Nimbu Pani and Shikanji are the Indian versions of lemonade or limeade made with fresh lemon juice, water, sugar, black salt and optionally a few ground spices and sometimes garnished with mint leaves.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 5 minutes
  • Cook time: Not specified
  • Total time: 5 minutes
  • Yield: 3
  • Category: Beverages
  • Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

  • 4 cups water (- cold or at room temperature)
  • 2 lemons (- small to medium-sized or 3 small limes)
  • 6 to 8 tablespoons raw sugar (or white sugar or jaggery, add as required)
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper powder (or ground white pepper - optional)
  • ½ teaspoon roasted cumin powder
  • ½ to 1 teaspoon chaat masala powder (or add as required)
  • ¼ teaspoon black salt (or edible rock salt or regular salt)
  • 3 to 4 mint leaves (- for garnish, optional)
  • 6 to 7 ice cubes (- optional)
  • 4 cups water (- cold or at room temperature)
  • 2 lemons (- small to medium-sized or 3 small limes)
  • 6 to 8 tablespoons raw sugar (or white sugar or jaggery, add as required)
  • ¼ teaspoon black salt (or edible rock salt or regular salt)
  • ½ teaspoon roasted cumin powder (- optional)
  • 3 to 4 mint leaves (- for garnish, optional)
  • 6 to 7 ice cubes (- optional)
  • ½ tablespoon sabja seeds ((sweet basil seeds) or chia seeds)
  • ¾ cup water (- to soak)

Method

Soaking Sweet Basil Seeds

  1. If you plan to soak the sabja or basil seeds then do so half an before you begin making nimbu pani.
  2. Remove any chaff or stones from the seeds if any. Then soak them in water for half an hour.

Making Nimbu Pani

  1. In a glass jar or a bowl take water.
  2. Halve the lemons and squeeze the lemon juice into the water.
  3. Add the salt, black pepper, cumin and chaat masala powder.
  4. Add sugar or jaggery as required.
  5. Mix thoroughly until all of the sugar has dissolved. Check the taste and add more sugar if needed.
  6. Serve nimbu pani in tall glasses garnished with mint leaves and a few ice cubes if preferred.
  7. Sprinkle with some extra chaat masala if you want.

Making Shikanji

  1. In a glass jar or a bowl take water.
  2. Squeeze the lemon juice from the lemons or the lime juice from the limes in the water.
  3. Add sugar and black salt. Optionally, you can also add about ½ teaspoon of roasted cumin powder at this step.
  4. Stir until all of the sugar is dissolved. Check the taste and add more sugar if needed.
  5. Pour in glasses and serve shikanji garnished with mint leaves if you like. You can also add some crushed ice or ice cubes if you prefer.

To serve with sabja

  1. Drain all the water from the soaked sabja seeds in a small mesh strainer.
  2. Add 1 to 2 tablespoon of the soaked sabja seeds to the lemonade or limeade. Stir and mix.
  3. Keep any leftover soaked basil seeds in the fridge for 2 to 3 days and use it to make nimbu pani later or for some other Indian drink.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.