Khus and Sandal Sharbat, Plus Holi Thandai Without Bhang
Ever wondered why a bottle of khus sharbat is that startling emerald green when the roots it comes from are the colour of dry straw? The answer tells you most of what you need to know about summer sharbats: a lot of what’s in the bottle is colour, flavouring and sugar.
In brief
- Khus: vetiver root, earthy and cool-smelling
- Sandal sharbat: almost always flavouring; real sandalwood is a different matter
- Thandai: spiced nut-and-seed milk for Holi, here without bhang
- Homemade khus syrup: about 600 ml, 12 to 15 glasses
- Thandai: 1 litre, 5 glasses
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Khus: the smell of old summers
Before air conditioners, well-off homes in Delhi, Lucknow and Lahore hung khus tattis, thick screens woven from vetiver roots, across doorways and verandas. Servants would splash them with water, and the hot wind blowing through came out cooler and smelling of wet earth. Clay water pots sometimes had a small bundle of roots tucked inside for the same scent.
The sharbat grew out of that fragrance. Dried khus roots are sold in bundles at pansari and attar shops. Look for dry, springy, pale brown roots with a strong, woody, slightly smoky smell when you rub them. Musty or damp-smelling roots have been badly stored.
Homemade khus syrup
This version is pale gold, not green, and tastes of the root rather than of perfume.
Makes about 600 ml syrup
- Take 30 g dried khus roots. Rinse thoroughly in three changes of water, rubbing them between your palms, since they come with fine soil.
- Soak the washed roots in 500 ml drinking water in a glass or steel bowl, covered, for 8 to 10 hours or overnight.
- Next morning, squeeze the roots over the bowl to wring out the flavoured water, then strain through a muslin cloth. You’ll have about 450 ml pale, fragrant liquid.
- Pour into a heavy pan with 350 g sugar. Heat gently, stirring, until the sugar dissolves completely, about 5 minutes.
- Simmer on low for 6 to 8 minutes without boiling hard (hard boiling drives off the aroma). It should be slightly syrupy, not sticky.
- Take off the heat and stir in 1 teaspoon lemon juice, which helps stop crystallisation.
- Cool completely, pour into a sterilised glass bottle, and refrigerate. Use within 3 to 4 weeks.
To serve, mix 30 ml syrup (2 tablespoons) into 200 ml chilled water, with a squeeze of lemon and a few basil seeds (sabja) soaked for 15 minutes if you like. If you want a hint of green, a few crushed mint leaves are the honest way to get it.
Sandal sharbat and a hard warning
Sandalwood sharbat, sandal ka sharbat, is a summer tradition in Hyderabad, Lucknow and old Bengal. Most bottles you’ll buy today use food-grade sandal flavouring, not wood. That’s not a scandal; real sandalwood is costly and protected in India.
What matters is this: never make a drink from sandalwood essential oil, attar, or cosmetic chandan powder. Oils and perfumes are concentrated and aren’t meant to be swallowed, and face-pack powders may contain other ingredients. If you want sandal sharbat, buy a bottled syrup from a reputable food brand that clearly lists food-grade flavouring, and dilute it more than the label suggests.
If it came from the cosmetics shelf or an attar bottle, it doesn’t go into a glass.
The sugar reality
A sharbat is, at heart, sugar water with a beautiful smell. That’s fine as an occasional pleasure, but it’s worth seeing plainly. One level teaspoon of sugar weighs about 4 g.
| Glass | Added sugar | Roughly |
|---|---|---|
| Homemade khus, 30 ml syrup | about 17 g | 4 tsp |
| Homemade khus, 20 ml syrup | about 11 g | 3 tsp |
| Thandai below, 200 ml | about 12 g | 3 tsp |
| Bottled syrup, label dose | check label | often 5 tsp or more |
Simple ways to ease off: use 20 ml syrup instead of 30, add more lemon and ice, or drink sharbat as a small 150 ml glass. Our bel sharbat gets much of its sweetness from fruit, if you want something more filling.
Thandai for Holi, without bhang
Thandai means “the cooling one”, though it’s rich rather than light. The paste of nuts, seeds and spices is ground ahead of time, stirred into cold milk, and handed around on Holi afternoon after the colours. This family-safe version has no bhang, and please keep it that way when children and older relatives are drinking from the same jug.
Makes 1 litre, 5 glasses
- 25 almonds (about 30 g)
- 1 tablespoon (10 g) peeled melon seeds (char magaz)
- 1 tablespoon (6 g) fennel seeds (saunf)
- 2 teaspoons (6 g) white poppy seeds (khus khus), optional, see the cautions
- 8 black peppercorns
- 6 green cardamom pods, seeds only
- 1 tablespoon dried edible rose petals (gulkand-grade, unsprayed), or 1 teaspoon rose water added at the end
- A pinch (about 15 strands) saffron, soaked in 2 tablespoons warm milk
- 60 g sugar
- 1 litre full-fat or toned milk, boiled and chilled
- Soak almonds, melon seeds, saunf, poppy seeds, peppercorns and cardamom seeds together in 150 ml water for 4 hours, or overnight in the fridge.
- Drain. Slip the skins off the almonds by pinching them.
- Grind everything with the rose petals, sugar and 100 ml of the cold milk to a very smooth paste, 2 to 3 minutes in a blender. Stop and scrape the sides twice.
