Monsoon hair care in Karnataka
Damp weather, sticky scalps and slow drying. A simple routine for June to September.
Inside our oil kitchen
Leaves picked at dawn, nine hours on the fire and a test with a pinch of paste.
Every Tuesday, a van brings fresh bhringraj, hibiscus and curry leaves from two farms near Srirangapatna, picked that morning. By eight, the four women who run our kitchen, led by Jayamma, are washing and grinding them.
The ground leaves go into wide iron pots with cold-pressed sesame and coconut oil, amla and soaked fenugreek. The pots sit over a low wood fire, and the oil is stirred every 15 minutes for about nine hours. As the water in the leaves cooks out, the bubbling slows and the oil turns a deep green.
To check if a batch is ready, Jayamma rolls a pinch of the herb paste between her fingers. When it forms a dry wick that does not sputter when held to a flame, the water has gone and the oil will keep.
The oil rests overnight, then is filtered through cotton cloth and bottled by hand on Wednesday. Each label carries the batch date, written by hand.
One pot gives about 18 litres. It is slow, and we cannot make more in a week. That is the point.
