Top health benefits and interesting facts of Ponnanganni keerai/Dwarf Copper Leaf

Ponnanganni keerai

Ponnanganni Keerai also called as Dwarf Copper Leaf in English, is a wonderful green which is losing its charm nowadays.

 Simply expand the word Ponnanganni and you will get the exact benefit of this keerai "Pon Aam Kaan nee", it means your body will attain a golden glow if you consume them regularly. Interesting isn't it????

Indian names of Ponnanganni Keerai:

Other Tamil names of Ponnanganni keerai are Koduppai and Seethai 

Botanical name: Alternanthera sessilis  

Hindi: Gudrisag 

Marathi: Koypa  

Telugu: Ponnaganti koora  

Kannada: Honganne  

Sanskrit: Matsyakshi

Varieties of Ponnanganni Keerai:

There are two varieties in ponnanganni keerai 

1) Seemai Ponnanganni Keerai: This type of Ponnanganni keerai has less medicinal value and less commonly used one.

2) Nattu Ponnaanganni keerai: This type of Ponnanganni keerai is mainly used for medicinal and cooking purpose, with more nutritional value.

Health benefits of Ponnanganni keerai:

Ponnanganni keerai is a nutrition rich green which offers immerse health benefits. It contains Iron, Calcium, phosphorous, protein, Vitamins A, C, B.

• When ponnanganni keerai is consumed for 48 days, you will start getting a glowing skin.

• It gives bright eye sight if consumed regularly and also cures all eye related problems like irritation, eye power, madras eye etc. 

• You can even slightly fry this green in ghee, keep them on eyes and tie them with a cotton cloth to get a better eye sight.

• Ponnanganni keerai has more calcium content which gives strong bones and teeth.

• It is a wonderful green for hair growth also to reduce body heat. Grind it to get the juice and mix it with coconut oil. Boil this mixture and after it cools, store it in a glass container. Use this prepared ponnanganni thailam or oil regularly to apply to get lustrous hair. 

The other benefits are, helps to cure piles, good for blood purification, cures skin related problems, cures bad smell from mouth also mouth ulsers etc.

How to plant Ponnanganni keerai?

It is so easy to plant this interesting green and you don't need a big gardening space either. Let us have a look on how to plant these Ponnanganni keerais.

• Take a small container and fill it up with mud.

• After using the leaf part for food, just plant the remaining stem part in the mud.

• Water them regularly to see them grow fast.

Recipes made with Ponnanganni Keerai:

The common recipes made with this green is Ponnanganni Keerai poriyal, Ponnanganni Soup, Ponnanganni keerai kootu.