Jigarthanda Recipe | Madurai Jigarthanda

Jigarthanda is a refreshing and cooling drink popular in Madurai slowing gaining its popularity all over Tamil Nadu. Jigarthanda is a natural body coolant ideal to beat the summer. Learn to make authentic Madurai Jigarthanda Recipe with step by step pictures and video.

Jigarthanda is sold in small shops and is a very famous drink especially during summer. There may be many variations to this Madurai Jigarthanda but I am completely satisfied with my version which will sure come very close to madurai jigarthanda taste, Yes I claim it! I have tried my best to include all the step wise pictures, video with tips and tricks to get perfect jigarthanda.

Jump to:

• About Jigarthanda
• Jigarthanda Video
• Jigarthanda Ingredients
• How to make Jigarthanda Step by Step
• Expert Tips
• Serving & Storage
• 📖 Recipe Card

About Jigarthanda

Jigarthanda – ‘Jigar’ means ‘Heart’, ‘Thanda’ means ‘Cold’ so the special drink is considered soothing to heart. It is popularly called as Madurai special Jil Jil Jigarthanda. Jigarthanda is made using milk, sugar, nannari syrup and almond gum as main ingredients. Nannari syrup is got from the roots of the Indian sarsaparilla plant, adds a unique flavor to the drink.

After tasting and hearing about the popularity of jigarthanda I wanted to recreate it at home. I asked my cousin who is a native of Madurai to click pictures of Jigarthanda and send it across as I first wanted to see how the authentic madurai jigarthanda looked like. He sent me the pictures along with a video last summer, he gave tips as well and it took me a year to try it. Thank you so much Goldking for the pictures and video!

The name ‘Jigarthanda’ itself tempts me so much that after shifting to Coimbatore once I saw a lassi stall selling jigarthanda so nagged hubby to stop and get me to taste it. One sip I totally fell for jigarthanda, and that is the first time I tasted it and after that whenever we pass by that shop I would stop there for jigarthanda though the drink is available only in summers. When I asked the person who made it he gave some hints that badam pisin and nannari syrup are the main ingredients used here.

Jigarthanda Video

I first waited to get a serving glass like the ones they serve in shops, then hunted for badam pisin which took some time then making homemade nannari syrup took a while and when I had all of them in hand, I was still confused whether to use store bought ice cream or make my own and the exact method of making jigarthanda ice cream. This summer the first thing I thought to click was jigarthanda and bought ice creams and kept.

Last week when I saw a video in which the jigarthanda seller said the ice cream they use also plays a vital role in jigarthanda and they call it Bhai Icecream and he just said the ingredients for making the icecream. So my mind was fixed for making homemade icecream for Jigarthanda so it was almost 2 days of hard work for making all the ingredients from the scratch and finally today I assembled the jigarthanda and served it…Yayyyy  I am a happy soul today.

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Jigarthanda Ingredients

• Milk – Always use full cream milk for best taste. Milk forms the main base of this jigarthanda.
• Cream – Fresh cream is added for making jigarthanda ice cream. It gives a creamy texture to the ice cream.
• Nannari Syrup – Nannari syrup, made from the roots of the Indian sarsaparilla plant, adds a unique flavor to the beverage
• Almond Gum – Almond gum also called as badam pisin from the sap of the almond tree, is used to give the drink a jelly-like consistency.
• Sugar – Use white granulated white sugar both for adding to milk and for making caramel syrup.

Ingredients to assemble Jigarthanda

• Reduced milk – Milk is simmered to get a slightly thick condensed milk kind of taste. Actually I feel more of palkova taste in this milk along with nanari syrup gives the traditional jigarthanda flavor.
• Plain Milk – Plain milk is boiled then cooled and added. I did not add sugar to this, if you want you can add little.
• Bloomed Badam Pisin – Badam Pisin is a special edible gum also called as almond gum that is taken from almond tree. It is called tragacanth in english and katira gond in hindi. You can buy this from amazon. Do not skip this ingredient as it is the main ingredient for making jigarthanda.
• Nannari syrup – Nannari syrup gives a great flavor to this drink also a cooling effect.
• Icecream – Homemade jigarthanda ice cream is made using reduced milk.

Homemade Palkova

I reduced milk, added sugar and prepared the palkova needed for making jigarthanda, it is time consuming but sure worth the effort. But if you do not have time then you can buy sweetened paalkova or unsweetened mawa from stores but make sure to adjust sugar accordingly.

Jigarthanda Ice Cream

A special ice cream is made for topping jigarthanda drink. This ice cream tastes soo good that you can have it as such too.

Jigarthanda ice cream is made to give the drink the authentic taste. But you can use vanilla icecream too but if you want to taste the authentic madurai jigarthanda then no shortcuts please.

Milk is reduced well then homemade palkova or sweetened khoya is added to it along with prepared caramel syrup. Caramel syrup is added for a great flavor and color to this ice cream. Finally fresh cream is added and mixed well to form a more rich creamy texture. This mixture

The more times you freeze and blend you get more creamy texture. I did this 2 times.

