So I experimented with making a dried black lime beverage.

After a few trials, I have settled on a mint-infused dried black lime cooler recipe that I’m about to share with you. This drink pairs wonderfully with Indian meals – its tart-sweet-earthy flavor balances the spices in the food, and the fresh mint adds a cooling contrast.

For readers who have never heard of dried black limes before, let me talk about this mystery ingredient first.

What are dried black limes?

I was introduced to dried black limes through Afghani food channels, around the time I discovered borani recipes. Its culinary use in stews (pierce; cook along with broth; exclude when eating) and appearance (brittle; black; hollow) had my curiosity piqued.

I found a small pack of dried limes on Amazon and ordered it to make a vegetarian version of ghormeh sabzi. [The debut attempt didn’t turn out well enough to document – hopefully a refined version will make it to the blog one day.]

Dried black limes proved to be as interesting in reality as they were online. This ingredient comes from fresh limes traditionally sun-dried over days – the loss of moisture gives them their long shelf life and dark hue. When simmered in hot liquid, they rehydrate and release their intense “smoky citrussy” flavors, redolent in a way of nimbu ka achaar.

This summer drink is one of the simplest ways of enjoying the signature pungency of dried black limes.

Ingredients:

Some links below are amazon.com affiliate links. The Steaming Pot will earn a small commission if you buy via the links, at no additional cost to you.

[For 6 glasses]

• Dried black limes – 4 [buy here]
• Water – 1.5 liters
• Sugar – 6 tablespoons (*adjust to taste)

For serving:

• Fresh mint leaves
• Ice cubes

Equipment: mortar / molcajete and pestle, saucepan

*I normally add lower sugar than what’s considered usual – not in this recipe though. Dried black lime cooler needs a generous amount of sweetness to balance its acidity. I tried reducing the quantity of sugar in the early recipe trials and felt the drink was too sour. A tablespoon of sugar per 250ml of water it is, then.

How To Make Dried Black Lime Cooler:

Place four dried black limes in a large mortar or molcajete.

With a few firm hits with the pestle, crack the limes open. You can stop pounding when each lime has opened up – need not grind to powder.

Transfer the cracked dried limes into a pan, and add 1.5 liters of water.

Bring to a boil, then simmer for 15 minutes. The bubbling water would turn dark as the dried limes release their juices and flavor.

Switch off the heat, and stir in the sugar till it dissolves.

Let the pan cool naturally to room temperature. Strain the drink into a clean bottle or jug with a tight-fitting lid, and discard the cooked black lime bits. Transfer the drink to the refrigerator to chill.

Dried black lime cold drink is ready to serve.

To Serve:

Place ice cubes into each glass. Drop in fresh mint leaves. Pour over the dried black lime drink. Enjoy!

Pairing Suggestions:

Dried black lime cold drink gives great company to Middle Eastern/Persian-adjacent Indian meals, such as vegetable pulao, gobhi musallam with flatbreads, kaddu borani and parathas.

FAQ:

Q. Can dried lime cold drink be stored for later use?

Yes. You make this drink in a large batch, strain and refrigerate it, and have it over 3-4 days. Note: for best taste, add fresh mint leaves only when serving.

Q. Can I reduce the quantity of sugar in this recipe?

I tried that and felt it left the drink too sour. Adapt the sweetness to your taste though. My own preference, if I want to consume less sugar, is using smaller serving glasses and/or adding more mint and ice.

Q. Can I use fresh limes instead of dried limes in this recipe?

No! If you have on hand fresh limes not dried, then go for other beverage recipes such as this lemon and strawberry cooler.

Q. I found a pack of dried limes but they are not black – they are brown (or yellow). Are they the same?

I have not done a taste test so cannot say whether the lighter-color dried limes taste any different from black limes. Online sources mention that the black ones are more strongly pungent. Maybe try substituting them in this recipe and share how that worked out?

Q. Some recipes call for removing the seeds from dried black limes before cooking, as the seeds make the dish bitter. Should that be done in this recipe?

I let the seeds remain and only strain the drink before serving. Skip the deseeding – the drink is delicious without the extra step!

Related Recipes:

Interested in other recipes with unusual-for-Indian-cooking ingredients? Explore:

Looking for more summer drink ideas? Try out our aam panna, sattu jaljeera, banana peanut smoothie.

Quick-reference recipe card:

Print

Dried Black Lime Cooler with Fresh Mint

Dried black lime cooler - a chilled summer drink with the signature pungency of dried black limes and the freshness of mint.

