Gul banafsha grows in the cool hill country and has been the Unani answer to a rasping winter for generations. The flowers are delicate and lose their virtue if handled roughly, so Laraib draws them out gently rather than boiling them hard. The finished syrup is pale, faintly floral and unmistakably soothing on the throat.
What it is traditionally used for
- Relieving nazla and zukam — catarrh and the ordinary head cold
- Loosening and calming a cough, whether dry or heavy with phlegm
- Giving comfort during feverish spells and the aches that come with them
- Easing the headache that so often settles in with a cold
- Soothing a raw, painful throat, taken slowly so it coats as it goes down
- Calming itching of the skin, a long-standing traditional use of banafsha
How it is made
Whole violet flowers from a single hill-country source are dried in shade to protect their colour, then infused slowly at low heat rather than boiled, which would strip their delicacy. The strained infusion is reduced with sugar into a clear syrup. No artificial colour, essence or preservative is added at any point.
How to take it
Take two tablespoons neat, sipped slowly so it settles on the throat, or stirred into warm water at bedtime. Three doses a day is usual while symptoms last. Children can be given a smaller spoonful in warm water. It pairs naturally with a hot joshanda in the evening.
Good to know
- Available in 240 ml and 800 ml bottles
- DRAP registered under Product Ent. No. 0803812092
- 100% natural, prepared to Pakistan Tibbi Pharmacopoeia standards
- Store cool and dry, and refrigerate once the seal is broken
Saad Siddiqui (verified owner) –
Ordered from Gujranwala during a bad December. Taken with warm water at night it helped bring the phlegm up properly. Sealed bottle, quick delivery, no complaints.
Hina Saleem (verified owner) –
Works well for the morning cough and tastes mild enough that my son takes it without an argument. The 240 ml goes quickly in a family of five, so buy the large one.
Erum Kazmi (verified owner) –
My throat goes first whenever I catch cold. I sip this slowly rather than mixing it and the rawness settles within a day. Much gentler than the chemist syrups I used before.
Warda Bhatti (verified owner) –
Winter in Abbottabad means somebody in the house is always coughing. Two spoons at bedtime and the children sleep through instead of waking every hour. We order two bottles at a time now.