Panagam or Panakam – A delicious refreshment with jaggery and dry ginger powder flavored with cardamom. Call it as dry ginger powder and jaggery tea or panagam as we say in Tamil, this drink will surely satiate your taste buds, and it will make you say goodbye to those aerated drinks! Now let’s check out the super simple panagam recipe.
Panagam | Panakam:
Panagam is a traditional South Indian drink prepared during those hot summer months. It is also offered to God as neivediyam/prasadam (Tamil word for offering) especially on Ugadi, Sri Rama Navami, Hanumath Jayanthi, Narasimha Jayanthi days. I also make it on Thursdays whenever I do Sai Baba poojai or Sri Raghavendra poojai.
I am always amazed at how our ancestors made some of these healthy drinks as a part of the religious culture. If you notice, all the above festivals that I mentioned falls during the hot summer months in India, mostly during April and May. After that festival feast, you need something that aids in digestion and something to cool your body as well. What’s better than this panagam?
Ingredients Used:
We need three essential items – water, jaggery, dry ginger powder. You can flavor it with your preferred condiments. I always add crushed cardamom and cardamom powder too. You can also add lemon juice, but I usually skip it as it reminds of the morning ginger and lemon tea. If I am offering it as a prasadam, then I mostly skip the lemon juice. But it is just my personal preference. You can add lemon juice for the citrus flavor.
Do you know jaggery is a good source of Instant energy and as it is a complex carb, it slowly releases the energy? Moreover, it is rich in iron and folate as well. I don’t need to add the benefits of dry ginger and cardamom as its universal. Dry ginger speeds up metabolism and aids in digestion. Cardamom has anti-oxidant properties and anti-bacterial properties. I can keep adding the medicinal benefits of these ingredients, but hey this post is about the panakam. So let me stop it here. My point is, please do try this recipe and reap the benefits of the ingredients.
All these ingredients are available on local Indian grocery stores and also on Amazon online. These ingredients make this drink unique, but you can try cane sugar or coconut sugar instead of jaggery. Now without any further ado, here is the panagam recipe,
Ingredients:
- ½ cup grated jaggery, approx 65 grams
- 2 cups of water
- 1 tsp dried ginger powder
- 3 green cardamom pods, crushed
- ⅛ tsp salt
Steps:
- Crush the cardamom pods using a mortar and pestle or using a mixer jar/coffee grinder.
- Mix the crushed pods, dried ginger powder and salt with 2 cups of water.
- Add the grated jaggery and mix until it is dissolved.
- Strain before serving. Serve cold or at room temperature.
Recipe Notes-
- Adjust the jaggery and dry ginger powder amount according to your preference.
- You can add 3 to 4 tbsps of lemon juice to this drink.
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Panagam | Dry Ginger Powder & Jaggery Drink
Ingredients
- ½ cup grated jaggery approx 65 grams
- 2 cups water
- 1 tsp dry ginger powder
- 3 green cardamom pods crushed
- ⅛ tsp salt
Instructions
- Crush the cardamom pods using a mortar and pestle or using a mixer jar/coffee grinder.
- Mix the crushed pods, dried ginger powder and salt with 2 cups of water.
- Add the grated jaggery and mix until it is dissolved.
- Strain before serving. Serve cold or at room temperature.
Notes
- Adjust the jaggery and dry ginger powder amount according to your preference.
- You can add 3 to 4 tbsps of lemon juice to this drink.
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It varies depending upon the product types or brands.
Update Notes: This recipe was originally posted in 2013 but now updated with new photos and fresh content.
Submitting this post for Blogging Marathon #98 under the theme “Cook for any Festival or Special day” – A 3-day marathon for four weeks. Check out the other participants’ details here.
Hello Vidhya… Would you know if I can use chopped ginger as I do not have dry ginger powder?
Try grating the ginger and squeeze the juice that adds more flavor. If not I would recommend grated ones than chopped ones.
Refeshing drink, just perfect for hot summers in India, YHAving food as per season that has been in our culture since ages!!
Thanks :-)
Panagam looks attractive and tempting. This reminds me of temple festivals in villages where they serve panagam and buttermilk. Have tasted it during those times. Should try it in home.
Please do try Narmadha. I am sure you will love it.
Addition of jaggery is new to me, it looks so delicious and soothing for summer Vidhya.
We always add jaggery in the panagam Jayashree. :-) Thanks
Panagam with jaggery looks tasty and is quite new to me. A healthier option too.
Beautifully presented Panakam, Srividhya. It is a must for Sri Rama Navami. I remember my mom making it in a huge pot :). Now we make in a small bowl as there are no takers.
Thanks a lot, Harini.
I love panakam, this one is made for sure during Srirama Navami. Good one.
Thanks Sushma.
Now this is new for me , very interesting too . Maybe I will try it sometime .
Yeah, it’s simple but you can add different condiments and make it interesting. It’s a must for us during the new year days.
Panakam is an absolute favorite of mine. Like you mentioned, perfect for the hot summer months back home. Beautiful pictures Vidya
Thanks a lot, Rajani.
I guess there is also a version that uses tamarind. I have tasted that a long while back. This one sounds so good. The jaggery and sukku will give the perfect spice and sweetness to the drink.
We call the one with tamarind as bevu bella. Yeah, the combination of sukku and jaggery is simply awesome.
This is quite interesting… As I read, I was wondering if it was warm, and then you mention it is served cold. This would be really delicious on a hot scorching day!
Oh yeah, definitely.