Jaljeera also known as jaljira drink which means spiced cumin water originated in North India. This spiced Indian summer drink is made with cumin, mint, coriander leaves spices, tamarind, ginger, sugar and lemon to make a cooling and refreshing drink that is specially good for digestion.
Jaljeera Recipe
Jaljeera has become my recent favourite. Love the flavours which is going in this drink and the taste is just perfect. This is a popular refreshing North Indian drink made using coriander leaves, cumin, mint, and spices.
It is getting really hot in my place and I am making a big batch of this drink. So I can keep this in fridge and have it whenever I need it. This drink is really a thirst quencher.
About Jaljeera (Jaljira)
Jaljeera or Jaljira literally translates to cumin water. Jal means water and jeera means cumin. The drink is heavily spiced with cumin flavour along with that it has mint leaves, lemon juice, sugar, chaat masala, tamarind, ginger is added makes it quite refreshing.
Jaljira originated in North India, specially Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. It is a modern taken on Ayurvedic drink, where cumin and mint helps with digestion.
The tangy, spicy and slightly spicy drink makes a great thirst quencher and hydrates body instantly. It also helps with digestion, reduces bloating and helps with hydration because of the spices added.
This drink is popular during summer because of its instant cooling benefits and hydrating properties. It is specially served as welcome drinks at festive gatherings.
More Recipes
For making Jaljeera, take all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve. This is your jaljira decoction, you can store it in fridge upto a 2 weeks.
When needed, mix with cold water and you have a refreshing beverage in minutes. If you want fizzy jaljira, mix with soda water.
For healthy alternative, you can use brown sugar instead of regular sugar. Always taste and adjust the ingredients to your liking. If you prefer it tangy, add more tamarind and lemon juice. More sweet, add sugar or honey. For spicy taste, you can add some more ginger.
The flavour of Jaljeera is spicy, sweet, slightly tangy and refreshing. it is very similar to pani puri. It is relatively easy to make, all you need is blend the ingredients together, strain and mix with cold water. You can add soda water for making it sparkling.
Ingredients
- Herbs - mint and coriander leaves is used to get the green colour in the drink.
- Spices - I use cumin powder, chaat masala, black salt in my drink.
- Flavourings - sugar, tamarind, ginger, lemon juice is used for taste. It also helps achieve the balance in taste.
Step by Step Pictures
Blending
1)Take fresh mint leaves and coriander leaves in a blender.
2)Add sugar to taste. I used white sugar, you can use brown sugar.
3)Add in ginger. Peel them and slice into thin slices.
4)Add in salt, You can use black salt instead of regular salt.
5)Now add in spice powders. I am using cumin powder and chaat masala.
6)Add in tamarind to taste.
7)Add some lemon juice as well.
8)Now add in very little water and make it into a smooth puree.
9)Grind them smooth.
Strain the mixture
10)Pass this through fine mesh strainer.
11)Press and extract as much liquid as possible.
12)This is your jaljeera mix.
Make Jaljeera
13)Add more water as needed.
14)Mix well and taste and adjust your taste.
15)Fill serving glass with ice cubes.
16)Pour jaljeera over the ice cubes.
17)Serve cold.
Expert Tips
- Use fresh ingredients for making jaljeera which helps make the drink green.
- Taste and adjust lemon, sugar and spices.
- Brown sugar can be used instead of white sugar.
- Black salt can be swapped with regular salt or pink salt.
Serving & Storage
You can make a big batch of the decoction and store in fridge or freezer. The syrup can be store for a week in fridge. If you want to store for longer, you can freeze them in ice cube trays and use as needed.
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Jaljeera Drink Recipe (Jaljira Recipe)
Equipment
Ingredients
For Jaljeera Mix
- 2 cups Coriander Leaves
- 2 cup Mint Leaves
- ¾ cup Sugar
- 1 tablespoon Chat Masala Powder
- 1 tablespoon Cumin Powder
- 3 tablespoon Tamarind pulp
- ¼ cup Lemon Juice or to taste
- 2 teaspoon Black Salt or Salt or to taste
- 3 cm Ginger peeled and chopped
For Jaljeera Drink
- ¼ cup Jaljeera Mix
- 1 cup Cold Water as needed
- ¼ cup Ice cubes as needed
Instructions
- Take all the ingredient in a blender and make it into a fine paste add little water to it. Strain this through a sieve. This is the syrup. you can store this in a fridge for a week.
- For making jaljeera. Take ¼ cup of the mix in a cup. add ice cubes and ice water and mix well. Serve cold.
Elsa Omigy
Hello - I love Jaljeera and love how it is made. I keep browsing the web to find new recipes for it. And today I got to know about your way of preparing this great drink. I am not India so I am not the best person to make Jaljeera. However, I know a lot about the healthy side of things of this drink. In fact, I put together an article that describes these benefits and a short jaljeera recipe. The recipe is not as well described as yours and I like the addition of tamarind to it. I use tamarind to flush my liver from fat, so adding this ingredient to the drink will provide a great means to reduce fatty compounds. I am very pleased to have learned the Yummy Tummy way of making Jaljeera. Thanks again.
Speak soon.
Elsa