Sarsaparilla root, lime & soda — Semma NYC
Nannari (நன்னாரி) is a sarsaparilla-like root found across South and Southeast Asia, used for centuries as a summer cooler and Ayurvedic remedy for body heat. In Tamil Nadu, Nannari Sharbath is a staple of temple towns and street-food carts — a deeply herbal, slightly earthy syrup diluted with water and lime. Semma's version brings this forgotten ingredient to the West Village, serving it over ice with fresh lime and soda for a cooling, aromatic fizz. The flavour is hard to place for first-timers: floral like root beer, earthy like vetiver, clean like an herbal tea. At $14, it is the most culturally specific drink on the menu.
Nannari syrup is widely available at Indian grocery stores (look for Kali Mark or Anu brand). It has a distinct earthy-floral flavour unlike anything else — there is no true substitute, but a weak rose syrup mixed with a drop of vetiver extract (ittar) comes close. Do not over-pour the syrup; 45ml is rich. Some brands are more concentrated — taste and adjust.
Semma is among the most important Indian restaurants to open in New York in a generation — a restaurant that put South Indian cooking (Tamil Nadu in particular) on the same platform as the North Indian dishes that have long dominated the Western imagination. Chef Vijay Kumar's cooking is precise, intense, and deeply traditional. The drink programme pairs accordingly: coconut, nannari, tamarind, and rooibos in forms the neighborhood has never seen.
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