What is panakam made of?

Jaggery dissolved in water, flavoured with dry ginger, cardamom and a pinch of black pepper. Some households add lemon juice, tulsi or a trace of edible camphor.

Can I make panakam with jaggery powder?

Yes. Four tablespoons of jaggery powder dissolve in two cups of water in about a minute, with no crushing or soaking.

When is panakam made?

For Rama Navami, as an offering, and through the summer, served chilled, in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka.

Panakam, the jaggery and dry ginger drink of Rama Navami

பானகம்

Jaggery dissolved in water with dry ginger, cardamom and a little pepper. The offering of Rama Navami in the south, and five minutes of work.

Two brass tumblers of amber panakam with cardamom pods, a piece of dry ginger, tulsi leaves and a brass bowl of jaggery powder — Representative image of the dish.

Rama Navami and summer · Prep 5 min · Cook 0 min · Total 5 min · Makes 2 tumblers · South Indian beverage

Panakam is the drink offered on Rama Navami across Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka, along with neer mor and a lentil salad. It is jaggery water, sharpened with dry ginger and pepper and perfumed with cardamom, served in a tumbler as the weather turns hot.

Nothing is cooked. The whole recipe is stirring.

Ingredients

4 tbsp (about 50 g) ShuddhGaon jaggery powder
2 cups Water
½ tsp Dry ginger powder (sukku, sonth)
2, powdered Green cardamom
A pinch Black pepper, crushed
1 tsp Lemon juice
A few Tulsi leaves

Method

Dissolve the jaggery Stir the jaggery powder into the water for about a minute, until no grains are left.
Strain it Pour it through a fine sieve into a jug.
Add the spices Stir in the dry ginger, the cardamom and the pepper, and the lemon juice if you are using it.
Serve Pour it into tumblers, drop in the tulsi leaves and serve it at room temperature or lightly chilled.

With our jaggery

Vellam in Tamil, bellam in Telugu, bella in Kannada: panakam is made with whichever the kitchen has. Powder is the easy way, because it dissolves in plain water with a minute of stirring, where a block has to be crushed and soaked. Our gur is unbleached, so the drink is amber.

Tips from our kitchen

Fresh spice Powder the cardamom just before it goes in. It is most of the aroma.
For a crowd Stir 1 cup of jaggery powder into 2 litres of water with 2 teaspoons of dry ginger and 8 cardamom. That fills about ten tumblers.
Lemon or not Households differ. Many leave it out for the offering and add it when the drink is made on an ordinary hot day.

Questions people ask

What is panakam made of?: Jaggery dissolved in water, flavoured with dry ginger, cardamom and a pinch of black pepper. Some households add lemon juice, tulsi or a trace of edible camphor.
Can I make panakam with jaggery powder?: Yes. Four tablespoons of jaggery powder dissolve in two cups of water in about a minute, with no crushing or soaking.
When is panakam made?: For Rama Navami, as an offering, and through the summer, served chilled, in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka.

Worth reading alongside this

The jaggery this recipe is made with

ShuddhGaon Jaggery Powder Pouch — The same fine gud powder in resealable 500 g and 1 kg zip pouches
ShuddhGaon Jaggery Powder — Fine gur shakkar that melts into tea, coffee and milk
ShuddhGaon Jaggery Combo — Cubes for the cup, powder for the kitchen

More recipes with gur

All jaggery recipes