Gotu Kola Sambal & The Tale of Elder Gamini
Gotu Kola Sambal & The Tale of Elder Gamini
How to use Gotu Kola for long life
Welcome to new subscribers
This would usually be a paid subscriber post but seeing as we have some new folks here at the Wild World I thought I’d share this one with everyone as a little way of saying welcome!
Over on my paid subscriber list I’m currently running ‘The Wildcraft Series’ where we study one forgeable plant in depth over a month with weekly teachings, recipes, videos and herbal monographs.
The Tale of Elder Gamini: A version of a Sri Lankan folk tale
In a serene village nestled amidst the lush green landscapes of rural Sri Lanka, there lived a revered elder known as Gamini. With a face weathered by time, a cheeky smile and wisdom gleaming in his eyes, Elder Gamini was a cherished figure in the community, revered for his remarkable longevity and boundless wisdom.
As the sun rose over the horizon each day, Elder Gamini could be found tending to his garden, where vibrant leaves of gotu kola flourished under his care. With each tender touch and whispered word, he nurtured the humble plant for he knew the secrets it held.
For decades, Elder Gamini had partaken in a daily ritual, one that had become the cornerstone of his longevity and vitality. Each morning, as the dew glistened upon the leaves, he would pluck a handful of fresh gotu kola and brew it into a nourishing tea, infused with the essence of gotu kolas gifts and wisdom.
Gotu Kola shared more than just its physical benefits with elder Gamini, it also shared its vast knowledge of time and karma with the old man. Each day as he sat in mediation after drinking his tea, Elder Gamini would be taken by the spirit of Gotu Kola to the edges of time and space where he would marvel at the webs of interconnection and would be shown the secrets of space, time and physical existence.
The villagers marvelled at Elder Gamini's enduring vigor and unwavering spirit, for despite the passage of years, he remained agile and sprightly, his laughter ringing out like a melody in the village square. They sought his counsel in matters both mundane and profound, for they knew that his wisdom was as boundless as the horizon itself.
When asked about the secret to his longevity, Elder Gamini would simply smile and gesture to the humble herb that graced his garden. "It is the gotu kola," he would say, his voice soft yet resolute. "Nature's gift, bestowed upon us to nurture our bodies and soothe our souls. With each sip of its elixir, I am reminded of the blessings that surround us, of the wonders of this world and the resilience of the human spirit."
And so, the legend of Elder Gamini and his beloved gotu kola tea spread far and wide, carried on the whispers of the wind and the murmurs of the streams. In the hearts of the villagers, it became a testament to the power of nature's bounty, a reminder that within the embrace of the earth, lies the key to health, happiness, and everlasting life.
Gotu Kola Sambal
If you are inspired by the tale of Elder Gamini and would like to make a delicious and nutritious gotu kola dish, here is a dish that boosts collagen, enhances microcirculation, improves concentration and memory and relieves aches and pains and is YUMMY! Only a little bit is needed as a side dish with rice and vegetables, curries or stir fries.
This dish comes from Sri Lankan cuisine where Gotu Kola is used as a leafy green vegetable. It is most often prepared as malluma, a traditional accompaniment to rice and curry. In addition to finely chopped gotu kola, malluma almost always contains grated coconut, and may also contain finely chopped green chillies, chilli powder, turmeric powder and lime (or lemon) juice.
Gotu Kola Sambal
(20min) makes 3 cups
This sambal is a side dish that can be served with vegetable curries. It’s a great way to get all those health benefits of Gotu kola (for memory, circulation, wound healing and reducing inflammation), in a delicious and flavour packed dish. It’s spicy, tart and tangy and you can feel yourself getting healthier and smarter as you eat it!
Ingredients
3 cups of fresh Gotu kola, lightly packed
1 small fresh chilli, finely sliced
3 shallots or spring onions, very finely sliced
1 medium tomato, finely chopped
¼ cup of desiccated coconut
2 teaspoons of coconut sugar
2 teaspoons of tamari or vegan fish sauce
2 limes, juiced
½ teaspoon of salt
Method
Wash and finely chop the Gotu kola, chilli, shallots (or spring onions), and tomato and put them all in a bowl.
Add the coconut, sugar, tamari (or vegan fish sauce), lime juice and salt.
Mix together and taste to see if you need to adjust any of the flavours.
Store the sambal in a jar in the fridge for a week to use as a side dish.
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How does it work?
Each week you’ll get your course materials and a live tutorial-style session.
The course materials will be both pre-recorded video and a pdf monograph (information pages about each herb).
In our live sessions – we’ll do some live remedy-making demonstrations, and answer your questions. We want it to be a fully responsive course, so we’ll also invite the course cohort to tell us how we can best use that time together.
What plants will we cover?
This is the companion course to the IMMUNITY Remedy Kit, so the herbs we’ll cover are:
Elderberry
Astragalus
Shiitake
Sage
Olive leaf
Echinacea
Key Dates
Course enrollment closes: April 26
⭐ Course starts: Wednesday May 3 ⭐
Course ends: Wednesday May 24
Course dates:
Starting Wednesday May 3, the course will run for 4 weeks until May 24.
The live sessions will be Wednesday at TIME – TBC.
A recording will be sent out the following day, easily downloadable from a Dropbox Folder.
Course Can I make this a self-paced course?
Of course!
All the resources will be available for 3 months following the end of the course for students to access. If you haven’t finished by then, it’s easy to download the course materials to study at your own pace.
I would like to acknowledge the Kabbi Kabbi/Gubbi Gubbi peoples on who’s lands I live and work. I acknowledge that sovereignty was never ceded and pray this truth be acknowledged and respected by all who live, work and govern these lands.