Panchamrit Recipe: Five Ingredients and How to Offer It

Quick answer: Panchamrit (pancha amrita, "five nectars") is a mixture of milk, curd, ghee, honey and sugar. It is used to bathe the deity in abhishekam and is then shared in spoonfuls as prasad, especially on Janmashtami, Shivaratri and Satyanarayana puja. Stir the five together in a clean bowl, usually with tulasi leaves; there is no cooking. Never give it to babies under one year, because of the honey.

Key facts
Dish	Uncooked mixture of five ingredients
Used for	Abhishekam (ritual bathing) and prasad
Festivals	Krishna Janmashtami, Maha Shivaratri, Satyanarayana puja, Ganesh Chaturthi, and many daily and monthly pujas
Deity	Vishnu and his avatars, Shiva, Ganesha, and others by custom
Serves	8 to 10 (small spoonfuls of prasad)
Prep time	5 minutes
Cook time	0 minutes (no cooking)
Allergens	Milk (milk, curd, ghee); honey is unsafe for infants under 12 months

What is panchamrit?

Panchamrit (Hindi; panchamritam in South India; panchamrut in Gujarati and Marathi) means "five nectars". The five are:

Ingredient	Sanskrit name
Milk	ksheera or dugdha
Curd (yogurt)	dadhi
Ghee	ghrita
Honey	madhu
Sugar	sharkara

In a home or temple abhishekam, the five are often poured over the image one at a time, each followed by clean water, and then the mixture is collected or made fresh to be given out as prasad. Many families simply mix all five for the offering. Both ways are common.

Panchamrit is different from Palani panchamirtham, the thick sweet of banana, jaggery, ghee, honey and cardamom, with dates and sugar candy, given at the Dhandayuthapani (Murugan) temple at Palani in Tamil Nadu. It received a Geographical Indication tag in 2019. That is a separate dish with its own tradition.

Panchamrit and charanamrit: are they the same?

Not quite, and usage differs by region.

Panchamrit is the five-ingredient mixture described here.
Charanamrit (charana, feet, and amrit, nectar) is the water or liquid that has bathed the deity's feet in abhishekam, given out afterwards as sacred. In temples it is often water with tulasi, sometimes with milk or curd. In many North Indian homes, the panchamrit given after Janmashtami or Satyanarayana puja is itself called charanamrit.

If your family uses one word for both, that is a common usage. The recipe below is for panchamrit.

Panchamrit and naivedyam: what is the difference?

Naivedyam is any food offered to the deity, cooked or uncooked. Panchamrit is one kind of offering, and it has two roles: as an abhishekam liquid and as naivedyam that becomes prasad. A cooked dish such as daddojanam or paramannam is offered only as naivedyam. The wider difference between naivedyam and prasadam is explained in prasadam and naivedyam.

Ingredients

Whole milk, boiled and cooled (raw milk in some families): 120 ml (1/2 US cup)
Plain curd (yogurt), fresh and not sour: 60 g (1/4 US cup)
Ghee: 1 teaspoon (about 5 ml)
Honey: 1 tablespoon (about 20 g)
Sugar (or mishri, rock sugar, crushed): 1 tablespoon (about 12 g)
Tulasi (holy basil) leaves, washed: 5 or 6
Optional additions some families use: a few makhana (fox nuts), chopped dry fruit, a little Ganga water, or a pinch of cardamom

Method

Wash a steel, silver or glass bowl and dry it. Some families keep a separate vessel for puja use.
Pour in the cooled milk.
Add the curd and whisk gently until smooth.
Add the ghee, honey and sugar. Stir until the sugar dissolves and the honey is mixed in.
Add the tulasi leaves, and any optional additions your family uses.
For abhishekam, use it as your priest or family custom directs. For naivedyam, place the bowl before the deity with a small spoon and offer it before anyone tastes.
After the puja, give each person a spoonful in the right palm, cupped over the left. Many people sip it and then touch the hand to the head.

