Panakam recipe | Panagam | Sri Rama Navami recipes

Updated on February 15, 2026 by Raks Anand 74 Comments

Panakam is a traditional South Indian jaggery based drink prepared during Sri Rama Navami and Tamil New Year in certain households. Made with jaggery, cardamom powder, dry ginger, lemon juice and holy basil leaves, this sacred offering is also cooling, aromatic. Known as panagam in Tamil, Panaka in Telugu and Kannada homes, this simple drink is offered as prasad and shared with devotees during hot summer season.

Amma makes panakam and neer mor for this festival as well as Tamil New Year. You can also prepare any day throughout the year.

Check out my neer mor recipe and cucumber kosambari recipe too in this website.

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About Panakam
Panakam Ingredients
Celebration
Step by step photos
Top Tips
My notes
Substitutions & Variations
Recipe card

About Panakam

Panakam or panagam is a jaggery based drink similar to lemonade, except make it with jaggery for sweetening, add cardamom, dry ginger, edible camphor and tulsi leaves for flavor.

It is popularly made during summer and festivals like Ram Navami.

This year Ram Navami 2026 falls on March 26, Thursday. Why not prepare it and offer this to God, as prasad.

This is how my mom/ grandma used to make and I used to enjoy this a lot in my childhood days. Perfect thirst quencher for this summer too, smells and tastes refreshing.

Cultural significance

Why Panakam for Sri Rama Navami?

Panakam is closely associated with Sri Rama Navami because it is believed to honor Lord Rama's calm, balanced and compassionate nature. Since Ramnavami falls during peak summer, this cooling drink is offered to devotees as a refreshing prasad. In many temples across South India, volunteers distribute panakam and neer mor freely to visitors during the celebrations. The tradition reflects generosity, community spirit and seasonal wisdom according to me 🙂

Panakam Ingredients

Here are the ingredients needed to make Panakam.

Jaggery - used as sweetener. Use any good quality or organic powder.
Cardamom - For a refreshing flavour.
Dry ginger powder - Aids digestion as well as flavour.
Edible camphor - Optional but I highly recommend.
Nutmeg - Same like edible camphor, but give a good flavour.
Lemon - We always make panakam with this.

Check out my recipe card for full list and quantities.

Celebration

In my childhood, the temple near our home gives panakam and neer more for free. Some volunteers will provide this on the day of ramnavami, radha kalyanam or even when Thaipoosam when the people pull 'charriot'(தேர்) around the streets nearby…

Panakam is also served as prasad (sacred offerings) in temples. But we can enjoy this as thirst quencher when ever we need. It really is a soulful drink to me.

Jaggery mixed with water helps regulate body temperature during summer season. Desi sweetener are always best and it works as an exceptional thirst quencher.
Dry ginger stimulate digestion and reduce bloating.
Tulsi leaves have natural antimicrobial properties.
A pinch of salt enhances hydration and prevents fatigue.

Step by step photos

1. To start with, gather all the ingredients needed to prepare the drink.

2. After that, in a bowl, dissolve the jaggery in 2 cups water. To this, squeeze lemon, add powdered cardamom, dry ginger powder, edible camphor, salt, nutmeg powder. Stir well until completely dissolved.

3. Finally, filter it using a strainer, add the thulasi leaves if desired and you can also add the skin of the cardamom without discarding it, as it adds more flavor.

Serve chilled though tastes great as such!!

Top Tips

Adding a pinch of salt gives balance to the drink, instead of being flat sweet.

Always strain jaggery water to remove impurities.

The seeds in lemon if cut or crushed will give you bitter taste, so better to avoid seeds.

My notes

One of my blog follower pointed out panakam has no lemon juice. Then I checked with my mom who also told she never always add lemon juice, so it is optional.

Do not add more edible camphor than mentioned. It can overpower the drink.

Substitutions & Variations

Depending upon the region, recipe include or omit lemon. Edible camphor is added for a divine flavour, if it is not available you can skip it.

You can add Black pepper powder to panaka.

You can use crushed fresh ginger instead of dry ginger. A teaspoon of ginger will be enough for this recipe.

Serving Suggestions & Festival Pairings

Recipe card

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5 from 8 votes