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    Home » Beverages » Garlic Milk | Poondu Paal

    Garlic Milk | Poondu Paal

    Posted on February 17, 2021 · Last Updated on February 16, 2021 · By Srividhya G · 1 Comment

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    garlic milk with text overlay for pinterest

    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. 

    garlic milk served in two glass cups

    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. 

    Jump to:
    • Servings 
    • Health benefits of garlic.
    • Dietary specifications
    • Watch me make the garlic milk.
    • Garlic milk recipe with step-wise pictures
    • Recipe Notes:
    • More garlic recipes
    • 📖 Recipe

    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. 

    garlic milk served in two glass cups

    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.
    adding garlic to the inner pot of the pressure cooker
    • Then the milk.
    adding 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.
    cooked garlic
    • Remove the vessel from the pressure cooker. Add the cardamom powder and palm sugar. 
    adding palm sugar and cardamom powder
    • 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. 
    garlic milk served in two cups placed on a rustic tray with garlic cloves and palm candy on the side

    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

    • square image of pathiya rasam in eeya sombu
      Pathiya Rasam | Easy Postpartum Rasam | Pathiya Poondu Rasam
    • garlic rice in a cast iron pan
      Garlic Rice | Poondu Sadam
    • poondu kuzhambu in a white bowl and poondu kuzhambu with rice on a white plate
      Poondu Kuzhambu | South Indian Style Garlic Stew / Gravy
    • Side view of the Cashew Garlic Pickle ready for the dinner
      Cashew Garlic Pickle

    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

    square image of garlic milk placed on rustic tray with garlic cloves
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    5 from 3 votes

    Garlic Milk | Poondu Paal

    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.
    Prep Time15 minutes mins
    Cook Time25 minutes mins
    Total Time40 minutes mins
    Course: Beverages
    Cuisine: Tamil Nadu
    Servings: 4
    Calories: 95kcal
    Author: Srividhya G

    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.
      adding garlic to the inner pot of the pressure cooker
    • Then the milk.
      adding 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.
      cooked garlic
    • Remove the vessel from the pressure cooker. Add the cardamom powder and palm sugar.
      adding palm sugar and cardamom powder
    • 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.
      square image of garlic milk placed on rustic tray with garlic cloves

    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

    Calories: 95kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 6mg | Sodium: 43mg | Potassium: 182mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 101IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 115mg | Iron: 1mg

    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.

    Tried this recipe?Mention @vidhyasvegetariankitchen or tag #vidhyasvegkitchen
    For Video RecipesCheck out My YouTube Channel
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    Comments

    1. Hareram v says

      October 07, 2022 at 11:06 pm

      5 stars
      Very user-friendly and accurate recipe.

      Reply
    5 from 3 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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