The bel tree is Shiva’s, and its leaves go onto the lingam in threes, which is why it stands in temple courtyards across the eastern plain and why nobody cuts one down. The fruit is a hard wooden sphere that has to be cracked open with a stone or the back of a cleaver; inside is a sticky orange pulp that smells faintly of marmalade and hay. Soaked, mashed and strained, it becomes the sharbat that appears the moment the heat turns in April. What makes the eastern version its own is that it is not simply sweetened: Bihar, Jharkhand and eastern Uttar Pradesh take it savoury-sour with roasted cumin, black salt and chaat masala over the sugar, where Bengal keeps it sweeter and Odisha’s bela pana goes another way again with milk, coconut and banana. Ayurveda has it as sheeta virya, cooling in potency, and it is drunk with digestive intent as much as pleasure.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 ripe bel (wood apple, about 500g)
- 1.2 litres cold water
- 4 tbsp block jaggery (gur, grated, or sugar to taste)
- 1 tsp roasted cumin powder
- 1 tsp black salt (kala namak)
- ½ tsp chaat masala
- ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- a handful of mint leaves
- ice (to serve)
METHOD
- Crack the bel open with a hammer or the back of a heavy knife. It has a genuinely woody shell and will not yield to a normal cut.
- Scoop all the orange pulp into a large bowl and discard the shell.
- Pour over 400ml of the water and leave to soak for a full hour so the fibre softens.
- Mash the pulp hard with your hands or a masher until the seeds come free and the flesh has dissolved into the water.
- Strain through muslin or a fine sieve into a jug, pressing to get everything through. Discard the seeds and fibre.
- Whisk in the remaining water and the grated jaggery until dissolved.
- Add the roasted cumin, black salt, chaat masala, black pepper and lemon juice.
- Taste. It should read cooling and slightly savoury with the sweetness behind rather than in front.
- Bruise the mint between your palms and drop it in.
- Chill and serve over ice the same day; it thickens and turns if kept.
