Black Limes? What are they and how are they used? Black Limes are made by briefly boiling limes in a salty brine, then drying them in the sun until their peel and flesh turn black. Dehydrated lime slices can be used in cooking to add an intense tangy and smokey flavor to stews, soups, tagines, and marinades.
“Noomi Basra” can be translated to “Limes from Basra.” According to Delights from the Garden of Eden (an excellent book, which I highly recommend), Noomi Basra are imported from East Asia to Iraq through the port city, Basra. My favorite way to enjoy them is in Noomi Basra Chai (Lime-Infused Tea).
In other countries, they are referred to as “Limoo Aman” and “Loomi.” They can be purchased at most International markets or on Amazon. However, you can make your own dried limes, it’s an easy yet long process. The same process is used to make dried lemons.
Although not very attractive (a friend recently asked me if my dehydrated limes were rotten), black limes are very popular throughout the Middle East.
If you’ve been following my blog for any length of time, you probably know how much I love my dehydrator. I use it to dry various fruits including pineapple chips and also to make amazing elk jerky.
So when I dehydrated some lemon and lime slices a while back, I was a little disappointed with the results. The slices turned dark brown, almost black in color.
Of course, I didn’t want to throw them out, I just hate wasting food. Instead, I stored the dehydrated lime and lemon slices in a jar and promptly forgot all about them. Surely I’m not the only one who does that, or am I?
Recently, while searching for lemon slices to add to a friend’s tea, I came across the jar with the dried lime slices. As soon as I unscrewed the lid, I was smacked with the scent of Noomi Basra. Had I accidentally created Noomi Basra? Or should I say, Noomi Montana? I sure had!
What You Need For This Recipe
The only thing you will need to make this recipe is, drumroll, please… LIMES!!! However, you can use lemons if you’d like. Smaller lemons and limes are more ideal and take less time to dry.
Why This Recipe Works
- Making Noomi Basra is super easy and even fun!
- What makes this recipe great is that you don’t need to crush and steep three or more whole dried limes to make a pot of lime tea the traditional way.
- You can also add a few slices to black tea and get that same flavor and benefits. I like to add a few slices to my Ahmad Black Tea, which is currently my favorite tea.
- Dehydrated limes can also be ground into a powder and used in marinades for chicken and fish. The powder is easy enough to make with dried limes
- Another advantage of drying limes in slices instead of whole is that it speeds up the drying process. Drying lime slices takes approximately 15 hours while drying whole limes takes 3+ days in the oven and up to a week when sun-dried!
Dried lime is being supplied by Safimex company. If you are interested in this product, please click https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Vietnamese-dried-lime-slice-export-quality_1600137818338.html?spm=a2747.manage.0.0.4b992c3cWkkPTT
Source: Hilda’s kitchen blog
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