Black lime chile spice mix

A mainstay of Persian cooking, black limes (aka noomi basra; limoo amani; and loomi)  are fresh limes blanched in salt water (which means they are briefly scalded in boiling water before being plunged into freezing water) and left to dry until they're rock hard, resulting in golf size, brown to black coloured balls with a brittle texture that easily yields itself to a grinder.  You can find them in most Middle Eastern grocery stores.

They are traditionally used whole to flavour stews and spices. I created this rub because I wanted to take advantage of the funky citrus flavour but to use on roasted and bbq meats.

I used dried sugar rush peach chiles because they are my favourite and I have a lot of them but you can use a medium chile powder or any other dried chiles instead depending on the heat you prefer. If using super hot chiles, I’d just use one.

Yield: about ¾ cup

Ingredients

4 dried black limes (aka limoo aman or noomi basra)

3 dried sugar rush peach chiles (or 1-2 tsp chile powder)

2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp dried parsley

1 tsp dried mint

¼ tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp ground turmeric

Method:

If using whole dried chiles, remove the stems of the chiles and grind to a fine powder in a spice or coffee grinder. Put into a small non-reactive bowl.

 

Crack open the black limes – I used a small kitchen mallet – and remove any seeds. Grind the limes to a fine powder. Add to the chile powder in bowl.

Add all the other ingredients to the bowl. I tend to grind spices as needed so cinnamon was also ground and parsley and mint crushed from whole before adding to the bowl.

Mix it all together and store in an airtight glass container. Store in a cool dry place and it should retain its potency for a few months.

Great as a rub on roasts or grilled meats – just add a few tablespoons to some olive oil and rub on the meat.

Also a great addition to soups, stews, and even popcorn.

 

 ©️ Gail J. Cohen 2022