Homemade ORS Recipe: Namak Cheeni Ghol for Loose Motions
One litre of water, six level teaspoons of sugar, half a level teaspoon of salt. That’s the whole homemade ORS recipe, and the reason it works is that the ratio is exact, so the namak-cheeni ghol your nani stirred in a steel jug is only as good as the spoon you measure with.
Before you start
- Water: 1 litre, boiled and cooled to room temperature
- Sugar: 6 level teaspoons (about 25 to 30 g)
- Salt: half a level teaspoon (about 2.5 to 3 g)
- Keeps: 24 hours, covered; then throw it away and make fresh
- Use it for: replacing water and salts lost in loose motions or vomiting
- It won’t: stop the diarrhoea itself; it keeps the body from drying out while the gut settles
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Why the ratio matters more than the ingredients
Loose motions pull water and salts out of the body faster than you’d think. Plain water alone doesn’t get absorbed as well as it could. Salt alone makes you thirstier. Sugar and salt together, in the right balance, let the gut take in water much more readily. That’s the entire idea behind oral rehydration.
Here’s the trap. People add “a pinch” of salt and “some” sugar, and the drink ends up either sickly sweet or tasting like sea water. Too much sugar can pull more water into the gut and make loose stools worse. Too much salt is genuinely risky, especially for a small child. So level teaspoons, flattened with the back of a knife, not heaped ones scooped straight from the dabba.
If it tastes saltier than tears, you’ve added too much salt. Start again.
Homemade ORS recipe, step by step
- Boil about 1.2 litres of water for a full rolling boil, then let it cool completely in a covered pot. Some water evaporates, which is why you start with a little extra.
- Measure exactly 1 litre of the cooled water. A 1 litre mineral water bottle is the easiest measure most homes have. Don’t guess with a glass.
- Add 6 level teaspoons of ordinary white sugar. Level each spoon with a clean knife.
- Add half a level teaspoon of ordinary table salt. Not sendha namak or kala namak for this; their salt content per spoon is less predictable, and kala namak’s sulphur smell puts sick children off drinking.
- Stir until the water turns fully clear again, about a minute. No grains should settle at the bottom.
- Taste one sip. It should taste faintly salty and faintly sweet, roughly like tears. Not like sharbat.
- Cover it and keep it somewhere cool. Use within 24 hours.
If you have packet ORS from a chemist, use it in preference, mixed exactly as the packet says. The homemade version is for when the shop is shut, it’s 2 a.m., or you’re in a village with no packets. For the rest of a sensible home medicine shelf, see our guide to the desi first-aid kitchen shelf.
How much to give: adults and children
The general household guidance, widely used in public health advice, goes by age and by each loose stool. Give it slowly. A spoon or small cup works better than letting a child gulp, because gulping often triggers vomiting.
| Age | After each loose stool | How to give |
|---|---|---|
| Under 2 years | 50 to 100 ml (a quarter to half a cup) | Teaspoon every minute or two |
| 2 to 10 years | 100 to 200 ml (half to one cup) | Small sips from a cup |
| Older children and adults | As much as they want, sipped steadily | Frequent sips |
If there’s vomiting, wait 10 minutes and then start again, more slowly, a spoonful every two or three minutes. Most people can keep small sips down even when a full glass comes straight back up.
Keep feeding
Breastfed babies should keep breastfeeding, more often than usual, with ORS alongside. Older children and adults do better on light, familiar food than on starvation: thin moong dal khichdi, plain rice with dahi, boiled potato, a ripe banana. The old habit of stopping all food for days isn’t helpful.
In many desi homes the first response to dast was a thin khichdi, chawal ka maand (rice water) with a pinch of salt, or dahi with rice. Unani tradition treats diarrhoea as a state of excess moisture and looseness and reaches for binding, cooling foods; Ayurveda speaks of weakened agni (digestive fire) and prescribes light, easily digested meals. Those traditions line up nicely with modern advice on one point: keep the fluids going and keep food simple. The namak-cheeni ghol is the precise version of what grandmothers were already doing by feel.
Dehydration red flags you must not ignore
This is the part that matters most. Homemade ORS is for mild to moderate loose motions. It is not a substitute for a hospital when someone is seriously dehydrated.
A baby or young child: no wet nappy for 6 hours or more, no tears when crying, a sunken soft spot on the head, unusual sleepiness or floppiness, cold hands and feet, or refusing to drink. Anyone: blood or black colour in the stool, vomiting that won’t let them keep even sips down, very little dark urine, confusion, fainting, fast breathing, high fever, or loose motions lasting more than 2 days in an adult (sooner for children and elderly people). Diarrhoea in a baby under 6 months needs a doctor’s eye early, not after days of home care. People with kidney disease, heart failure or on a fluid or salt restriction should check with their own doctor before drinking extra salt solutions. People with diabetes can still be dehydrated dangerously; packet ORS is better for them, and they should keep a close eye on their sugar readings and get medical advice early. In pregnancy, significant vomiting or loose motions deserve a call to your doctor or midwife the same day.
Common mistakes and myths
“Cold drinks and packaged juice work just as well”
They don’t. Soft drinks and most packaged juices carry far too much sugar and almost no salt. They can make the loose motions worse. Glucose powder in water on its own isn’t ORS either.
“More salt means faster recovery”
No. An over-salty drink is harmful, particularly for small children. Stick to half a level teaspoon per litre.
“Nimbu pani is the same thing”
Lemon water with salt and sugar can be pleasant once someone is recovering, but it isn’t measured ORS. If you like adding a squeeze of lemon for taste, fine; keep the core ratio unchanged. Our nimbu pani guide covers when that drink is a good idea.
“Stop milk and food completely”
Breast milk should continue. Most children and adults recover better eating small, light meals.
A small kitchen trick
Mark a 1 litre bottle with a strip of tape that says “ORS: 6 level tsp sugar, half level tsp salt” and keep it with the clean spoons. When someone’s sick at night, nobody has to remember numbers.
Summer, travel and heat
In peak garmi, loose motions and heat together dry the body out faster. The same homemade ORS helps during a bout of loo lagna and heat exhaustion, and during a fever at home with poor appetite. On trains or long drives, carry a few packets rather than trying to measure spoons in a moving vehicle.
More everyday home care lives in our Desi Remedies section.
Can I give homemade ORS to a baby?
Yes, in small amounts by teaspoon, alongside continued breastfeeding, and made very precisely. But a baby with loose motions should be seen by a doctor early, and any sign of dehydration means going straight away.
How long does homemade ORS keep?
Up to 24 hours, covered, in a cool place or the fridge. After that, throw it out. It’s a sugary liquid and bacteria grow in it.
Can I use gur, honey or sendha namak instead?
It’s better not to. Their strength varies, so the ratio stops being reliable. Honey should never be given to a baby under one year old.
Is it safe for someone with diabetes?
Dehydration is dangerous in diabetes too, so fluids still matter. Chemist packet ORS is the better choice, sugar readings should be checked more often, and a doctor should be contacted early if loose motions continue.
Homemade ORS vs packet ORS: which is better?
Packet ORS, because the salts are measured in a factory and include potassium. Homemade is the stand-in when packets aren’t available.
Can I drink ORS when I’m not sick, just in the heat?
Healthy people in ordinary heat usually do fine with water, chaas and normal meals. ORS is meant for real fluid loss, not as a daily drink.