Badam Pisin – Almond Gum

Almond Gum or Badam Pisin is a natural edible gum that is derived from the sap of sweet almond trees. It is like a transparent stone usually pale yellow in color or light brown. It is a natural coolant and when soaked in water becomes jelly like in consistency ideal to use it for many drinks and beverages.

To a bowl add the almond gum, if you feel it has dirt then wash and soak it in water. I got small crystals this time so it was very clean and got bloomed quickly.

Tip : If you do not have time or forgot to soak badam pisin then here is a quick way to bloom it. Take the badam pisin in a mixer jar and give a quick pulse 2-3 times to break the crystals. Now soak in water, it will bloom in just 30 minutes.

How to make Jigarthanda Step by Step

Preparing palkova / sweetened milk solids

1.Boil 1/2 liter milk. Give a quick mix and simmer.

2.Let it simmer until it starts to reducing. Meanwhile scrape the sides and add the milk solids back to the boiling milk.

3.When it is almost half reduced add 2 tablespoon sugar.

4.Give a quick mix and let it simmer again. Keep stirring often to avoid burning at the bottom.

5.Milk starts to thicken.

6.At one stage it will thicken and start to leave the sides of the pan. Keep stirring and cooking in low flame.

7.Now palkova or sweetened mawa is ready. Switch off, transfer to a bowl and set it aside.

Preparing reduced milk

8.Now to another pan add 2 liters milk. Let it boil, give a quick mix and simmer.

9.Simmer until almost half reduced then add 1/2 cup sugar.

10.Give a quick mix and simmer. Keep scraping milk solids at the sides, add it back into the boiling milk.

Preparing caramel syrup

11.Meanwhile to another pan add 1/4 cup sugar. Make sure the pan is dry.

12.When it starts to melt at the sides keep mixing with a ladle.

13.Keep mixing and cooking until it becomes golden brown in color.

14.Add 1/4 cup water. Make sure to be at a safe distance as it splutters. Some may solidify but keep stirring.

15.Keep stirring until it becomes a syrup. Caramel syrup is ready. This is added to give color to jigarthanda and flavor.

16.Add prepared mawa and caramel syrup to boiling milk.

17.Mix it well. Simmer again for 2-5 minutes.

18.Now transfer half of the prepared reduced milk to a container and chill it. This is sweetened reduced milk with milk solids.

Preparing jigarthanda ice cream

19.Switch off and add 1/2 cup fresh cream to the remaining reduced milk.

20.Mix it well.

21.Transfer this to a freezer safe container.

22.Close with lid and freeze for 5-6 hours.

23.After 5 hours this is half set, now transfer it a mixer jar.

24.Ice cream transferred to mixer jar.

25.Blend until smooth and creamy. Repeat this process for 1 more time to avoid ice crystals. Then freeze it for 8 hours or overnight until ice cream is firm and set completely.

Blooming Almond gum

26.Soak 1 tablespoon almond gum or badam pisin in a bowl with enough water. Soak it overnight, keep it covered.

27.Next day this is how it looks well bloomed. Set aside.

Assembling jigarthanda

28.Now all the ingredients are ready. Let us assemble jigarthanda.

29.Take your serving glass first add 2 tablespoon badam pisin, then add 1 tablespoon nannari syrup to it.

30.Add 1/4 cup plain boiled chilled milk to it.

31.Add prepared 1 cup reduced milk. Actually there is no perfect measurements for assembling , it is purely your taste preference. I am giving the measurements just for a quick reference.

32.Mix it well.

33.Scoop the ice cream.

24.Top it up and serve chilled.

Enjoy chilled!

Expert Tips

• You can collect the malai that forms while thickening milk and use it for garnishing while serving jigarthanda, that is how they serve in madurai shops.
• You can even drizzle a teaspoon of nannari syrup or caramel syrup on top and serve it.
• You can cover the ice cream with cling wrap so that the wrap touches the ice cream. This further avoids ice crystals formation.
• The quantity of each ingredient can be purely your choice while assembling.
• If you want to use store bought ice cream then use vanilla ice cream.You can replace badam pisin with agar agar but sure the taste will vary.
• You can use store bought paal kova too.If its sweetened adjust sugar accordingly.
• Nannari syrup and badam pisin are the main star ingredients in jigarthanda and I recommend no replacements for it. If you want to feel and taste madurai jigarthanda then you should use those ingredients.
• You can make homemade ice cream a day before and refrigerate it. I just blended for 2 times altogether but the more you blend the more creamy texture you will get.
• In some shops they even use basil seeds but guess its not the authentic version of madurai jigarthanda.

Variations

• You can use condensed milk, mix it with milk to get thickened milk. This is sure the easy version but the taste will be a compromise. The measurement will be for 2 cups milk use 1/2 cup condensed milk.
• Instead of homemade jigarthanda icecream you can use readymade vanilla icecream add palkova to it mix it well and freeze and use it.
• You can replace badam pisin with agar agar but sure the taste will vary.

Serving & Storage

Serve it chilled and consume immediately. Jigarthanda is meant to be consumed once assembled so I would not recommend storing. May be you can make the ingredients ready and refrigerate it – keeps well for 3 days. Then at the time of serving you can assemble and serve fresh.

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