishna playing Holi.
My springtime playlist feels light, uplifting and all-around beautiful, just like spring. The playlist has some easy-listening vocal and instrumental songs that you can relax or work to. You can catch this on YouTube and Spotify. As soon as I am done making the playlist on Apple Music, I shall share it on my Instagram.
*Springtime Playlist on Youtube
*Springtime Playlist on Spotify
Book related news
Yesterday, I went around to some independent bookstores in Bengaluru to sign copies of my new book Everyday Superfoods. You will find signed copies at Sapna Book Mall on Residency Road, as well as in Bookworm, Blossom Book House and Gangarams on Church Street. If you are not in Bengaluru, you may contact these bookstores via social media and they will be happy to courier you a copy.
I would love your feedback on the newsletter. If you like what you read, please share it with your family and friends. I am grateful for your help in reaching my newsletter to a wider audience. See you in two weeks time!
Nandita Iyer
Books: Everyday Superfoods | The Everyday Healthy Vegetarian
Blog: https://saffrontrail.com
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Hello mam!
Congratulations on the launch of your new book. What an issue!!
Now I can tell my mom a valid reason for not making my bed first thing in the morning 😄..
The 15 min cleaning method is pretty useful and I myself follow it. With my kids around don’t get much time for cleaning the house. So doing a corner a day really helps.
Who would have thought to add Gulkand in a salad dressing. You gave us 6 new recipes in your ‘6 ways to use Gulkand’. You made a wonderful playlist for your readers. It’s wonderfully pleasant and amazing. I regularly listen to your music on Instagram. You have an amazing voice and an excellent choice in choosing your music both for singing and your reels.
Thank you as always for all the tips
Waiting for the next issue
Mallika ❤️