Page 73 - EBOOK_Jamu: The Ancient Indonesian Art of Herbal Healing

medicine.

Today’s scientists have compared the rhizome’s action to that of modern
aspirin although its list of applications seems more impressive. Recently two
Indian doctors living in the United States added a new twist to the turmeric tale.
In 1995, they were granted a patent on the healing effects of turmeric powder.
The move caused immediate uproar in India, where turmeric and its healing
powers are regarded as common property. The row escalated into a major legal
battle, which the doctors lost. Thus, the medicinal value of turmeric was thrust
into the limelight in the West.

Resurrection lily (kencur; Kaempferia galanga)
Largely unknown outside Asia, this rhizome played a part in European medieval
herbalism and is still important in Indonesian cuisine. Nothing can replace its
sharp, slightly camphor-like taste in soups, sauces, curries and stews. Malays call
this root chekur. The rhizome is sometimes wrongly identified by Western
cookery writers, most of whom have never seen it fresh, as zedoary (curcuma

zedoaria) or lesser galangal (Alpinia officinarum). To avoid any possible
confusion, this book uses the Indonesian name throughout.
Kencur root is always used in warming remedies, and is recommended for
over 20 illnesses—including chills in elephants! Because kencur warms the
body, thus causing it to perspire, it is effectively used for poultice and compress
pastes, and for treating fever, muscular rheumatism, abdominal pain, stomach
ache and swelling. For instance, a well-proven cure for swelling is massaging the
affected area with ground kencur, lemongrass and salt. In every Javanese

household, the antidote to coughs and colds is a drink of pressed kencur juice,
while rheumatism, sore muscles and joints are treated with Jamu Beras Kencur
(a mixture of kencur, rice, sugar, salt and tamarind). This jamu is known to
increase appetite, so is not recommended for dieters.