Find out what dried limes (loomi) are and how to use them then transform your dishes with a new mouth-watering flavour.
Use dried limes to add delicious citrus, smokey, earthy tartness to your dishes.
Think of dried limes or loomi as a flavour bomb, adding unique complex flavours, smokey depth and delicious tang to your dishes such as this kabsa rice dish.
Click the subscribe button above to get more posts like this to your inbox.
Jump to:
What are dried limes or loomi?
Depending where you are in the world, dried limes are also known as loomi, Omani limes or Persian limes.
Dried limes are a popular ingredient in the cuisines of the Gulf States, Iraq, Iran as well as parts of India.
Dried limes are entirely different to fresh limes, they have an entirely different aroma and flavour profile (e.g. dried limes are more bitter but less acidic), so they are not really suitable substitutions for each other.
They are added to dishes to give a unique and distinct flavour which is slightly astringent, rich, fermented and citrusy. It is used for dishes with meat, chicken, fish, vegetable, lentil and rice but can also be used for salads, soups and to make loomi tea (recipe below).
Fresh Persian limes are used to make these dried limes as they have a thin skin, are sweeter and less acidic than other varieties.
What do loomi taste like?
They have a complex sourness, smokey flavour with fermented slightly bitter and earthy notes.
Black vs brown dried limes
There are two varieties of dried limes – brown or black. Preparation for both begins in the same way.
The limes are first blanched in salted water, cooled, then left to dry in the sun for several days. The longer the limes are left in the sun, the more they dehydrate and the darker they become.
Brown limes are dried for a shorter time and retain some moisture so they are slightly soft.
Black limes have lost all their moisture giving them a hard, crunchy texture however, they are still easy to cut or blend to a powder.
The flavour becomes more intense the longer the limes are left to dry so black dried limes are the more bitter of the two.
Black limes taste slightly fermented and smokey while brown dried limes are more fragrant and citrusy.
Ways to use dried limes
- soups – slice in half and add to soups as they are cooking
- kabsa – this is a chicken and rice dish from the middle east which uses dried black limes
- stews – with chicken, meat or fish such as Persian Gormeh Sabzi, Palestinian Samak bi Rumaan, Abgoosht Persian lamb stew.
- rice – sliced in half and stirred into rice before it starts boiling
- flavoured with loomi – grind to powder and sprinkle over eggs, salads such as this watermelon salad
- loomi tea – as a delicious digestive aid. To make 2 cups, boil a teaspoon of loomi powder in a saucepan with 3 cups of water for 5 minutes, then strain, sweeten with honey (optional) and serve.
Make dried lime powder
To make dried lime powder, place the limes under kitchen paper and smash with a rolling pin or skillet, remove the seeds then use a spice or coffee grinder to grind to powder (see photo above).
Loomi powder is good for rubs, to make loomi tea, adding to sauces and stews or for garnishing salads and soups.
Top tip
For best flavour grind dried limes to a powder before you need to use it as once they are ground, the oils quickly dry up and flavour is lost.
FAQs
Brown dried limes are more fragrant with a mild citrus flavour while black dried limes have a fermented, smokey and slightly astringent flavour.
Add dried limes to lift flavour in soups, stews, slow-cooked meat and rice dishes, dry rubs, marinades, over salads, in cocktails or for loomi tea.
There are a few ways to use dried limes with varying degrees of flavour. For slow cook dishes use a knife to pierce holes into the dried lime before submerging in the cooking liquid. The lime slowly becomes tender, releasing flavour. For quicker release of flavour slice the lime in half removing any seeds before stirring into the cooking liquid, or better still grind to a powder for instant and even distribution of flavour.
Slice the dried lime in half and remove any seeds, then grind in a coffee grinder or spice mill to make a fine powder. Only grind as much as you need at a time as the oils dry quickly and loose their flavour, making dried lime powder unsuitable for storing for any length of time.
Unwashed dried limes will keep for a very long time. Store in an airtight container and keep in a cool dry place for up to a year.
Blanch fresh Persian limes in salted water then arrange on a tray to dry in the sun for a few days till they turn brown or black as required for your cooking.
Dried limes have a distinct flavour and are very different to fresh limes so one cannot be substituted for the other. If you do not have dried limes, try using sumac which is closest in flavour as it is citrusy and tangy with smokey notes, however sumac is milder and doesn’t have the same complex flavours of dried limes.
Loomi or dried limes can be found at most Middle Eastern and Persian grocery store, online from Amazon or speciality spice shops.
How do you store dried limes
Unwashed, uncut whole dried limes will keep for a very long time. Store in an airtight container and keep in a cool dry place for up to a year.
Once they have been washed and cut they should be used the same day.
You may also like …
Looking for more recipes like this? Try these:
Recipe
How To Use Dried Limes
Ingredients
- dried limes 2 whole
Instructions
- Wash and dry 2 whole dried limes before using.
- For slow cook dishes pierce holes in each dried lime and as the dish simmers the limes become tender, slowly releasing flavour. For a faster release of flavour slice each lime in half removing any seeds then submerge in the cooking liquid. Grind halved limes (seeds removed) in a coffee grinder or spice mill to a fine powder for instant flavour.
Notes
Only you will see your notes and you can edit them anytime.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is calculated automatically per serving and accuracy cannot be guaranteed.
Content and photographs @ endofthefork.com are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is encouraged and appreciated, however copying and pasting full recipes to social media or other platforms is strictly prohibited.
Comments
No Comments