Aam Panna (Johra)

Aam panna is a traditional Indian summer drink made from raw green mango, boiled or roasted, then blended with jaggery, rock salt, roasted cumin and mint and diluted with cold water. The concentrate keeps three to four days refrigerated. Any firm raw mango works.

What aam panna is

Aam panna, also written aam ka panna, is the raw-mango cooler of the Indian summer. Unripe green mango is softened by boiling or roasting, then blended with a sweetener, salt and roasted spices into a thick concentrate. A few spoons go into a glass of cold water, and that is the drink. It is sour, sweet and salty at once, and it is naturally vegan, dairy-free and gluten-free.

Street vendors sell it chilled through April and May. At home most families make a jar of concentrate and keep it in the fridge for three to four days, diluting each glass to taste. We are Powle Home Foods, the family behind AlphonsoMango.in, and this is the version we make. Our aam panna crush page covers a thicker, syrup-style version.

Which raw mango to use

Aam panna wants a firm, fully green, sour mango. Any variety works as long as it is unripe; the sharper the fruit, the better the drink. Raw mangoes from the local market in March and April are the usual choice. Avoid fruit with a yellow tinge, because it has started to ripen and the tartness drops.

We sell ripened Alphonso by the dozen, not raw green fruit, so we do not pretend our boxes are the panna ingredient. A raw Alphonso early in the season makes a fine panna if you can get one, but so does a Totapuri, a variety often eaten raw with salt and chilli; we list a Totapuri mango page in its own window. For the ripe fruit that follows, our Ratnagiri Alphonso and Devgad Alphonso pages open with the season on 1 February 2027.

We do not use carbide. Our Alphonso mangoes are ripened naturally on hay beds. That matters less for panna, because raw fruit is not ripened at all, but it is the question to ask any seller about the ripe fruit you buy next.

Aam panna recipe

Aam panna recipe: raw green mango boiled or flame-roasted, blended with jaggery, rock salt, roasted cumin, black pepper and mint into a concentrate, diluted with cold water to serve.

Prep time: 10 minutes. Cook time: 20 minutes. Makes about 1 litre of diluted drink, serves 4. Cuisine: Indian. Course: drink.

Ingredients

• 2 medium raw green mangoes, about 400 g in total
• 4 tablespoons jaggery, or sugar to taste
• 1 teaspoon rock salt (sendha namak)
• 1 teaspoon roasted cumin powder
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper powder
• 10 to 12 fresh mint leaves
• 1 litre cold water, for serving

Method

1. Wash the mangoes. Pressure-cook them whole for two whistles, or roast them directly over a low flame, turning, until the skin chars and the flesh feels soft.
2. Cool completely. Peel, and scoop the pulp away from the stone into a blender.
3. Add the jaggery, rock salt, cumin, pepper and mint. Blend until smooth.
4. Strain through a fine sieve into a clean glass jar. This is the concentrate; refrigerate it.
5. To serve, stir 3 to 4 tablespoons of concentrate into 200 ml of cold water. Adjust the sweetness and salt, and pour over ice.
6. Garnish with a mint leaf and a pinch of roasted cumin.

Roasting over a flame adds a light smokiness, which is the Konkan style. Pressure-cooking is faster and gives a cleaner, brighter flavour. Both work.

Storage, freezing and small adjustments

• Fridge. The undiluted concentrate keeps three to four days in a clean, airtight glass jar. Do not store it in metal; the acidity of raw mango reacts with it. Drink a diluted glass within a few hours.
• Freezer. Pour the concentrate into an ice-cube tray and freeze. One or two cubes in a glass of cold water make a serving, and the cubes keep for about three months. This is the way to carry the April fruit into June.
• Sweetener. Jaggery gives a darker, rounder drink; sugar gives a cleaner one. Start with less and add to taste, because the sourness of raw mango varies a lot from fruit to fruit.
• Spice. A pinch of chaat masala or a few crushed black peppercorns sharpen it. Keep mint fresh, not dried.
• Salt. Rock salt is traditional; ordinary salt works, in a slightly smaller amount.

If you have more raw mangoes than panna needs, our mango chunda recipe uses them too.

What aam panna does and does not do

Aam panna is a traditional hot-weather drink, and the reason is simple: it carries water, a little salt, a little sugar and the sourness of raw mango, which makes a hot afternoon easier to get through. Raw mango, like ripe mango, contains vitamin C; 100 g of raw mango provides about 36 mg, roughly 40% of an adult Daily Value, and the figure for green fruit varies with the variety and stage.

That is where we stop. You will read that aam panna prevents heat stroke, boosts immunity, improves skin or lifts mood. We do not make those claims. It is a drink, not a treatment, and heat illness needs shade, water and a doctor, not a recipe. If you have diabetes, kidney disease or a reason to limit salt or sugar, ask your doctor or dietitian before you make it a daily habit. A version with no sweetener and only salt and cumin is sourer but still refreshing.

Alphonso is harvested about February to June, with the best supply from March to May, and raw-mango drinks fill the early weeks before the ripe fruit arrives. We dispatch by Blue Dart, and about 65% of Indian PIN codes get next-day delivery. Check your PIN code at checkout. Alphonso from the Ratnagiri and Devgad belt is GI-tagged in India (GI No. 139); for Alphonso we hold GI Authorised User certificate AU/5974/GI/139/260 (GI No. 139), listed on our Brand Facts page.

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People also ask

How long does aam panna last in the fridge?

The undiluted concentrate keeps three to four days in a clean, airtight glass jar in the refrigerator. Do not store it in a metal container, because the acidity of raw mango reacts with it. Once you dilute a glass with water, drink it within a few hours. For longer storage, freeze the concentrate in an ice-cube tray.

Can I make aam panna without boiling the mango?

Yes. Roast the whole raw mangoes directly over a low flame, turning them, until the skin chars and the flesh softens, then cool, peel and blend. Roasting gives a light smoky note. Pressure-cooking for two whistles is the faster method and gives a cleaner, brighter flavour.

Which mango is best for aam panna?

A firm, fully green, sour raw mango of any variety. Avoid fruit with a yellow tinge, because it has started to ripen and loses tartness. Raw Alphonso early in the season works, and so does Totapuri, which is often eaten raw. We sell ripened Alphonso by the dozen, not raw fruit.

Is aam panna good for diabetics?

Aam panna contains the natural sugar of raw mango plus the jaggery or sugar you add, so it is not a sugar-free drink. A version made with only salt, cumin and mint has far less sugar but is sour. If you have diabetes, ask your doctor or dietitian before making it a regular drink.

Related searches

• Aam panna crush recipe
• Mango chunda recipe
• Green mango online delivery
• Alphonso mango season
• More Alphonso mango recipes
• Totapuri mango page
• Buy Ratnagiri Alphonso mango online
• All mangoes we sell

Written by Prashant Powle, founder of AlphonsoMango.in. Last reviewed October 2026.