K In A to Z Poppies

The letter K in A to Z poppies stands for the Indian word Khuskhus, this is a word used in India for a paste made from Papaver somnife seeds that have been powdered. The powdered seeds were used in home remedies to treat a whole range of aliments and it was believed that the properties contained in the seeds had the ability to cure the ailments.

There were pastes made using milk to rid the skin of blemishes and if this preparation was used daily it would give the skin a transparent tint. The use of ground poppy seeds mixed with clarified butter that was used to treat abdominal pain and to prevent sciatica. In India the khuskhus powder was mixed with water to cure insomnia, just as the sap from the Papaver somniferum was used for centuries to cure insomnia.

In India a tonic was made using khuskhus powder to relieve the symptoms of asthma, to treat a person suffering from asthma after this tonic was made it was to be take each morning for two to three months to be effective and relieve the symptoms.

Many of these cures were not unique to India; they were used in other cultures, but were usually made using the sap or the opium alakoids from the opium poppy rather then the powdered seeds referred to as khuskhus.

Today it is possible to find Indian recipes using khus-khus, which is similar to the crushed poppy seeds that in the past were used for home remedies to treat illness and insomnia.

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