Nimbu Pani (Limeade)

My family is Indian and my mom makes this with a mix of lemons and limes, along with salt, sugar, and a touch of cumin. It’s delicious! I would imagine every Indian family has their own recipe so let’s not rag on the one shared with us here.

My experience in visits to India is this is offered salty or sweet. This NYT recipe is (obviously) for salty. I always go with sweet, and it’s made with fresh lime juice, sugar syrup and soda (carbonated) water /- ice depending on availability. Most places serve it in a tall glass with the lime juice in the bottom and a small jug of syrup and a bottle of soda water on the side, and let the drinker mix the proportions to their personal taste. Add gin and you have a Tom Collins.

The amount of salt seems wrong to me. Anyway, you can put less salt (including black salt) and add more sugar. You can also use only one type of salt too. Sugar is definitely not optional in any version of this recipe (except if you, say, have diabetes). You can try putting stuff like monk fruit sweetener instead of sugar but I personally don't like the aftertaste of the substitute. The final taste should be less sweet than the American lemonade with a bit more pungency due to the black salt.

This tastes like salty lime juice.

Also traditionally it is made with small lemons. Limes are relatively uncommon in the Indian subcontinent.

Have been drinking this in hot Delhi summers for years made in households without blenders. As others have noted, the recipe above is calling for too much salt. Since black salt is an acquired taste one could go without it. However, if you find that you like the taste of black salt then go with less of or without the other. (Note: Himalayan black salt often looks pink when sold.)

Adding gin makes it a Gin Sling popular with the British in pre-Independence India. With or without alcohol, one sip and I am instantly transported to the Motherland.

This is pretty much what I use to make an electrolyte drink. I use Turbinado sugar instead of plain sugar and Redmond salt. They're both a little mellower in taste (not as super sweet, less shockingly salty) and create a nice balance.

In India, sugar is replaced by honey or jaggery

"Nimbu" refers to both lemons and limes, but IMO, limes are far more common in India than lemons. Also, the slight hint of bitterness in limes (but not lemons) is essential to a good nimbu pani.

This tastes really odd; as if it's missing something? Otherwise, it's a bit like lime-flavored seawater.

Throughly refreshing and different. Taaarrrt and a bit salty...which I really enjoyed. Don't be afraid to add a bit of Mezcal. Increases the 'funk' factor.

Nimbu in India is closer to lime than to lemon.

Maybe it’s different where Ms. Shah lives, but nimbu pani is made with both sugar and salt. You don’t need to add this much salt. Nimbu is lime, not lemon.

This is even more interesting with using less water in the blender and then adding the blended mass to soda water. One other variant is to pickle the limes in salt for a few days and then make this with soda water. Adding a spring or two of cilantro into the blender is another variant.