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The Fabled Pour
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India

I have 3 sourced drinks connected to India. The label on each card says how: where it began, what the country is known for, what people drink there, or where the origin is disputed.

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India on the world map. Boundaries are generalized Natural Earth data.

Drinks of India

Signature drinks and regional ones, with the evidence behind each. A drink marked non-alcoholic has no alcohol in the traditional serve.

  • Illustration of Goan Feni Highball: clear and colorless with fine bubbles, in a tall straight highball glass.

    Goan Feni Highball

    Goa

    IconicRegional drink

    Cashew feni poured over a few ice cubes in a highball glass, topped with lemon-lime soda and soda water, with a squeeze of lime and a pinch of salt. A slit green chile finishes it.

    Punch says this serve is enjoyed by most Goans daily, at home or in taverns. Urak, a lighter, lower-proof version of feni, can replace the feni. Outlook Traveller describes one writer's first drink on a taverna crawl in Cansaulim as a shot of urraq, the first distillate of feni, topped with soda and a squeeze of lime.

    Made with: cashew feni, lemon-lime soda, soda water, lime, salt.

    Confidence: highEvidence: punchdrink.com (opens in a new tab), outlooktraveller.com (opens in a new tab)

  • Illustration of Kerala Toddy (Kallu): milky pale liquid, in a potbellied unglazed clay pot.

    Kerala Toddy (Kallu)

    Kerala

    IconicRegional drink

    Coconut palm sap that begins fermenting almost at once, served at Kerala toddy shops (kallu shaaps) in bulbous clay pots and eaten with very hot dishes such as karimeen pollichathu, spiced fish wrapped in plantain leaf and fried in coconut oil. Freshly extracted toddy is sweet and is called madhura kallu.

    Maverick Bird says toddy tappers climb coconut palms each morning and evening, cut open the budding flower stalks and collect the milky sap in terracotta pots. Sources give no founding date for the toddy shop tradition.

    Made with: coconut palm sap.

    Confidence: mediumEvidence: keralatourism.org (opens in a new tab), npr.org (opens in a new tab), maverickbird.com (opens in a new tab)

  • Illustration of Thandai: opaque pale saffron-yellow milk, in a small plain cup.

    Thandai

    North India (Holi)

    IconicRegional drinkNon-alcoholic

    A chilled spiced milk drink ground from nuts and spices such as almonds, pistachios, fennel, poppy seeds, black pepper, cardamom and saffron, and yellow from the saffron. It is poured into a cup and garnished with dried rose petals. The standard drink has no alcohol; a version with cannabis leaves called bhang is sold in some places and is not part of the recipe.

    Table Magazine places thandai in northern India and southern Pakistan, mainly southern Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan, and calls it a central Holi drink that pairs with gujiya sweets.

    Made with: milk, almonds, pistachios, fennel seeds, poppy seeds, black pepper, cardamom, saffron, sugar.

    Confidence: mediumEvidence: tablemagazine.com (opens in a new tab), archanaskitchen.com (opens in a new tab)

Map data: Natural Earth, public domain.