Bel sharbat
Wood apple drink
बेल का शरबत: ripe wood-apple pulp mashed in water, strained and seasoned with jaggery and black salt for the hottest weeks
Bael trees grow beside temples across Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, and in May the hard golden fruits are cracked open on the doorstep with a pestle. The orange pulp smells of tamarind, marmalade and rose, and mashed into water it makes a thick, pulpy sharbat that people in Patna, Prayagraj and Gorakhpur drink mid-morning to keep the heat at bay; it is also famously kind to the stomach. Rickshaw stalls sell it from big steel pots. Ripe fruit is essential: it should sound hollow when tapped and smell sweet. The common mistake is blending the pulp in a mixer, which crushes the seeds and sticky fibres and makes the drink bitter and gluey; soak it and mash by hand instead. Chef's tip: let the pulp soak a full 15 minutes before mashing, and it practically falls off the fibres.
- Total time
- 20 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the sharbat
- 1 ripe bael fruit (wood apple)about 500 g
- 3 cups waterroom temperature
- 2 ⅛ oz jaggerygrated
- ½ tsp black salt (kala namak)
- ½ tsp roasted cumin powder
To serve
- 12 ice cubes (optional)
- 8 mint leaves (optional)
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Crack 1 ripe bael fruit (wood apple) on a hard surface or tap it firmly with a pestle all round until the shell splits. Pull it open and scoop the pulp, seeds and all, into a large bowl.
3 minStep 2: Pour 400 ml of the 1 ¾ cups water over the pulp and leave it for 15 minutes to soften.
15 minStep 3: Mash and squeeze the pulp with clean hands until it comes away from the seeds and fibres. Pour through a coarse sieve into a jug, pressing hard; add the rest of the 1 ¼ cups water to the sieve and press again.
4 minStep 4: Stir in 2 ⅛ oz jaggery, ½ tsp black salt (kala namak) and ½ tsp roasted cumin powder until the jaggery dissolves. Taste; it should be sweet, rich and slightly salty.
2 minStep 5: Serve over 12 ice cubes, with a few torn 8 mint leaves leaves.
1 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 120 kcal
- Protein
- 2 g
- Carbs
- 28 g
- Fat
- 0 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does bel sharbat take?
- About 20 minutes in total.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of jaggery?
- Dark brown or muscovado sugar, same amount.
- What can I use instead of black salt (kala namak)?
- Ordinary salt, same amount (loses the tangy, sulphurous note).
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Perfect for:Summer coolers