• Latest

Chill With Rosa: Sri Lanka’s PVM drink to cool and keep the body beautiful

December 2, 2022

INKATERRA LA CASONA WINS THE ‘ANDREW HARPER EDITOR’S CHOICE’ AWARD

March 31, 2023
Investec Cape Town Art Fair

Investec Cape Town Art Fair

March 3, 2023
Discipline and Precepts are Favorable for Self-Development

Discipline and Precepts are Favorable for Self-Development

March 3, 2023
DY Patil University Centre of Excellence Opens in Navi Mumbai

DY Patil University Centre of Excellence Opens in Navi Mumbai

March 3, 2023
A Walk Down Cobblers’ Street

A Walk Down Cobblers’ Street

March 3, 2023
The Colombo Cultural Show: A Soiree into Sri Lanka’s Heart

The Colombo Cultural Show: A Soiree into Sri Lanka’s Heart

February 7, 2023
Kandy Central Market: The epitome of local ambiance

Kandy Central Market: The epitome of local ambiance

February 7, 2023
The Art of Local Writing

The Art of Local Writing

February 7, 2023
Carnival Magic

Carnival Magic

February 7, 2023
Ponniyin Selvan 1: Leveraging the Lure of History and the Power of Storytelling

Ponniyin Selvan 1: Leveraging the Lure of History and the Power of Storytelling

January 11, 2023
Rumination and Emotional Process

Rumination and Emotional Process

January 13, 2023
Segar Represents Sri Lanka in Asia Art Bienniale in Dhaka

Segar Represents Sri Lanka in Asia Art Bienniale in Dhaka

January 11, 2023
Retail
Sunday, April 2, 2023
Subscription
Advertise
  • Home
  • Issues
    • 201_
      • 2010
        • January 2010
        • February 2010
        • March 2010
        • April 2010
        • May 2010
        • June 2010
        • July 2010
        • August 2010
        • September 2010
        • October 2010
        • November 2010
        • December 2010
      • 2011
        • January 2011
        • February 2011
        • March 2011
        • April 2011
        • May 2011
        • June 2011
        • July 2011
        • August 2011
        • September 2011
        • October 2011
        • November 2011
        • December 2011
      • 2012
        • January 2012
        • February 2012
        • March 2012
        • April 2012
        • May 2012
        • June 2012
        • July 2012
        • August 2012
        • September 2012
        • October 2012
        • November 2012
        • December 2012
      • 2013
        • January 2013
        • February 2013
        • March 2013
        • April 2013
        • May 2013
        • June 2013
        • July 2013
        • August 2013
        • September 2013
        • October 2013
        • November 2013
        • December 2013
      • 2014
        • January 2014
        • February 2014
        • March 2014
        • April 2014
        • May 2014
        • June 2014
        • July 2014
        • August 2014
        • September 2014
        • October 2014
        • November 2014
        • December 2014
      • 2015
        • January 2015
        • February 2015
        • March 2015
        • April 2015
        • May 2015
        • June 2015
        • July 2015
        • August 2015
        • September 2015
        • October 2015
        • November 2015
        • December 2015
      • 2016
        • January 2016
        • February 2016
        • March 2016
        • April 2016
        • May 2016
        • June 2016
        • July 2016
        • August 2016
        • September 2016
        • October 2016
        • November 2016
        • December 2016
      • 2017
        • January 2017
        • February 2017
        • March 2017
        • April 2017
        • May 2017
        • June 2017
        • July 2017
        • August 2017
        • September 2017
        • October 2017
        • November 2017
        • December 2017
      • 2018
        • January 2018
        • February 2018
        • March 2018
        • April 2018
        • May 2018
        • June 2018
        • July 2018
        • August 2018
        • November 2018
        • December 2018
      • 2019
        • January 2019
        • February 2019
        • March 2019
        • April 2019
        • May 2019
        • June 2019
        • July 2019
        • August 2019
        • September 2019
        • October 2019
        • November 2019
        • December 2019
    • 202_
      • 2020
        • January 2020
        • February 2020
        • March 2020
        • September 2020
        • October 2020
        • November 2020
        • December 2020
      • 2021
        • January 2021
        • February 2021
        • March 2021
        • April 2021
        • May 2021
        • June 2021
        • July 2021
        • August 2021
        • September 2021
        • October 2021
        • November 2021
        • December 2021
      • 2022
        • January 2022
        • February 2022
        • March 2022
        • April 2022
        • May 2022
        • June 2022
        • July 2022
        • August 2022
        • September 2022
        • October 2022
        • November 2022
        • December 2022
      • 2023
        • January 2023
        • February 2023
        • March 2023
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Archive
  • Find Us on Magzter
No Result
View All Result
No Result
View All Result

Chill With Rosa: Sri Lanka’s PVM drink to cool and keep the body beautiful

in General, March 2016
0 0
0
Exotic as well as health giving, PVM drink is great for a tropical thirst
Exotic as well as health giving, PVM drink is great for a tropical thirst

Forget colas. Bring some fizz into your life and stay cool in the sun by knocking back a pokuru vadha mal drink – or PVM for short. It is the natural flower flavoured mocktail, which has slaked the thirst buds of generations of Sri Lankans while clearing up the skin and granting overall health benefits to the young and old.

Words and Photographs Manu Gunasena

PVM can be made into a hot cup of tea, or a cool mocktail
PVM can be made into a hot cup of tea, or a cool mocktail

Once the rage of the age, imbibing the cool cordial is now confined in the main to the villages as an urban populace reach for the more convenient bottled and artificial drinks. But in the heart of Sri Lanka’s rural areas the flowery shrub grows in many a hamlet’s backyard.

But the drink is consumed not only as a thirst quencher. It is also taken for its medicinal properties, known by the ancients and since forgotten by their descendants, who today do not realise the drink’s value as a healthy kick start to the day.

