Masala Shikanji (Indian Lemonade) or Masala Nimbu Pani is a popular Indian summer drink prepared using lemon or lime juice, water, sugar, salt, and few ground spices. It is also known as Indian style lemonade or Spiced Indian Lemonade. I always prefer to have a glass of shikanji over a carbonated beverage.
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This summer drink is
- Easy-to-make
- Refreshing and cool
- Perfect to go with any meal
- Good for digestion
- Made using easily available ingredients
If you replace water with soda, masala shikanji will become masala soda which also tastes good. However, I would choose masala shikanji over masala soda considering the health benefits.
Masala Shikanji Ingredients
It is one of the quickest drink you can prepare at home and serve with any meal. The key ingredients of masala nimbu pani include lemon or lime juice, water, sugar, ice cubes, spice mix (black salt, roasted cumin powder, chaat masala powder, black pepper powder).
Shikanji Masala Recipe
Shikanji masala is one of the key ingredient of this drink. I have seen readymade shikanji spice mix available in the market. However, I prefer to prepare it at home. You can easily prepare this masala and store it in an air tight bottle.
My version of spice mix may differ from others because everyone makes it to their own preferences. I have used black salt, roasted cumin powder, chaat masala powder, and black pepper powder to make the spice mix. You can prepare this spice mix ahead and use it whenever required. It saves lot of time and comes really handy.
Masala Shikanji Recipe Step-by-step
Learn to make the best masala shikanji recipe by following the below instructions:
Take 4 cups water in a bowl or pitcher. Now add sugar into it and stir until it dissolves.
Cut the lemon or lime into half and squeeze the juice in a separate bowl. I use squeezer to squeeze the juice and therefore lemon seeds will remain in the squeezer. The quantity of lemon juice depends as per your taste bud. It also depends on the lemon. Reduce the amount of lemon juice if the lemons are excessively sour, or increase the amount of lemon juice if the lemons are not as sour.
After that add the lemon juice into the water sugar mixture and stir it. Finally, add the shikanji masala into the mixture and stir properly.
Now take two tall glasses and add ice cubes into each glass and pour the masala shikanji into each glass. You can garnish the drink with lemon roundels and mint sprig.
Serving Suggestions
Summer days are very harsh in India and shikanji works as a perfect cooler for those days. You can serve this as a welcome drink to your guests or serve it as an after-meal drink. I prefer to have it anytime during summer.
Storage & Make Ahead
I always prefer to make my lemonade fresh. However, there are moments during the heat when I feel as if I could make it quickly and quench my thirst.
So you can make a concentrated version of shikanji and pour in ice tray and keep in the refrigerator. When this juice gets frozen into ice cubes, keep it in an airtight container or polythene with zip lock.
Now as soon as you feel like drinking or serving lemonade, put those ice cubes of juice of one or two in plain water or chilled water. Allow them to dissolve and then stir it. Add one or two lemon roundels and mint sprig and it's ready to sip.
FAQ
Both are Indian lemonade variations. As per my knowledge, there is no major difference between the two.
If you visit Northern part of India during summer days, you can see lot of street vendors are selling this refreshing shikanji.
Both drinks contain lemon or lime juice, water and sugar. However, the nimbu pani does not contain shikanji masala mix or combination of few spices.
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Masala Shikanji
Materials
Shikanji Masala
- 1 teaspoon Roasted Cumin Powder
- ½ teaspoon Black Salt
- ⅔ teaspoon Chaat Masala Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper Powder
Masala Shikanji
- 4 cups Water chilled
- 5-6 nos Ice Cubes
- 3 tablespoon Sugar adjust as required
- 2 nos Lemon medium
- 4 nos Lemon Roundels for garnishing
- 2 nos Mint Sprig
Instructions
- Take 4 cups water in a bowl or pitcher.
- Now add in the sugar and stir until it melts.
- Cut the lemon or lime into half and squeeze the juice in a separate bowl.
- After that, stir in the lemon juice to the water sugar mixture. Finally, add in the shikanji masala until thoroughly combined.
- Take two tall glasses, fill each with ice cubes, and pour the masala shikanji into each glass. Lemon roundels and mint sprigs can be used to garnish the drink.
Notes
- Avoid squeezing the lemons too hard since it will make the drink bitter.
- If you do not prefer the drink too cold then use normal water instead of chilled water or you can avoid ice cubes and use only chilled water.
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