Course Drinks

Cuisine Fusion

Diet Vegan, Vegetarian

Keyword cooler

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Cooling and Refrigeration Time 4 hours hours

Servings 6

Author The Steaming Pot

Equipment

• mortar / molcajete and pestle
• saucepan

Ingredients

• 4 Dried black limes (loomi)
• 1.5 liter Water
• 6 tbsp Sugar (adjust to taste)

For serving:

• Fresh mint leaves
• Ice cubes

Instructions

• Place four dried black limes in a large mortar or molcajete.
• With a few firm hits with the pestle, crack the limes open. You can stop pounding when each lime has opened up - need not grind to powder.
• Transfer the cracked dried limes into a pan, and add 1.5 liters of water.
• Bring to a boil, then simmer for 15 minutes. The bubbling water would turn black as the dried limes release their juices and flavor.
• Switch off the heat, and stir in the sugar till it dissolves.
• Let the pan cool naturally to room temperature. Strain the drink into a clean bottle or jug with a tight-fitting lid, and discard the cooked black lime bits. Transfer the drink to the refrigerator to chill.
• Dried black lime cold drink is ready to serve.

To Serve:

• Place ice cubes into each glass. Drop in fresh mint leaves. Pour over the dried black lime drink. Enjoy!

The post Dried Black Lime Cooler with Fresh Mint appeared first on The Steaming Pot.

Regional variations exist of course: try as we might, we cannot get Bihar’s Malda mangoes in Bangalore (no, please don’t tell me they are on Blinkit; you need to eat the real deal) – but these variations only add to the richness of India’s mangoscape.

* This realization struck me with full force when I ordered mango sticky rice at a Thai restaurant in London and was served semi-green sour stuff in the name of dessert. Produce markets in London had lots of lovely fruit on display; sadly, mangoes were scarce. Hop over to my London food snapshots for a look at my gastronomic adventures in the city.

From the spectrum of sweetness, firmness, fibrosity, and color that mangoes offer, it follows that we can build upon the fruit a super-strong armory of recipes.

So here’s my “armory”. Follow the Quick Jump section below to go directly to the recipe listings, or read on for a special mango serving idea with vanilla ice-cream and toasted nuts.

The Barebones Mango “Recipe”

Truth be told, you don’t need a recipe to enjoy a ripe mango.

Just wash the mango well, cut off its top, and if you have a Chausa-ish (i.e. squishy and syrupy) specimen on hand, squeeze out its goodness directly into your mouth. If you have a firmer variety such as the Langra, slice the mango roughly without skinning it (only remove the top), and use your teeth to scrape out and eat all the juicy flesh from the skin. (Note: don’t discard the pit without extracting all the fruit off it too)

This is how we always ate mangoes in Bihar – none of the “checkerboard method” or “glass method” for us. [Aside: If the process of eating a mango intrigues you, the always-entertaining reddit has an interesting thread on the topic: how to eat a mango.]

To bring in more sophistication to your serving of the mango, let me offer another way to make mango cubes and suggest accompaniments for a party-pleasing dessert course.

For anything more elaborate than the basics in this section, mango recipe details follow – categorized by the fruit’s degree of ripeness and the nature of recipe (breakfast, drink, chutney, etc).

Dive into our mango recipe collection.

🥭 Recipes by Mango Ripeness

Ripe Mango Recipes

Desserts, wholesome breakfast, thick milkshakes and the like, made with ripe mangoes.

• Mango Phirni (Rice Pudding)
• Aamras
• Fresh Fruit Rabri
• Mango Milkshake
• Chia Mango Pudding
• Mango Raita: Yogurt Dip with Mangoes
• Mango Oats
• Sabudana Pudding with Mangoes
• Dahi Chura with Aam

Semi-Ripe Mango Recipes

Early summer brings with it semi-ripe mangoes that are on the way to pulpy sweetness but not quite there yet. Make the most of their gentle tang in these side dishes.

• Ginger Jaggery Chutney with Mango Chunks
• Sweet Mango Chutney
• Aam ka Raita

Raw Mango Recipes

Salsa, an offbeat dal, a variety of chutneys – all made with the unripe mango.

• Aam Panna: Green Mango Drink
• Raw Mango Mint Chutney
• Kairi Khatti-Meethi Chutney
• Raw Mango Garlic Chutney
• Raw Mango Diced & Spiced
• Toor Dal with Raw Mango

🍽️ Recipes By Category

🍨 Mango Desserts

Sweet treats that place sweet mangoes as the star ingredient.

• Sabudana Coconut Milk Pudding with Mangoes
• Aamras: Flavored Mango Pulp
• Fresh Fruit Rabri
• Mango Phirni

🥣 Mango Breakfast Recipes

Start your day with these cool fruity favorites.

