Refreshing Bel Sharbat / Wood Apple Summer drink with no added sugar.

Summers call for something refreshing. A thirsty, wandering mind is happy. As a dad-in-law makes this super yummy refreshing bel sharbat every day without a fail.

Bel also is known as Bengal Quince, or Wood apple. It is a popular summer fruit.  Bel sharbat or bel squash is widely consumed in Indiia. It is a refreshing and a great thirst quencher.

Bel or AEGLE MARMELOS surprisingly came to my book of knowledge very late in life.  Mom never really adopted this fruit. Later in my college years, I was introduced to this fruit. I was studying Ayurveda, and this is a largely spoken about plant in Ayurveda, for its great healing properties…..and when we were introduced to this fruit, is when I realised I have seen mom offering the leaves from this plant to Lord Shiva…this is when I discovered its sacred value to Hindu’s.

Bel fruit has different properties when it is raw. Raw fruit is used to treat constipation. It takes about 11 months to ripen. Ripe fruit is well known Pitta  Dosha pacifier ( Pitta is the Heat element in the body constitution as per Indian system of medicine in Ayurveda). Thus a  ripe fruit pulp makes a great choice to treat heatstroke or dysentery.

Bel fruit is described to taste like marmalade and smell like roses and is naturally sweet. So when I use it to make sharbat, I refrain from using added sugar. But if I wish my kids to enjoy it, I as an anxious mother do add some amount of sugar/ jaggery.

Bel  Sharbat as mentioned was unheard of till quite late in life. Mom had other recipes for her summer cooling drinks which will soon come upon other posts through the series, but Bel Sharbat has another tale from my household to it. When I got married, first summers my Dad in  Law would bring Bel fruit every other day, and all by himself, scoop out its pulp and I could always see a bowl filled with water and soaked pulp on my kitchen counter. Curiosity changed in inquisitions. Always wondered” ki kya kartein hein roz iskaa?? I soon asked for a glass of the strange-smelling drink he would make out of the bel fruit he soaked. In the first sip, Bel sharbat tasted yuck as he would not add extra sugar and would consume it too diluted for his own acquired taste reasons. But eventually as tried my hands on making it, I did my own changes. A bit of taste differs with households and personal choices. So I stuck to my own recipe, but still can’t thank him enough to have taught me a new thing which added to my culinary diary.

Frankly, bel sharbat is actually a tasty refreshing drink and my hatred soon turned into an affection top this summery drink and it found a place in my kitchen also through the summers each year now. It is an acquired flavor which might take an instance or few to get used to the astringent peachy taste.

Print Recipe
Refreshing Bel Sharbat / Wood Apple Summer drink with no added sugar.
Bel sharbat is a naturally sweet refreshing drink made from ripe bel fruit and has soothing properties for the body. It has a peachy taste.
Course Drinks
Prep Time 15 Minutes
Passive Time 2 Hours
Servings
Glasses
Ingredients
Course Drinks
Prep Time 15 Minutes
Passive Time 2 Hours
Servings
Glasses
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Break the shell of a ripe yellow bel fruit with a wood rolling pin. It should break open in two halves. Scoop out the pulp using a large spoon
  2. Soak the pulp in 300 ml water, for about two hours.
  3. Now mash the pulp in the water using fingers and strain the mix, by scrubbing the pulp along with the strainer. This helps to get maximum out if it.
  4. Add some cardamom powder to taste.
  5. Serve chilled
Recipe Notes

The full and The empty

Dilute the juice if you like it thin.

Add extra sugar if the fruit does not turn out to be the way you like it.

The best way to get a good fruit is to look for yellow shell and large fruit size

Cardamom is optional( my kids do not like it)

It tastes best when served fresh and chilled

Leftover juice may turn sour if kept in the fridge.    

This fruit has made such an impact in my life. I took some years to finetune the recipe. And now we have another beautiful recipe of Bel Icecream On my blog, which made my kids and dad-in-law fall in love with the fruit all over again.