Panchamrit, is a sweet drink made during religious festivities. 'Panch' is a Sanskrit word, which means five and 'amrit' means elixir. Hence the name Panchamrut.
It is made with raw milk, curd, ghee, honey ,ganga jal and holy basil.
Ghee , ganga jal and honey are added in very small quantities . It is further sweetened with sugar or jaggery.
It is offered to God on Janamashtami and several other Pujas like Satyanarayan ki Puja and then distributed to the people attending the puja as Prasad .
There could be slight variations in the recipe from region to region.
Nuts like foxnuts, almonds, cashews, coconut, chironji are added in many homes.
It's simple and easy to prepare.
If it gets too thick, add water accordingly. The drink is supposed to be like thick lassi.
Ingredients
Curd 2 cups
Raw Milk 1cup
Sugar 1/2 cup
Honey 1 tbsp
Ghee 1 tsp
Ganga Jal 1 tsp
Holy Basil 2 leaves roughly torn
Fox nuts 1 cup chopped
Coconut 1/4 cup finely chopped
Almonds 2 tbsp chopped
Cashew 2 tbsp chopped
Chironji 1 tbsp
Method
Mix Curd ,milk and sugar.
Once sugar dissolves, add honey, ghee and Ganga Jal.
Mix in the nuts and keep it in the fridge for 2-3 hours
The foxnuts will swell up.
If it gets too thick add some water to get a thick lassi like consistency.
Now add Holy Basil and offer it to the deity.
Later serve it as Prasad to everyone present .