Along with its sister the shoe flower, the China rose descends from the species Hibiscus rosa-sinensis. The shoe flower comes with five petals in various hues ranging from yellow to pink, red or white. The China rose, or pokuru vadha mal, blooms with  a cluster of petals that give the flower a voluptuous appearance. Coming from the Malvaceae family this species has many varieties. But it is PMV with its red petals growing luxuriantly, and not the shoe flower with its five petals, that takes pride of place in the  medicine cabinet.

Mothers give infants a taste of pokuru vadha mal to prevent children from developing skin ailments caused by heat

For it is not for any intrinsic sweetness that PMV is drunk. Though it has a tangy taste, to some it may taste too pungent and thus it is often mixed with sugar to make it palatable. It is for the vast reservoir of cooling potential contained within its reddish colouring that it is taken as a tonic and an energy drink.

Mothers give infants a taste of pokuru vadha mal to prevent children from developing skin ailments caused by heat. First the flower is cleaned to remove dirt and any small insects that may have snuggled into the flower’s bushy petals. Once the undesirables are removed, the flower is washed with water at room temperature. Then it is boiled by placing it in a pan of water. Within a few minutes the water will become a deep pinkish red having absorbed the red colour of the petals.

Once the flower is stripped of its hue, heat treated so to speak, the flower turns white. That is the signal that the flower has served its purpose and transferred its entire goodness to the water. It is then strained and drunk. Sugar and salt can be added according to taste and also some lime juice. It can be imbibed as a hot tea or sipped with some ice added as a cool mocktail. Some store it in the fridge to be drunk at convenient times with the goodness in it lasting for a couple of days. But though the goodness may have fled, the taste will linger for much longer.

It is important to note that the optimum time when the flower should be immersed in boiling hot water is when it is still a bud and about to bloom. The more it blooms and the more it is exposed to the sun’s rays the more its inherent goodness evaporates.

Ayurvedic research has shown that this liquid greatly helps to control bile  – related diseases of the body. It is also considered an elixir to cleanse the body of toxics and thus is used to treat many skin ailments. This is the primary reason why the liquid is given to infants and has been shown to be an effective means of preventing rakta vata, or skin rashes caused by internal body heat together with toxicity, to which toddlers are particularly susceptible. Red spots erupt on the skin and can leave scars for a long time. The vadha mal formula has been shown to effectively prevent it or, if given after the rash has erupted, to effectively control it and cause it to disappear. In the villages this age-old practice still continues, the antidote to the toxin coming not from some pharmaceutical lab in the form of cream or pills but from a common flower growing in one’s back garden.

Oil made out of the petals is rubbed on the heads of babies

For general overall health, the vadha mal water is mixed with a special concoction of other ayurvedic medicines as prepared and prescribed by the indigenous medical practitioners in the villages. It is then mixed together and boiled and made into a sweet syrup and the child is fed a teaspoon of it every day.

In traditional Sinhala life, the vada mal beverage plays many roles.  New born children are bathed with it.  Oil made out of the petals is rubbed on the heads of tiny tots. The practice of drinking the water often continues in adulthood and, here again, is considered to be of great help in preventing acne and  pimples, and maintaining a clear complexion. The best time to drink it is said to be around 10 o’clock in the morning. At alms giving ceremonies, Buddhist monks are served the vadha mal beverage as the welcoming drink known asgilanpasa. It is also said to be effective in the treatment of gastritis and stomach ulcers.

It is also known to promote hair growth and even said to stop greying. Some mix the liquid with spinach and coconut oil and apply it on the head as the herbal treatment for greying hair.

It’s an endearing flower that blooms scentless throughout the year. The evergreen shrub grows all over the island. The shrubs grow to a height of approximately 2 metres.

The Hibiscus rosa-sinensis has also received recognition as the national flower of Malaysia. Its origins are found in China. The name in technical Sinhalese is badhu vadha. In 1987, Korea issued a postage stamp in its honour while Sri Lanka honoured the species when it included the Hibiscus rosa-sinensis in a set of four stamps issued in 2012. But while the other may shine with an attractive plumage, it is the red pokuru vadha mal that contains medicinal properties and is in demand for more than its beauty. 

Tags: Thirst Quencher
TweetShareShare

Search

No Result
View All Result

Recent News

INKATERRA LA CASONA WINS THE ‘ANDREW HARPER EDITOR’S CHOICE’ AWARD

Investec Cape Town Art Fair

Investec Cape Town Art Fair

Discipline and Precepts are Favorable for Self-Development

Discipline and Precepts are Favorable for Self-Development

Explore Sri Lanka

Explore Sri Lanka Online, the web edition of Sri Lanka’s leading monthly corporate publication. Founded in 1996, the magazine currently has a distribution of over 6,000 copies island-wide.

Recent News

  • INKATERRA LA CASONA WINS THE ‘ANDREW HARPER EDITOR’S CHOICE’ AWARD
  • Investec Cape Town Art Fair
  • Discipline and Precepts are Favorable for Self-Development

Find Us

Explore Sri Lanka
20-2/1 Lauries Place Facing
R. A. De Mel Mawatha
Colombo 04
Sri Lanka.
(+94 11) 259 7991
(+94) 715 134 134
info@btoptions.com
btoptions.com

  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy

© 2022 Explore Sri Lanka | Designed by Lithic Labs

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Issues
    • 201_
      • 2010
      • 2011
      • 2012
      • 2013
      • 2014
      • 2015
      • 2016
      • 2017
      • 2018
      • 2019
    • 202_
      • 2020
      • 2021
      • 2022
      • 2023
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Archive
  • Find Us on Magzter

© 2022 Explore Sri Lanka | Designed by Lithic Labs

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In