Herbal medicine from an Indian bazaar: for Gourmet magazine.

The practice of herbal medicine is alive and well in rural India. The herbalist at a greenmarket, in the village of Maralawadi (a couple of hours outside of Bangalore), sits amidst the potatoes and okra, the green peppers and mangoes, the beans, peas and young brinjal (Indian eggplant) displaying his wares. He sells yellow turmeric roots, pink salt, green and black peppercorns, ginger roots, red saffron, and stalks of garlic. People stop by, describe their ailments, and then buy the right combinations of herbs to cure what ails them. The women then grind them at home in a traditional mortar and pestle and incorporate the mix into their diets to get rid of everything from rheumatoid arthritis to psoriasis.