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Indian cooking / Dishes / Nimbuwali Chai
Nimbuwali Chai (Lemon Tea)

Nimbuwali Chai

Lemon Tea
VegetarianOrigin Anglo-IndianPrep 15 minutes

A light and refreshing black tea infused with sweet citrus. Crisp, tangy, and gently sweetened, it offers a soothing alternative to milky chai.

Ingredients

01
Granulated sugar · Cheeni
25 g6 teaspoons
sweetener
02
Tea leaf · Chai Patti
8 g4 teaspoons
other
03
Lime juice · Nimbu Ka Ras
30 g1 lime
souring agent

Method

  1. Pour 1.25 litres of water into a large saucepan and bring it to a rolling boil over high heat.
  2. Add 25.2 g granulated sugar, stirring until fully dissolved, then add 4 teaspoon tea leaves.
  3. Cover the pan with a lid, take it off the heat, and leave the tea to steep for 2 minutes.
  4. Stir in 1 lime juice before straining into cups.

Don't have something?

Granulated sugar
  • Jaggery

    Use equal weight; grate or shave finely so it dissolves rapidly, giving a warm, caramel-like sweetness and slightly darker sauce.

Tea leaf
  • Tea bag

    Use 1 bag for about 2 g tea leaf; open the bag if the recipe needs loose leaf.

  • Green tea leaves

    Use the same weight; lighter and less tannic, so steep a little longer and taste.

Lime juice
  • Lemon juice

    Use equal volume or weight; slightly sweeter and less pungent, but otherwise an imperceptible swap.

  • Dried mango powder

    Use 25% of the weight; imparts dry, fruity sourness, best stirred in right at the end of cooking.

  • Tamarind extract

    Use 50% of the weight; delivers pleasant fruity tang but turns pale sauces considerably darker.

Similar dishes

Thandi Chai
Iced Tea
Thandi Chai tastes cooler and sweeter with an herbaceous mint finish compared with this dish.
  • Same: Both drinks are citrus-infused black teas sweetened with granulated sugar.
  • Different: Thandi Chai adds fresh mint, uses lemon juice rather than lime juice, contains more sugar, and is served chilled over ice.
Nimboo ka Sherbet
Lemon Sherbet
Nimboo ka Sherbet is much sweeter and purely citrusy, lacking the bitter tannins and astringency of this dish.
  • Same: Both drinks rely on citrus juice and granulated sugar to create a sweet, tangy base.
  • Different: Nimboo ka Sherbet is a concentrated, sun-matured sugar syrup diluted with water and contains no brewed black tea.
Shikanji
Lemonade
Shikanji is considerably sweeter and has a savory, salty kick rather than the light, tannic quality of this dish.
  • Same: Both drinks are tangy citrus beverages sweetened with granulated sugar.
  • Different: Shikanji uses three times as much sugar and adds salt, but it omits the brewed black tea used in this dish.
Elaichi ki Chai
Cardamom Tea
It tastes rich, creamy, and warmly spiced with cardamom, while this dish tastes light, crisp, and tangy from lime.
  • Same: It shares tea leaf and granulated sugar with this dish, and both are sweetened teas.
  • Different: It adds milk and green cardamom pods and has no lime juice, while this dish uses lime juice as the souring agent and has no milk or cardamom.