Master of the bud: Trading in bhang recipes

Editor’s Note: Happy 420 Day—April 20 that marks the celebration of all things cannabis. To mark the occasion, we offer this intriguing excerpt from ‘Bhang Journeys’—Akshaya Bahibala’s travelogue-meets-memoir that traces lost decade as a bhang connoisseur in Odisha. In this chapter, he meets the master sharbat maker of Puri–who shares his secret bhang recipes. Try them at your risk:) This excerpt has been republished with permission of Speaking Tiger Books.

The Master Sharbat Maker 

My search for the best bhang lassi makers took me to the master sharbat maker of Puri. I found him in a small lane near the Uttar Kali temple. A fair man in his sixties, in a white dhoti, his torso bare, a gamchha on his shoulder, chewing paan and radiating a very heavy scent of tobacco. He had been making bhang sharbat for the last 25 or 30 years, he said, having learnt the art from his father and forefathers. “Bhang is not a bad thing,” the master sharbat maker said, “it is not an addiction. You must know how to consume it. It is to be taken in small quantities to help you digest the food after a good meal and sleep well after a long, hard day’s work. 

Bhang is like medicine for the body, many elderly people use it as medicine. It should only be consumed after sunset. All those stupid people who take it in the daytime to use it as a drug have spoiled the good name of bhang.”

I wondered if I should confess that I had been stupid, too, for many years. But I had fond memories of Beach Road, and I didn’t think he would understand. Besides, I wanted to hear his story, not tell him mine. 

“Bhang has been in use for thousands of years,” the sharbat maker continued. “My grandfather took bhang every day. My mother said her father and grandfather also took bhang every day. I take it too. I don’t touch alcohol; it has really corrupted all the youth these days. I don’t know why the government is promoting alcohol so much and trying to stop bhang and ganja. The police bothered me so much, I have stopped making and selling bhang lassi. 

Now I only advertise my famous Chini Sharbat, which you can make with or without bhang. I will be happy to share my recipe with you. But let’s have some sharbat first.” As he made me the sharbat, he said in Hindustani: “Bhang bhala jo thoda sa khaye; mard bhala jo roj kamaye”. Which translates into English as “Bhang is good if taken in small doses; a man is good if he works and earns every day.” Then the sharbat maker dictated his recipes.

Paanmadhuri Bhang Mishri Sharbat

Ingredients:

Bhang leaves: 50 gm

Sweet fennel seeds: 10 gm

Carom seeds: 10 gm

Black pepper: 10 gm

Rock sugar (Mishri): 100 gm

Method:

• Soak the rock sugar in water and leave overnight. Mix well in the morning.
• Boil the bhang leaves in water for 30 to 40 minutes until the water turns reddish. Drain the water. Wash the bhang leaves again with room temperature water. Squeeze the water out and then dry the leaves in the sun for a few hours.
• Soak the sweet fennel seeds, black pepper and carom seeds for 30 minutes in water and then mix with the dried bhang leaves and grind everything together to make a paste.
• Mix the thick paste with the rock-sugar syrup and keep in the refrigerator to make a cold and refreshing paanmadhuri bhang mishri sharbat.
• You can also make this drink without bhang if you want to.
• You can store the drink in the refrigerator for a few days and serve it to guests.

Bhang Laddoo

Ingredients:

Bhang leaves 100 gm

Sweet fennel seeds 10 gm

Carom seeds 10 gm

Green cardamom 10 gm

Black pepper 10 gm

Sugar 100 gm

Desi ghee 100 gm

Method:

• Boil the bhang leaves in water for 30 to 40 minutes until the water turns reddish. Drain the water. Rinse the bhang leaves again in room-temperature water. Squeeze the water out and then dry the leaves under the sun.
• Once dried, grind the bhang leaves fine, add sweet fennel seeds, carom seeds, green cardamom, black pepper and grind again. Add sugar as needed and fry the paste in a pan in desi ghee until the sugar becomes sticky.
• Scrape the mixture onto a plate and start shaping into balls with the help of more desi ghee. Allow it to cool. Your bhang laddoos are ready.

Note: The bhang laddoos can be kept in a dry box for months and taken in the evenings to keep your appetite high and bowels clean. The laddoos are delicious but be careful if you are eating them for the first time. One ten-gram bhang laddoo can be enough for two or three grown adults. Keep out of the reach of children.

Pista Badam Kesar Bhang Sharbat

Ingredients:

Bhang leaves 50 gm

Almonds 100 gm

Saffron 10 gm

Rock sugar (Mishri) 100 gm

Method:

• Soak the almonds and the rock sugar overnight, separately.
• Mix the rock-sugar and water thoroughly in the morning to make a syrup.
• Boil the bhang leaves in water for 30 to 40 minutes until the water turns reddish. Drain the water and rinse the bhang leaves in room-temperature water. Squeeze the water out and then dry the leaves under the sun.
• Grind the bhang leaves fine. Then grind the soaked almonds with saffron and mix with the rock sugar syrup. Keep in the refrigerator to make a cold and refreshing drink.

Note: You can also make this drink without bhang if you just want to have a healthy sharbat without getting high. You can store the drink in the refrigerator for a few days and serve it to guests. Fifty grams of bhang can be taken by at least 20 to 30 people if they are new to eating bhang. Bhang has very different effects on different people, some keep smiling and are full of joy, some can become just numb, some people can become paranoid, some sleep like a baby, and so on.