List of Indian drinks facts for kids
With a climate as varied and extreme as India, the people require a myriad of options to keep their thirst appropriately quenched according to the weather conditions, varying from steaming hot drinks during winters to frosty cold drinks in summers. Different regions in the country serve drinks made with an eclectic assortment of ingredients including local spices, flavors and herbs. Available on the streets, as well as on the menus of posh hotels, these drinks add to the flavorful cuisine of India.
Contents
Consumption statistics by drink type
This is the consumption of drinks per capita per year in India in 2021 by drink type excluding water and juices.
Drink type | Per capita consumption (liter) |
---|---|
Hot drinks | 70 |
Dairy drinks | 34 |
Soft drinks | 20 |
Bottled water | 6 |
Alcoholic drink | 4 |
Total | 134 |
Assorted drinks
- Aam panna – made from raw mango
- Aamras
- Bael sharbat
- Banta soda, carbonated lemonade sold in codd-neck bottle
- Buransh – made from rhododendron flowers with jelly like consistency, Uttarakhand
- Ela neeru / karikku - tender coconut water
- Fruit juice
- Gaajar ka doodh - made from grated carrot and sweetened milk
- Ganne ka ras or sugarcane juice
- Gud-nimbu sharbat – made of lemon and jaggery
- Jal-jeera
- Jigarthanda, famous in Madurai
- Kahwah is common drink in cold regions of Jammu and Kashmir
- Kala Khatta
- Kanji
- Kesar kasturi
- Khas Khas drink - mad from poppy seeds
- Khus sharbat - made from Vetiver syrup
- Kokum sharbat
- Kulukki sharbat - shaken Lemonade
- Liyo
- Lemonade
- Nannaari (Sarsaparilla) sharbat – lemon-based drink, Tamil Nadu
- Nariyal Pani (Coconut water)
- Neera
- Ookali – hot drink made by boiling coriander seeds, Western India
- Panakam - Beverage made of jaggery and lemon juice, traditionally served on Rama Navami.
- Paneer soda, carbonated lemonade mixed with rose essence and sold in codd-neck bottle is a variation of Banta soda
- Phalsa sharbat – made from Grewia asiatica
- Pudina sharbat – made from mint
- Ramula – a drink made from sweet potato
- Rasna, a soft drink concentrate
- Rooh Afza, a concentrated drink
- Sakar-loung Pani – made from rock sugar and clove; famous in Gujarat, Rajasthan
- Sattu paani – famous in North India
- Saunf paani, from Gujarat
- Sharbat – drink that has many variants
- Shikanjvi - traditional lemonade, often mildly spicy
- Solkadhi
- Sugandha water
- Tnkaw Toraaṇi - a rice based drink from Odisha
Dairy drinks
Flavoured milk
- Badam milk – almond-flavoured milk
- Kesar milk – saffron-flavoured milk
- Rose milk - Rose sharbat - flavoured milk
- Sugandha milk
Milk-based beverages
- Ambil or Ambli – prepared by using ragi flour and buttermilk, Maharashtra and Karnataka
- Buttermilk – Lassi or Laasi in North India, chhachh or Chaas or Chaah in North India, mor in Tamil, majjiga in Telugu, majjige in Kannada, and taak in Marathi
- Chai with cream – prepared using dry or fresh variants of tea, often has hints of cardamom (elaichi), cinnamon (dalchini) or a mixture of spices, which constitute the special masala chai, taken especially during the cold to keep the winter-related problems at bay
- Haldi doodh or hot turmeric milk
- Lassi – a popular, traditional, yogurt-based drink from Northern India. It is a blend of yogurt, water, spices and sometimes fruit.
- Traditional lassi (a.k.a., "salted lassi", or simply "lassi") is a savoury drink, sometimes flavoured with ground and roasted cumin.
- Sweet lassi, however, contains sugar or fruits, instead of spices. Banarasi Lassi: Varanasi, one of the prominent cities of Bhojpur region is known for special variation of Lassi, popularly known as Banarasi Lassi'. The Curd for Banarasi Lassi is made with reduced milk which gives it a creamy & thick texture. It is then sweetened, churned and served with generous blob of Rabdi in earthern pots called Kulhads.
- Mastaani, Pune
- Sharjah Shake – A sweet, cold beverage made from milk, Horlicks/other malt powders and njalipoovan. Sometimes, ice cream, cocoa powder or nuts may be added.
- Sambaram – Salted buttermilk made from cow's milk spiced with shallot, freen chili pepper, ginger and curry leaves from Kerala
- Thandai
Hot drinks
Both tea and coffee contain caffeine and tannin. Comparatiely, coffee has more caffeine and less tannin than tea, whereas tea has more tannin and less caffeine than coffee.
Coffee
- Indian filter coffee – a sweet milky coffee made from dark roasted coffee beans (70–80%) and chicory (20–30%)
- Instant coffee
Tea
- Further information: Indian tea culture
- Assam tea
- Ayurvedic teas, various types of Indian herbal teas
- Temi tea
- Darjeeling tea
- Balma green tea
- Berinag tea
- Black tea
- Green tea
- Seven-colour tea
- Irani chai
- Kangra tea
- Masala chai
- Noon chai
- Nilgiri tea
- Tulsi tea
- Milk tea
Flavoured tea
- Butter tea
- Elaichi tea or cardamom tea
- Ginger tea
- Lemon tea
- Tejpatta Tea
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Masala chai served with tea biscuits. India's most popular way to drink tea.
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A cup of Darjeeling tea.
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Butter tea or gur gur in the Ladakhi language, in a bowl; popular in Himalayan regions of India, particularly in Ladakh, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh.