Bonda Sharabat - A Coconut Cocktail from Mangalore

Bonda Sharbat - A coconut juice cocktail made with bonda (i.e. tender coconut in tulu, a local language in Mangalore), lime and basil seeds popular as Bonda Sharbat
Summer brings a lot of memories from my childhood. The hot humid weather paired often with power cuts during the day.
But those were the days when we never complained about the weather. Air conditions and uninterrupted power supply is taken for granted here in US and I see people always complaining about the weather. Its either too hot or too cold. Very few times I hear people actually saying the weather is pleasant!

My schedule during the summer holidays were a little different from my friends. I would be busy helping out my father to run his business as summer was his peak season and an extra hand was always welcome. My mom would also be busy making papad and fritters. She too welcomed any kind of help I would be of. But all those hard work was often rewarded with some ice candies and fresh tender coconut.

"Ice candy" is a Manglorean name for Popsicles. 3 flavors were popular - the ice candy, bella candy ie. the jaggery candy and doodh candy. My favorite was bella candy. They had little coconut shavings hidden in them. And then there was tender coconut. The juice of tender coconut with some extremely tender coconut meat is a perfect treat for the summer on its own. The small wooden shops called Goodangadi i.e. Goodu for box or a nest and Angadi means shops are very common in Konkan coast. These shops often sell a coconut juice cocktail made with bonda i.e. tender coconut, lime and basil seeds popular as Bonda Sharbat

Here it is the popluar Bonda Sharbat from the Konkan coast.



You need
few cups of coconut water preferrably tender coconut along with some tender coconut meat
juice of lime
1 tsp basil seeds or tukmaria, called kamakasturi beeja in kannada, also popular as falooda seeds
few sprigs of mint, optional
sugar , if needed

Soak basil seeds in little water for about 2 hrs, until it absorbs water and becomes gelatinous. See more information below. Tear the mint roughly. Mix all the ingredients. Add sugar only of needed. Coconut water is usually sweet. Stir well. Serve Chilled.

I seldom find good fresh tender coconut here. So I made it with the coconut water. If you are using tender coconut, add some of the tender coocnut meat too..the white portion. You can mash it lightly.

Some information on Basil Seeds
Basil seeds as sold as tukmaria in the Indian Stores. They are black and often look like black sesame seeds. You may need to pick out any sand or soil particles from the seeds before using. Soak them in little water and check if there are any sand residue in the water. Change the water till the seed s run clean. Now soak the basil seeds for 2 hrs or until it becomes gelatinous.

Basil seeds are considered to have a cool effect on the body and is very popular in the tropical hot and humid weather. More info on Basil seeds onWikipedia and Asia Food