• Dahi Chura with Aam
• Mango Oats
• Chia Mango Pudding

🌶️ Mango Chutneys

Mango condiments made with raw or semi-ripe mangoes in a variety of recipes, fresh or cooked, to different effects.

• Mango Raita: Yogurt Dip with Mangoes
• Raw Mango Mint Chutney
• Ginger Jaggery Chutney with Mango Chunks
• Kairi Khatti-Meethi Chutney
• Raw Mango Garlic Chutney
• Sweet Mango Chutney (made with Semi-Ripe Mangoes)

🥤 Mango Drinks

Beverages ranging from richly sweet using ripe mangoes to savory-spicy using the unripe ones.

• Mango Shake
• Aam Panna: Green Mango Drink

Related Recipe Collections:

Want to explore other such recipe lists by ingredient / diet category? Check these out:

The post Mango Recipes: Chutneys, Drinks, Desserts and Summer Treats appeared first on The Steaming Pot.

You Need:

[For 4 servings]

• Yellow moong dal – 1 cup [buy here]
• Turmeric powder – 1/3 teaspoon [buy here]
• Salt – 1 teaspoon or to taste
• Equipment*: pressure cooker [buy here]

*Note: If you don’t have a pressure cooker, you can boil the moong dal in any other pan till the dal softens. This will take considerably longer than pressure cooking, but it works.

For the seasoning:

• Jaggery powder – 1 teaspoon [buy here]
• Fresh lime juice – 1 tablespoon
• Ginger – 1-inch stick, crushed
• Curry leaves – ~10
• Green chilies – 2
• Dry red chili – 1, cut into pieces [buy here]
• Peanut or vegetable oil – 1 tablespoon
• Equipment*: tadka ladle [buy here]

The links above are amazon.com affiliate links. The Steaming Pot will earn a small commission if you buy via the links, at no additional cost to you.

In the picture above (clockwise from bottom-right): curry leaves, yellow moong, turmeric powder, salt, jaggery, moong dal, condiment bowl (ginger, green chili, dry red chili, lime), cumin seeds.

How To Make Ginger Lime Moong Dal:

1. Boil the moong dal

Wash a cup of dry yellow moong in several changes of water till the water runs clear.

Soak in two cups of water for an hour.

Drain, wash again and transfer the soaked yellow dal to a pressure cooker.

Add to the pressure cooker four cups of water and a pinch of turmeric.

Lock the lid of the pressure cooker and boil on high heat till the pressure cooker whistles, then reduce heat to low and boil for another five minutes.

Switch off the heat and let the cooker cool till the lid comes off easily.

The dal would have softened. Mash lightly. Stir in salt and jaggery.

2. Do the tadka

Crush the ginger and green chilis together.

Heat a tablespoon of oil in a tadka ladle. When the oil is hot, set heat to low and drop into the ladle the following in quick succession, stirring as soon as the ingredients sizzle: cumin seeds, dry red chili pieces, crushed ginger and green chili, curry leaves.

Take the ladle off the heat as soon as the ginger loses its raw aroma and turn the tempered oil into the dal.

Deglaze the tadka ladle: After pouring out the tadka into the dal, scoop out half a cupful of dal and place it in the tadka ladle. Using a spoon, swirl the dal around in the ladle so that it picks up the residual tadka oil. Pour the dal from the ladle back in with the rest of the dal.

Serve ginger lime moong dal hot with rice or Indian bread.

Meal below: beetroot paratha, crispy plantain fry, spinach raita, ginger lime moong dal, fresh tomato wedges.

Notes:

Looking for more recipes with healing properties? Try these

Want more moong dal recipes? Check out:

The post Ginger Lime Moong Dal appeared first on The Steaming Pot.

In Hindi, kachumber is colloquially used to mean something that’s minced. One can find Hindi film characters issuing threats of making kachumber of their enemies! This post limits itself to the word’s literal interpretation of delicious salad ;-)

Ingredients:

[For 4-5 servings]

Fresh vegetables:

• Cucumber – 2 small (~1.5 cups when diced)
• Tomato – 2 medium (~1.5 cups when diced)
• Onion – 1 medium (~3/4th cup when diced)
• Green chili – 1 (more if you want it hotter)
• Lime wedge
• Fresh coriander leaves – a few sprigs

Dressing:

• Salt – 1/4 teaspoon
• Powdered jaggery – 1/3 teaspoon
• Roasted cumin powder – 1/4 teaspoon
• Kashmiri red chili or paprika powder – 1/4 teaspoon
• Kala namak (black salt) – 1/4 teaspoon

How To Make Kachumber Salad:

Take the skin off the onion. Lightly peel the cucumber if you like (I let the peel remain on).

