This post would have never occurred to me, had it not been for a recipe for panaka I came across in Madhur Jaffrey's James Beard award winning book 'World Vegetarian' (p. 644) . Its hard to retire quietly at 1.15 am when you see something that is so much a part of ones life, listed as 'Extinct'. A death knell so loud, that I had to vent about it immediately!
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<br />The Hindu festival 'Ram navami' is celebrated in the month of April all over India. One of the traditional festive offerings in South Indian temples & households for this event is 'panakam', a refreshing punch like drink made with ginger, gud (jaggery, an unrefined sugar) and lime & flavored with cardamom. A time honored tradition kept alive for the past 3000+ (yes, three thousand) years. I prefer adding Lime flavored seltzer in place of water for a refreshing late afternoon drink.

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