Arq For AlifBe of Sindhi Food~31

Ideally we should be talking about   ظ ( ज़/Z) as the 31st Consonant in AlifBe series but I couldn’t think of any Sindhi dish starting with this particular ‘Z’.
For the uninitiated, there are 4 variants of ‘Z’ in Arabic Sindhi script;

ذ as in Zaro (Little ), (ज़/Z) or as in Kagzi lemon Pickle
ز as in Zanzeer (Chain/shackles) (ज़/Z) or as in Zaefrani Kulfi
ض as in Zaeef (Feeble) (ज़/Z) or as in Zaroori Masalha and
ظ as in Zalim (cruel/merciless) (ज़/Z).

Kindly note that all the above mentioned consonants are represented by ‘ ज़ ‘in Devanagari and by ‘Z‘ in Roman Sindhi (due to lack of corresponding letters ) but will vary in Arabic Sindhi.

So I am skipping this one and moving on to the next consonant and it is ع in Arabic Sindhi, अ in Devanagari while in Roman Sindhi it is ‘A‘ as in Aks (Image or Reflection).

In Arabic Sindhi script there are 3 variants of ‘A’ (oh yes! deal with it!);

ع named Ayn (Ainu) and it is used in words that are of non Sindhi origin (eg. Ainak)

ا Remember Alif? the first letter of Sindhi AlifBe? It is used in words of Sindhi origin but only when the word begins with ‘A’. eg. Atte Ja ladoo

ء this too is used in the words of Sindhi origin but it occurs in the middle or at the end of the word and not in the beginning.

Since ع is used in words of non Sindhi origin, there is no Sindhi dish with a name starting with ع . But instead of skipping I chose to talk about Arq (Arqu), a Unani as well as Ayurveda style herbal distillate.

Growing up as a kid in late seventies or early eighties in a small town, I barely remember people visiting a Doctor for general health issues. Cold and cough was treated at home with a Kaadha (strained water of boiled herbs) or maybe with a spoonful of honey and brandy. The colicky infants were given an extra pinch of regular ‘Chaato‘, the kids in school would play or do exercise (Remember those P.T schedules?) in the open ground in sunlight, the elderly would read newspapers or clean the vegetables or pick the grains in the veranda soaking up the blessings of the Sun. Every family would have a favorite Vaid who would be well versed with the family history of ailments and who would check the ‘Naadi’ (pulse) and hand over the herbal concoctions without depending on the battery of blood tests or scans.
Of course the modern medicine and pathology labs are life saviours in  many cases but here I am talking about the old times.
I remember that for the seasonal skin allergies, we used to visit a person named ‘Kotu’ who would look at the rashes and then would scoop out a mix of ‘Malham‘ or Balm/ointments of  shades varying from pink to orange and would pack it in an empty matchbox (Gosh!) and it would always work like a charm.
And then there were no pink colored gels/syrups consumed for digestive issues in those days.

The young and old Sindhis would rely on typical Sindhi stuff i.e pippirmint (a medicated confectionary, the sweet, dark green peppermint syrup) or on the colorless Arq or Chowarki/chauarqi, to be precise!
Arq is a popular Unani preparation and is obtained from the distillation of mixed herbs. It could also mean a mix of few different types of Arq, combined in varying proportions to treat a particular health issue.
The Chowarki, an Ayurvedic preparation that I am talking about, was meant for digestive issues  and it was very common for people in those days to mix a few drops of Arq in a cup of water to treat indigestion, stomach ache, nausea or was even had after an indulgent meal.
As the name suggest, chowarki, popular for its carminative properties, is a potent distillate of four herbs namely;

Mentha arvensis or peppermint, mostly in dried leaves form
Anethum graveolens  (Dill seeds)
Foeniculum vulgare (Fennel seeds)
Trachyspermum ammi (Ajwain/Bishop’s weed)
The proportion of  each ingredient varies from brand to brand and in some types of Arq, Kasni i.e Chicory, dried rose petals and some other ingredients are also used.

The above mentioned ingredients are mixed and a distillate is made either by Hydro distillation (boiled with water) or steam distillation (steam is passed through herbs) method . When the herbs are boiled or steamed the steam carries with it the essential oils of the herbs and that steam is collected via cooler pipes, where the steam condenses and forms a clear liquid with the essential oils floating on top.
The Arq,  generally, is  the hydrosol (condensed steam) but could be the one  with copious amounts of volatile compounds/essential oils or water soluble vitamins depending on the types of ingredients used.
You can read about similar process in my Peppermint candy post (Jwar Ji Tikki), or in the Sharbat post!
I am unable to recollect the brand that was very commonly used till few decades ago (Was it 4bottle?) but thanks to my younger sister I was able to find one local brand that my father used to consume while he was around.
I could buy it online thanks to this amazing website called SindhiPapad.online (sadly the website link couldn’t be shared on any social media handle and the site owners are looking into the matter).
This particular brand is not Chowarki I guess, as the content list mentions only 3 herbs but it is still very effective and comparatively safer than non herbal options.
Check this small video or do connect with me on Instagram, to know about all the stuff that I purchased  from SindhiPapad.online (Nostalgia alert!!!)

And well, no recipe this time since one needs to have specific apparatus to make Arq. You can boil the ingredients in water and strain it to consume it but then it will be more like a concoction than Arq.
And as always, I am winding up this post with a small video about how to write each Sindhi consonant! Do share the videos and subscribe to my channel if you find the videos helpful in learning Arabic Sindhi script!