Jaljeera Recipe
Jaljeera is a tangy and peppery north indian summer drink made with tamarind, roasted cumin seeds (jeera) and fresh herbs. Its refreshing and can be served as an appetizer at your next chaat party. Non alcoholic, vegan friendly and gluten free recipe.
Ingredients
For Soaking The Tamarind
- 50 g dried tamarind yield about ½ cup
- 1 cup hot water
For Making Jaljeera Paste
- 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
- 8-10 black peppercorn
- 1 cup fresh mint leaves no stems
- ½ cup cilantro leaves no stems
- 4-5 indian green chilies (hot) adjust to taste
- 1 inch fresh ginger
- ⅓ cup sugar adjust to how sweet you want
- 1 tablespoon kala namak indian rock salt
- 1 teaspoon table salt
For Making Jaljeera
- 4-5 cup cold water
- 1 large lemon juiced
- Ice cubes
- Boondi as needed
Instructions
Make Jaljeera paste
- Soak dried tamarind in hot water for 10-15 minutes or longer until it softens. Squeeze the tamarind using your fingers to separate the seeds and pulp (as much as you can). Even if we purchase seedless tamarind, it always has some seeds, so make sure that you separate them before grinding.
- Meanwhile, dry roast cumin seeds and black pepper. Roast the cumin until smoky, stirring continuously to avoid burning. The cumin seeds will be dark brown once toasted properly. Let cool down a bit.
- You can use this time to wash the fresh herbs, peel and coarsely chop the ginger and green chillies.
- Add the tamarind pulp,fresh herbs, roasted cumin and black pepper, ginger, green chilli, sugar and kala namak and salt to a blender. Grind to a not too coarse or too fine consistency. You want everything to break down however don't make a fine chutney.
Make Jaljeera (Using either of the below two methods)
- Make a large batch to last you a few days. Mix the jaljeera paste with 4-5 cups liter of water. Mix, taste and adjust the salt, sugar or sour (by adding lemon juice) as you like. Strain using a fine mesh strainer if you like a "smoother" drink.
- Make a serving whenever you like. To make a single serving, add 2-3 tablespoon jaljeera paste to a glass. Squeeze some lemon. Top with 8-10 oz regular or seltzer water. Taste and adjust salt or sugar as needed.Strain if you wish before adding ice cubes.
Notes
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- Roast the cumin seeds until smoky, stirring continuously to avoid burning. The cumin seeds will be dark brown once toasted properly. This will give the real "bhuna" or smoky taste to your drink.
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- Please adjust the above mentioned water quantity depending on how you like/want the jaljeera. For a thinner consistency and milder taste, add extra water. For a bold spicy punchy drink, add less water.
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- Dont use stems of the cilantro leaves. Definitely leave out the stems of mint (they can make jaljeera bitter). Make sure that the herbs are fresh else the jaljeera sometimes gets bitter.
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- Dont use lot of herbs or ginger. Jaljeera should taste mainly of tamarind and cumin.
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- You could make it nicely sweet if you wish- just increase the amount of sugar.
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- If you dont like crispy boondi, soak boondi in water before using.
- You could store large batch jajjeera for 3-4 days in the fridge.
- You could store the jaljeera paste in an air tight container for 7-10 days in the refrigerator. Always use a clean spoon to scoop it.
- Serve Jaljeera with ice cubes and a sprinkle of boondi. You could also add a few mint leaves or pomegranate seeds for garnishing.
- Make a slightly thin jaljeera batch and serve it with golgappa/pani puri pani. I do this all the time. Its deliciously "khatta-meetha".
Nutrition
Calories: 118kcalCarbohydrates: 30gProtein: 1gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0.1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.1gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.2gSodium: 2337mgPotassium: 228mgFiber: 3gSugar: 22gVitamin A: 643IUVitamin C: 19mgCalcium: 62mgIron: 2mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!