Jal-jeera or Jeera Pani is a drink made with spicy, sweet, and tangy ingredients. Chilled, it is a refreshing drink in hot summers and has many health benefits. I got this recipe from one of the many parties we attended when my husband served in the Indian Air Force. Recipe exchanges were never precise, and you would get, “Just put a little bit of this and a little bit of that.” It was up to one to create their exotic version and adjust it to one’s taste. So, while we may have served the same drink, it always tasted a little different.
Jal-jeera (Jeera Pani) (Sweet and Spicy Cumin Water)
Jal-jeera or Jeera Pani is a chilled, refreshing Summer drink made with spicy, sweet, and tangy ingredients.
Ingredients
- 8 cups water
- 2 tsp dried ginger powder ("Sonth" in Hindi)
- 2 tbsp rock salt (kala namak, black salt, so called due to its darker hue—you can buy this at any Indian or health food grocery store)
- 1 tsp tamarind paste (heaped )
- 1 tsp mint paste (about 20 fresh mint leaves)
- ⅛ tsp chili powder (or to your taste)
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 3 tbsp brown sugar or jaggery (or gur, found in Indian grocery stores)
- 1 tbsp white sugar
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp chaat masala (optional—found in Indian grocery stores)
- Dash of black pepper, roasted cumin, and garam masala
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients to a pan and bring to a boil on medium heat while stirring often to dissolve the sugars.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and let it simmer for 15 minutes.
- Continue to stir occasionally.
- Do a taste test. (FYI - Indians don't use the same spoon to taste and cook. It is considered 'jutha,' a word that conveys food contaminated by double dipping).
- Adjust ingredients to your taste.
- Strain the mixture into a glass jug (pitcher). Add the lemon juice. Stir and chill.
- When chilled, pour in glasses, and serve garnished with mint.
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