Sattu drink

The sattu drink — also called sattu sharbat or sattu juice — is roasted gram flour whisked into cold water, a quick, no-cook way to use the sattu flour. The flour behind it is gram (Cicer arietinum), roasted and then ground, which is the FSSAI standard's own definition of chana sattu in one line, so nothing in the drink needs further cooking. Bihar-style, it comes two ways: meetha, sweetened with jaggery, and namkeen, sharpened with lemon and salt.

This recipe sets the classic Bihar-style proportions: half a cup of sattu, 60 g, to four cups of cold water, one litre in all. Every glass then carries a cup of water, 250 ml, and 15 g of sattu. The flour settles as the glasses stand, so each drink is stirred once more just before serving. Under ten minutes of work, then a 30-minute chill in the fridge, or a few ice cubes instead.

One base and two finishes is why this version suits a mixed household: the sweet glass and the salty glass come from the same jug. Jaggery powder dissolves into the cool drink without any melting step; plain sugar works in its place for a lighter sweetness, and the sweet glasses take no salt or cumin at all. If you roast and grind your own gram, the roast-and-grind guide walks through making the flour at home.