Bonda Preparation, Benefits As Per Ayurveda
By Prof. Vd Rangaprasad Bhat.
Ayurveda describes the modern day Bonda as Indrarika. Rarely, it is also called Idly in some places. It is prepared from black gram flour (Urad dal).
The IndrArika is known by the following different names based on different regions and and local dialect popular in those areas as IdArika, IndrarikA, IdAri, Idly.
Someshvara in his book Manasollasa, explains idli in the Chapter Annabhoga. According to him, idarika was prepared from the fermented fine flour of Black gram, made into small circular balls, which were cooked in clarified butter and then spiced with the powder of
pepper, ghee,
asafoetida and cumin seeds.
In Hemachandra’s Abhidhana Chintamani, Indarika is mentioned.
Idari of Lilacharita and Riddipura-varana must be the same item.
Later, works like Bhojana kuluhala mentions idali. Indari is referred to even in Matsya-purana
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Method of preparation
Main Ingredients required : Black gram, ghee, salt.
Optional ingredients : pepper, hingu [asafoetida], cumin seeds.
Soak the black gram in water and grind it to beget a thick paste and keep it aside in the vessel for two hours to get little bit fermented and softened.
Take a deep vessel and add ghee to it. Place it over the stove with medium heat for the ghee to liquefy.
When the ghee is heated, make a round bolus of the mixture of black gram (Urad dal) paste mixed with salt alone or along with the optional ingredients mentioned and put it in the vessel of hot ghee.
Wait for the black gram bolus to get fried into a golden brownish tinge with a crispy outer layer of BondA. Once fried properly, take the bonDA or indrārikā and serve it hot to beget the benefits explained.
Benefits
Ayurvedic benefits of Bonda –
Vrushya – aphrodisiac
Rochani – improves taste
Deepani – improves digestion strength
Balakara – improves strength and immunity
Guru – heavy
Abhishyandi – causes obstruction to the channel of circulation, causes coating inside the channels
Prana Tarpana – Nourishing, calming
Rasavati – increases Rasa Dhatu, nutrition
Increases Kapha Dosha (Shleshma)
Useful in
Vibandha – constipation
Gulma – abdominal tumor, distension
Pittasra – Raktapitta – bleeding disorders like nasal bleeding, Ulcerative colitis and menorrhagia
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The Indrarika / Idly / BonDA prepared from the blackgram provides and improves the taste [rocana], augments the appetite [Deepani], provides stamina and virility [balakara, Vrushya], though it is heavy for digestion [gurvī] and causes stickiness inside the channels of the body [Abhishyandi], it enlivens the body by nourishing the tissues of the body [Prana Tarpanakarini] due to its influence in increasing the qualities of annarasa.
It increases the kapha Dosha, and at times produces āma [undigested annarasa] and Anaha [flatulance]. When it is prepared by baking the batter with snehas (oiliness from either ghee or butter) it helps in alleviating the pitta and rakta doṣas and also is beneficial in gulma and constipation [vibandha gulmanashini].
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