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Indian

Variyali Sharbat

Variyali Sharbat is a Gujarati fennel drink with a pale green color, gentle sweetness, and a clean lemon-salt finish for hot afternoons.

Published and reviewed by Kitchgrow on 1 September 2026Updated

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Variyali Sharbat

2 hr 10 mintotal

10 min hands-on2 hr hands-off

Prep 10 min

Serves
2
Difficulty
Easy
Spice
None
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Ingredients

Quantities are for 2 servings.

Includes 2 hours of fennel soaking; active blending and straining takes about 10 minutes.

Method

  1. In a bowl, soak the fennel seeds and rock sugar in a little water for about 2-3 hours.

    2–3 hr

  2. Transfer the entire soaked mixture (including the water) into a blender jar. Blend to a fine, smooth paste.

  3. Using a fine mesh strainer or muslin cloth, strain the blended paste into a pitcher, pressing down to extract all the flavorful liquid.

  4. Discard the dry fibrous leftover of the fennel seeds.

  5. Add chilled water, black salt, and lemon juice to the extracted fennel concentrate. Stir well.

  6. Serve chilled over ice cubes.

How to tell it's done

The sharbat should be pale green and light, with a clear fennel aroma and no gritty residue after straining.

Getting it right

Tip

Use mishri instead of regular white sugar for a cleaner sweetness and a more traditional summer sharbat flavor.

What to serve it with

Serve immediately as a welcome drink to guests coming in from the hot sun.

Common mistakes

The sharbat is weak and watery.
Give the fennel its full soak and press the pulp hard through the cloth. Fennel seeds are dry and hold their flavour tightly — a quick blitz and a lazy strain leaves most of it in the pulp you throw away.

Substitutions

  • Ordinary sugar replaces rock sugar, though mishri dissolves into a cleaner, less cloying sweetness. Lime works instead of lemon. Ordinary salt can stand in for black salt at a pinch, but it makes the drink simply salty rather than tangy. The fennel itself has no substitute — it is the whole drink.

Storing and reheating

The strained concentrate keeps four days in the fridge and freezes for two months, which is the sensible way to make it: dilute a spoonful at a time. Once mixed with water it should be drunk the same day.