Panakam

Name: Panakam
Prep time: 15 min
Total time: 15 min
Ingredients: 100 g jaggery / palm sugar, grated; 750 ml water; ½ tsp ground ginger; ¼ tsp ground cardamom; 3 pinches black pepper, freshly ground; 1 tbsp lemon juice; 1 pinch salt; 4 leaves basil, holy basil (tulsi) if available (optional)

Vegetarian

பானகம் · pāṉakam

A simple South Indian jaggery water spiced with dried ginger, cardamom and black pepper and brightened with lemon, traditionally offered on Rama Navami.

Panakam is an Indian cold drink, ready in about 15 minutes and made with jaggery / palm sugar and ground ginger. It serves 4 and is rated beginner to cook.

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Prep: 15 min
Cook: 0 min
Total: 15 min
Serves: 4
Level: Beginner
Calories: 97

Ingredients

4 glasses

100 g Jaggery / palm sugar (opens in a new tab), grated
750 ml Water (opens in a new tab)
½ tsp (1 g) Ground ginger (opens in a new tab)Dried ginger (sukku/sonth) is traditional.
¼ tsp (0.5 g) Ground cardamom (opens in a new tab)
3 pinches (0.5 g) Black pepper (opens in a new tab), freshly ground
1 tbsp (15 g) Lemon juice (opens in a new tab)
1 pinch (0.5 g) Salt (opens in a new tab)
4 leaves (2 g) Basil (opens in a new tab), holy basil (tulsi) if available (optional)

Equipment

Method

1
Step 1
Stir the jaggery into the water and leave it to dissolve, stirring now and then, about 10 minutes.
- 10 min
- Mixing bowl (opens in a new tab)
2
Step 2
Strain through a fine sieve or a cloth to remove any grit from the jaggery.
- 2 min
- Sieve / strainer (opens in a new tab)
How it looks · Photo: Katerina Holmes on Pexels
3
Step 3
Stir in the dried ginger (opens in a new tab), cardamom, pepper (opens in a new tab), lemon juice (opens in a new tab) and salt, add the tulsi leaves if using and serve at room temperature or lightly chilled.
- 2 min

About this dish

Origin: Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, India · Commonly attributedMore food from India
Dish: Snack · Cold drinks
Cooking method: No-cook
Taste: sweet, peppery, aromatic / warmly spiced, earthy
Diet: Vegan · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients
All labels
Vegan · Plant-based · Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Ovo-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Whole-food focused · Paleo-style · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Low-fat · Low-sodium · DASH-style
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for: Festive & celebration · Budget-friendly
Cook more with: Jaggery / palm sugar · Ground ginger · Ground cardamom · Lemon juice

Allergens

None of the 14 major allergens appear in the listed ingredients.

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

97 kcal per serving

Estimated

1 serving ≈ 217 g · recipe makes 4

Where the energy comes from

Protein 0%
Carbohydrate 100%
Fat 0%

Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
Nutrient	Per serving	Per 100 g*
Energy	97 kcal	45 kcal
Protein	0.1 g	0 g
Carbohydrate	25.1 g	11.6 g
Net carbohydrate	25 g	11.5 g
Sugars	24.4 g	11.2 g
Added sugars	24.3 g	11.2 g
Fibre	0.1 g	0.1 g
Fat	0 g	0 g
Saturated fat	0 g	0 g
Trans fat	—	—
Cholesterol	0 mg	0 mg
Sodium	50 mg	23 mg
Salt equivalent	0.1 g	0.1 g

Vitamins & minerals per serving

Potassium: 43 mg
Calcium: 41 mg
Iron: 0.3 mg
Magnesium: 7 mg
Vitamin A (RAE): 0 µg
Vitamin C: 2 mg
Vitamin D: 0 µg
Vitamin B12: 0 µg
Folate (DFE): 1 µg

How these numbers were made

Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
*Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
Optional ingredients are not included: basil.
Jaggery / palm sugar: Brown sugar (FDC 168833) used as a stand-in for unrefined cane jaggery and palm sugar.
“—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

Taste and add more pepper if you like the warm bite that balances the jaggery.

Common mistakes

Skipping the straining — jaggery often contains grit and fibres.

Storage

Keeps 2 days in the fridge.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added 29 Oct 2026 · Updated 8 Nov 2026

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Customise in Sip & BlendCompare with

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

The spice and seasoning backbone

Spices, masalas & pastes

Ground ginger0.5 tsp · 0.9 g
Ground cardamom0.25 tsp · 0.5 g
Black pepper, freshly ground3 pinch · 0.5 g
Salt1 pinch · 0.4 g

Used in step 3

Less sweet, dairy-free, caffeine-free or for more people — the original stays as it is.

Customise in Sip & Blend

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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