I am so happy to get back to my roots today with this recipe. I am sharing a traditional, authentic and my favorite summer coolant – it is the Nannari Sarbath or the Indian Sarsaparilla Sharbat. A simple, refreshing and a crisp drink prepared with Nannari / Indian sarsaparilla root syrup.
Food always creates memories. I love those fond memories associated with food, and also I love creating some new memories. Nannari Sharbat always brings me back my childhood memories. In Periyakulam, during summer, you can find tender coconut cart, sugarcane juice cart, and sharbat carts everywhere. The Nannari Sharbat is a popular one, and I relish it a lot. I love that aromatic smell of Nannari. Amma makes it at home as well. Before sharing the Nannari Sharbat recipe, let me share the details and health benefits of Nannari.
What is Nannari Sarbath?
Nannari is a root, and its botanical name is Hemidesmus indicus. In Ayurveda, it is known by the name – Ananthamoola. In Sanskrit, it means endless root, and in Tamil, we say Nannari or Naruneendi. It is also known as Sugandhi Drink. The roots are wholly aromatic, and we prepare the syrup from the roots. You can then mix the syrup with water, sugar and a dash of lemon juice to make this exotic and delicious sharbat.
Nannari Syrup and Where to Source?
Traditionally the roots are cleaned from the bark and cooked in water to get the syrup. You can get the roots in Ayurveda shops and Naatu Marundu Kadai. But as it is hard for me to source the roots and due to food import restrictions, I cannot bring the root products from India as well. So I went with the Nannari syrup concentrate that mom bought from India. You can find them in Indian grocery stores here in the USA as well as in Amazon online store. Hoping to post how to prepare the syrup from scratch next year.
Benefits of Nannari:
It is a natural coolant, and it helps our body to fight the scorching summer heat. Keeping our body hydrated is a must, and these light and refreshing sarbaths are great alternatives to the non-healthy aerated drinks. It helps to purify our blood, and also it increases the energy level. Recently, I learned that it also helps to prevent urinary infection.
Other Refreshing Summer Drinks from the Archives:
- Kokum Sarbath
- Sol Kadhi
- Shikanji
- NeerMor
- Rose Syrup & lemon curd Sarbath
- Aloe Vera Juice
- Jigarthanda
Without any further ado, here is the recipe with store-bought syrup. As the syrup already contains sugar, I did not add additional sugar.
Nannari Sarbath Recipe with Step by Step Pictures:
Step-wise picture recipe of a simple, refreshing and a crisp drink prepared with Nannari / Indian sarsaparilla root syrup. A perfect summer coolant that helps to increase the energy levels.
Ingredients:
- Water – 4 cups
- Nannari Syrup – ½ cup + 2 tbsps
- Lemon Juice – 2 tbsps (I used juice from half of the small lemon)
- Ice cubes as required.
Steps:
- Add the nannari syrup to the cold water.
- Squeeze the lemon juice as well and stir in till the syrup blends nicely.
- Refrigerate it and serve chilled or add crushed ice cubes and serve chilled.
Notes:
- Adjust the syrup amount as per your preference. For 1 cup of water, I usually add 2 to 3 tbsps of syrup.
- Lemon juice is optional but it adds a unique flavor, and also we don’t want to say no to the Vitamin C from the lemon.
📖 Recipe
Nannari Sarbath
Ingredients
- 4 cups Water
- 10 tbsps Nannari Syrup approx ½ cup + 2 tbsps
- 2 tbsps Lemon Juice I used juice from half of the small lemon
- Ice cubes as required.
Instructions
- Add the nannari syrup to the cold water.
- Squeeze the lemon juice as well and stir in till the syrup blends nicely.
- Refrigerate it and serve chilled or add crushed ice cubes and serve chilled.
Notes
- Adjust the syrup amount as per your preference. For 1 cup of water, I usually add 2 to 3 tbsps of syrup.
- Lemon juice is optional but it adds a unique flavor, and also we don't want to say no to the Vitamin C from the lemon.
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.
Beautiful pictures, Sri :)
Thanks :-)