Notes on quantities and custom

Proportions vary. Some households use equal measures of all five; others use mostly milk and curd with smaller amounts of ghee, honey and sugar, as above, which is easier to drink. Some follow the ratio their priest gives. There is no single correct ratio.
Large gatherings: multiply the quantities. About 2 tablespoons per person is plenty, as panchamrit is given in small spoonfuls.
Abhishekam at home: if you are pouring each ingredient separately, keep them in five small cups and a jug of clean water. See how to do abhishekam at home.
Milk: some families insist on raw milk for abhishekam; for prasad that people will drink, boiled and cooled milk is the safer choice.

Panchamrit needs no cooking, so there is no pressure-cooker or Instant Pot step.

Naivedyam and prasad notes

Make panchamrit fresh, shortly before the puja.
On Krishna Janmashtami it is offered at the midnight puja with makhan and mishri, then shared.
Panchamrit that has been poured over an image and collected is treated as prasad by many families. Others prefer to give out a fresh portion that was offered but not poured. Follow your temple's or family's practice.
Do not throw leftover panchamrit in the bin. Many families drink it, or pour any remainder at the foot of a tulasi plant or other plant.

Swaps for cooks abroad

Where you live	Curd	Honey and sugar	Tulasi
USA and Canada	Plain whole-milk yogurt (not Greek, or thin Greek with milk)	Any pure honey; mishri at Indian grocers, or plain white sugar	Holy basil (tulsi) plants at some Indian grocers and nurseries; Thai basil is a different plant
UK	Plain natural yogurt	Any pure honey; mishri at Indian grocers	Tulsi plants at Indian grocers and some temples; dried tulsi if fresh is unavailable
Australia and New Zealand	Plain full-cream yogurt	Any pure honey	Tulsi grows well in warm areas; Indian grocers and nurseries
Gulf countries	Plain full-fat yogurt (zabadi)	Any pure honey	Tulsi plants are sold at some nurseries and Indian supermarkets
Singapore and Malaysia	Plain full-fat yogurt	Any pure honey	Tulsi plants are sold in Little India; selasih in Malaysia is a related basil, not the same

If you cannot find tulasi, leave it out. Do not replace it with another herb.

Allergens and safety

Milk: milk, curd and ghee.
Honey and babies: do not give panchamrit to a child under one year old. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises never to feed honey to children under 1 year, because of the risk of infant botulism. Give babies a touch of plain water or leave them out of the prasad.
Vegans: a plant-based version is not traditional panchamrit. Some families offer fruit or water instead.

Storage

Panchamrit is made for the day. It contains raw dairy and honey, so do not keep it at room temperature for more than 2 hours. Refrigerate any leftover and use it the same day.

Frequently asked questions

What are the five ingredients of panchamrit?

Milk, curd, ghee, honey and sugar. Many families also add tulasi leaves, and some add makhana or dry fruit.

Is panchamrit cooked?

No. All five ingredients are mixed raw. Use boiled and cooled milk if the panchamrit will be drunk.

Can I make panchamrit the night before?

It is better made fresh on the day. Curd sours and the mixture separates overnight.

Is panchamrit the same as charanamrit?

Not always. Panchamrit is the five-ingredient mixture. Charanamrit is the liquid that has bathed the deity's feet. In many North Indian homes the words are used for the same prasad.

Is Palani panchamirtham the same thing?

No. Palani panchamirtham is a thick sweet made with banana, jaggery, ghee, honey and cardamom, given at the Palani temple. Home panchamrit is a liquid mixture of milk, curd, ghee, honey and sugar.

Sources

US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Preventing botulism: "Do not feed honey to a child who is younger than 1 year old."
The News Minute, Tamil Nadu's Palani panchamirtham prasadam given GI tag, for the Palani sweet and its GI tag.
US Food and Drug Administration, Food Allergies, for the major allergens.
US Food and Drug Administration, Safe Food Handling, for the two-hour rule.

Quantities are one common home proportion; families and priests use others. Last reviewed: 12 November 2026.

Panchamrit Recipe: The Five Ingredients and How It Is Offered