Dice the onion, tomato and cucumber. Finely slice the green chili. Chop the coriander leaves.

Get the seasoning ready: salt, kala namak, red chili powder, jaggery, roasted cumin powder.

Toss the salad ingredients with the seasoning and a squeeze of fresh lime.

Kachumber salad is ready. Serve immediately.

Variations:

What to Serve with Kachumber:

Kachumber can be had as a standalone snack, or as a “salsa” of sorts with crisp savories such as papad or nimki to scoop it up with.

Traditionally served with an Indian meal on the side as a salad. Here’s an example: Indian meal thali: kachumber salad, chapatis, vegetable red lentil dal, gobhi methi, potato fry.

FAQ:

Q1. Can I make kachumber ahead of time?

A. The vegetables can be chopped and kept ready for assembling ahead of time, but DO NOT mix the dressing until you are just about to serve the kachumber.

Q2. What happens if I mix salt and lime juice into kachumber in advance?

A. The salt and lime juice draw out the water from the vegetables and cause the kachumber to lose its crunch and color. The flavor of lime juice also tends to degrade and turn somewhat bitter if left to sit.

Q3. Is kachumber vegan?

A. Yes. Traditionally kachumber only contains raw vegetables, lime juice and plant-based seasonings.

Q4. I do not have jaggery. What can I use instead?

A. Sugar, or maple syrup / agave nectar. Use 1/4 teaspoon of sugar or syrup for 1/3 teaspoon of jaggery.

Related Recipes:

If you liked this kachumber salad recipe, do try making other colorful salads from The Steaming Pot archives –

The post Kachumber Salad: Classic Indian Cucumber Onion Tomato Salad appeared first on The Steaming Pot.

So I switched loyalties to the Ooty chow chow, as my observant regulars would have noticed in the post on chayote dal.

While cutting raw veggies and fruits, I sometimes pop a few chopped pieces into my mouth. A reflex action if you will, this usually leads me to grimace and move on – but when I did this with the Ooty chow chow I stopped in my tracks. This vegetable didn’t just look like a pear, it tasted startlingly like one. Do I even need to cook this, I wondered.

I googled for raw chayote recipes and found a few really interesting ones: this chayote apple salad is inspired by Hot Thai Kitchen‘s.

You Need:

• Chayote* – 1 large or 2 medium
• Apple** – 1 large or 2 medium
• Powdered dark jaggery or brown sugar – 1 teaspoon here
• Sea salt – 1/4 teaspoon or to taste [buy here]
• Tajin*** – 1/4 teaspoon or to taste [buy here]
• Paprika powder – 1/4 teaspoon [buy here]
• Fresh lime juice – 1/2 teaspoon
• Cashew nuts – 5

The links above are amazon.com affiliate links. The Steaming Pot will earn a small commission if you buy via the links, at no additional cost to you.

*Use the juicy, ridgeless variety of chayote. If in India, pick the Ooty chow chow.

**Go for firm, crunchy apples that are the same size as the chayote – this’ll give you equal-sized apple and chayote sticks in the salad.

***Wondering what tajin is?

Let me introduce you to this absolutely wonderful Mexican chili-lime seasoning. Raw/boiled food (think potatoes, cucumber, radish, guava, mango) + a dash of tajin = magic! See what the NYT and The Spruce Eats have to say about this spice.

Can’t get hold of tajin? No problem – add extra lime juice and paprika powder to make up for it.

How To Make Chayote Apple Salad:

Peel the chayote. I do not peel the apple, but go ahead and peel if you prefer it that way.

Make thick sticks out of the chayote: quarter the chayote, de-seed carefully without cutting out too much of the flesh. Slice in half and then into equal vertical pieces.

Cut apples in a similar style as the chayote. Toss the apple pieces with fresh lime juice as soon as they are cut – this will prevent discoloration due to oxidation.

Place the apple and chayote sticks together in a wide bowl.

Crush the cashew nuts coarsely and transfer them to the bowl.

Add the seasonings: jaggery powder, sea salt, paprika powder, tajin.

Toss well.

Chayote apple salad is ready. Serve immediately.

Notes:

Mix the seasonings right before you plan to serve the salad. If you add salt early and let the salad stand, the raw ingredients will give off water and become limp. To carry this salad for lunch, box the chayote and lime-coated apple sticks separately from the seasonings and mix them together directly at lunchtime.

Try other raw salad recipes from the blog too: cucumber pomegranate salad, chana dal kosambari, papaya peanut salad.

The post Chayote Apple Salad with Chili Lime appeared first on The Steaming Pot.

