Namkeen Sattu Sharbat
Bihar's summer cooler: roasted gram flour whisked into cold water with lemon, roasted cumin, black salt, mint and green chilli. Savoury, filling and dairy-free.
- Region
- Bihar
- Status
- Traditional
- Diet label
- Strictly vegetarian, egg-free
- Time
- Prep 5 min
- Serves
- 1 (about 350 ml)
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Good for
- Hot afternoons, travel, a dairy-free drink
- Tags
- Good source · Quick · Lower-calorie · High fibre · Dairy-free · Soy-free · Whey-free · Gluten-free · No added sugar
- Allergens
- None of the major allergens
Nutrition (estimated)
- Calories
- 140 kcal
- Protein
- 9 g
- Carbs
- 20 g
- Fat
- 2 g
- Fibre
- 6 g
Headline values are per serving, as written.
| kcal | Protein | Carbs | Fat | Sat fat | Fibre | Total sugars | Protein per 100 kcal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| As written | 140 | 9 g | 20 g | 2 g | <1 g | 6 g | 1 g | 6.0 g |
Good source. Sattu values vary by mill — check your pack. Raising sattu to 55 g (see Boost) gives about 12 g protein and makes it High protein. Values checked against IFCT 2017 on 14 Oct 2026.
Ingredients
- 40 g chana sattu (about 4 tbsp)
- 300 ml cold water · 1 tbsp lemon juice
- ½ tsp roasted cumin powder · ¼ tsp black salt · pinch of regular salt · 1 tsp chopped mint · ½ green chilli, finely chopped · 10 g onion, very finely chopped (optional, traditional)
Method
- Whisk sattu with 100 ml of the water to a smooth, lump-free paste.
- Add the remaining water, lemon, cumin, both salts, mint, chilli and onion. Whisk well.
- Serve immediately, stirring before each sip — sattu settles.
Protein optimisation
- Sattu supplies 8.5 g.
- Boost: increase sattu to 55 g (+3 g protein, +60 kcal), or make it with chaas from 100 g curd instead of half the water (+3.5 g protein, +60 kcal; no longer dairy-free).
Variations, serving and storage
- Regional: meetha sattu — with 10 g jaggery and cardamom instead of salt and spices (adds 40 kcal and 10 g sugar).
- Substitution: sattu made from barley and chana mix (lower protein; check the label).
- Storage: drink fresh.
- Food safety: use clean drinking water; store sattu dry and airtight.
- Meal prep: pre-mix the dry spices with sattu in a jar.
Nutrition values are estimates calculated from the Indian Food Composition Tables 2017 (ICMR-NIN) and typical product labels. They have not been laboratory-analysed and will vary with your ingredients, brands and cooking. Recipes are for healthy adults and are general information only, not a substitute for advice from a doctor or qualified dietitian. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, cooking for children, have food allergies, or live with kidney disease, diabetes or any other medical condition, please take professional advice about your diet. From the collection Protein-Rich India by Dr. Shantanu Deshpande · drshantanudeshpande.com