- Stir this paste and the saffron milk into the rest of the chilled milk.
- Strain through a fine sieve if you want it silky; many families leave it slightly textured.
- Chill for 1 hour and serve in 200 ml glasses with a sprinkle of crushed pistachio.
The paste keeps for 4 days in the fridge in a clean jar, so you can make it before Holi. Mixed thandai should be finished within 24 hours. Read more about spotting fake saffron and choosing fresh saunf. A spoon of gulkand stirred into the milk is another old summer addition.
Unani tradition treats both sandalwood and vetiver as cold in temperament, and hakeems historically prepared sharbat-e-sandal as part of their summer repertoire, while fennel, melon seeds and rose petals also sit on the cool side of the classical lists. Black pepper and cardamom, both warming, were included in thandai to balance the mix, a very typical Unani approach. Ayurvedic ritucharya likewise favours sweet, cooling, fragrant things in the hot season. None of this means the drinks lower body temperature in any measurable way; it’s the logic that shaped the recipes.
What these drinks can’t do
You’ll hear that khus “purifies the blood” or that sandal sharbat “removes body heat”. These are traditional descriptions, not things anyone can check with a thermometer. They’re refreshing because they’re cold, fragrant and sweet. In real heat, water, shade and rest do the heavy lifting.
Bhang: it is cannabis. It’s illegal in many places, affects people unpredictably, and has sent plenty of Holi revellers to emergency departments. Never serve it to children, pregnant women, anyone driving or anyone on medication. Nut and seed allergies: thandai contains almonds and seeds; label the jug at gatherings. Poppy seeds: they’re a normal spice, but they can cause a positive result on some drug tests and are restricted in a few countries such as the UAE and Singapore. Leave them out if travel or workplace testing applies. Diabetes: these are sugary drinks. Use a small glass or count it as your sweet for the day, and ask your diabetes team whether a sweetener suits you. Pregnancy and breastfeeding: homemade khus syrup and bhang-free thandai are ordinary foods in modest amounts; avoid any sandalwood product other than food-grade syrup. Children: half glasses, and never honey for under-ones. Blood thinners: saffron in food amounts is normal, but mention supplements or concentrated saffron to your doctor.
If someone becomes very drowsy, anxious, confused, has a racing heart or vomits after drinking thandai at a party, assume it may have been spiked and get medical help. Also call a doctor for any swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, or trouble breathing after drinking.
For the heartier, less sugary side of summer drinks, try sattu sharbat or the fermented black carrot kanji, which shares Holi week with thandai. There’s plenty more in Desi Remedies.
Khus, sandal and thandai: common questions
Does khus sharbat really cool the body?
It feels cooling because it’s cold, fragrant and sweet. Unani tradition classes vetiver and sandalwood as cold in temperament, but that isn’t something a thermometer picks up. In real heat, water, shade and rest do the heavy lifting.
Why is shop-bought khus sharbat green?
Colouring. Khus roots are the colour of dry straw, and homemade syrup comes out pale gold. The emerald bottle is mostly sugar, flavouring and dye, so read the label.
How do I make thandai without bhang?
Just leave it out; the recipe needs nothing else. Soak almonds, char magaz, saunf, peppercorns and cardamom, grind them with rose petals and sugar, and stir the paste into chilled milk with saffron. Keep the jug bhang-free when children and elders are drinking.
Can children drink thandai?
Bhang-free thandai is fine for older children in half glasses. Leave the poppy seeds out of any batch for babies and toddlers, label the jug for nut allergies, and never sweeten anything with honey for under-ones.
Is thandai safe during pregnancy?
Homemade, bhang-free thandai and khus syrup are ordinary foods in modest amounts. Avoid any sandalwood product other than a food-grade syrup, and never drink thandai at a gathering unless you know exactly what’s in it.
Can I use sandalwood oil or chandan powder to make sandal sharbat?
No. Sandalwood essential oil, attar and cosmetic chandan powder aren’t meant to be swallowed. Buy a bottled syrup from a food brand listing food-grade flavouring, and dilute it more than the label suggests.
How much sugar is in a glass of sharbat?
A 30 ml pour of homemade khus syrup carries about 17 g, roughly 4 teaspoons. Bottled syrups at the label dose are often 5 teaspoons or more. Using 20 ml with extra lemon and ice cuts that noticeably.
Can sugar patients drink khus sharbat or thandai?
These are sugary drinks, so keep to a small glass or count it as your sweet for the day. Ask your diabetes team whether a sweetener suits you rather than guessing.
Can poppy seeds in thandai cause a failed drug test?
They can on some tests. Poppy seed is also restricted in a few countries, such as the UAE and Singapore, and rules change, so check your destination’s customs rules before packing any. If testing or travel applies, simply leave the khus khus out of the paste.
How long does homemade khus syrup keep?
In a sterilised glass bottle in the fridge, use it within 3 to 4 weeks. The teaspoon of lemon juice stirred in at the end helps stop it crystallising.
Is Rooh Afza the same as khus sharbat?
No. It’s a blended sharbat with many flavourings rather than a vetiver syrup. Check its label for sugar just the same, and dilute it generously.
Can I reuse khus roots?
Once more. The second soak is lighter, so use it to scent plain drinking water in a matka rather than for syrup.