Chickpea sundal tastes great warm or cold. It can be had as a standalone salad or as a side dish with a bigger meal.

This recipe follows the classic “sundal” template: boiled legumes with tadka and a finishing touch of fresh grated coconut. You might like to try sundal with lighter legumes too: yellow moong sundal, green gram sundal.

You Need:

[For 2-3 servings]

• Dried chickpeas (kabuli chana) – 1 cup
• Fresh coconut (grated) – 1/2 cup
• Salt – to taste
• Green chilies – 2
• Dry red chili – 1
• Urad dal – 1 teaspoon
• Mustard seeds – 1/3 teaspoon
• Asafoetida powder – a pinch
• Oil – 2 teaspoons
• Coriander leaves – 1 tablespoon, chopped (optional)

How To Make Chickpea Sundal:

1. Soak and boil the chickpeas

Soak the chickpeas in 4 cups of water for 6-7 hours or overnight.

Drain, wash and put the chickpeas in a pressure cooker with two cups of water and a quarter teaspoon of salt. Boil till the chickpeas have softened but the skin isn’t falling off. [In an Indian-style pressure cooker, here’s what it would take: boil on high heat till one whistle, then set the heat to low and cook for another 15 minutes.]

Let the pressure of the cooker subside naturally. Open the lid, drain out the water used for boiling. Set aside the boiled chickpeas.

Now’s the time to do the tadka.

2. Do the tadka

In a pan, heat two teaspoons of oil. When the oil is hot, add to it mustard seeds and urad dal.

As soon as the dal turns golden, add slit green chilies, dry red chili, and a pinch of asafoetida powder.

Tip in the boiled chickpeas. Stir. Adjust salt.

Toss and cook for a minute to let the flavors fuse.

Add half a cup of fresh grated coconut and chopped coriander leaves (if using).

Mix well.

Chickpea sundal is ready.

Serve warm, or refrigerate to serve cold later.

Here’s chickpea sundal on the side with rice, drumstick raita, cabbage peanut stir fry, tomato pickle.

Notes:

The post Chickpea Sundal: Vrat-Friendly Chickpea Recipe appeared first on The Steaming Pot.

[I discovered to my surprise today that in non-Indian recipes, broad beans refer not to the pods but to the seeds inside them – the shell is peeled off and discarded! It seems that the sort of broad beans available in other countries are mature and do need peeling – but if you get lucky you might just find the tender pods that this recipe calls for.]

You Need:

• Broad beans (sem) – 200 grams
• Black sesame seeds (til) – 1/2 cup [buy here]
• Fresh coconut – 1/2 cup
• Garlic – 2 cloves
• Onion – 1/3 (~1 tablespoon when chopped)
• Salt and pepper – to taste
• Cumin seeds – a pinch
• Mustard seeds – a pinch
• Sesame oil or peanut oil – 1 tablespoon

How To Make Broad Beans in Black Sesame Sauce:

1. Chop and string the beans

Snip off the ends of each broad bean pod. Chop into 1 cm slices, destringing if needed along the way – check out the steps for it in an older recipe: how to destring string beans.

2. Make the black sesame paste

Place the black sesame seeds in a chutney grinder.

Grind to sticky powder consistency. Tip: You may have to do this in 2-3 cycles: open the grinder, scoop back in the seeds sticking to the grinder’s walls, and grind again.

Add garlic cloves, onion and coconut to the grinder.

Grind everything to paste.

3. Cook the beans

Heat a tablespoon of sesame oil (or peanut oil) in a kadhai or thick-bottomed pan.

To the hot oil, add a pinch of cumin seeds and mustard seeds.

Set the heat to low and immediately transfer the chopped broad beans to the pan.

Stir to coat with the tempered oil.

Cook covered for 6 minutes, uncovering once in between to stir around.

Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste. Remember to season well, since the black sesame paste (that will be added later) absorbs some of its saltiness.

Mix and continue to cook covered for another few minutes till the broad beans are almost done.

4. Put it all together

Tip the freshly ground black sesame paste into the pan.

Tip: Deglaze the grinder with a tablespoon of water and add this sesame-coconut water to the pan too.

Blend the paste well with the cooking broad beans.

Cook covered for 2-3 minutes  or till the onions and garlic in the black paste no longer taste or smell raw.

Let the pan stand covered for another 2-3 minutes.

Broad beans in black sesame sauce is ready.

Serve broad beans in black sesame sauce warm with bread/chapati/parathas on the side.

Meal below: chapatis, cucumber raita, broad beans in black sesame sauce.

Notes:

The post Sem Til ki Sabzi: Broad Beans in Black Sesame Sauce appeared first on The Steaming Pot.