Limonata (Turkish Homemade Lemonade)
لیموناتا (ترکی گھر کا لیموں پانی)
Turkish limonata tastes much more intensely of lemon than an ordinary nimbu pani, and the secret is the peel. The zest and sliced lemons are rubbed and squeezed with sugar and left to sit, so the sugar draws out the fragrant oils from the skins. Then cold water, lemon juice and a few mint leaves go in. The result is cloudy, aromatic and refreshing, sold in jugs at roadside stalls on hot Aegean summer days.
- ⏱ Total: 15 min
- Prep: 15 min
- Easy
- Serves 6
Method
Tap a step when it is done.
Finely grate the zest of 2 lemons into a large bowl, avoiding the bitter white pith. Squeeze the juice of all the lemons and keep it aside.
Add the sugar to the zest and rub them together with your fingers for 2 minutes, until the sugar is damp and very fragrant. Add the squeezed lemon halves and press them into the sugar.
Cover and leave for 1–2 hours (or overnight in the fridge). The sugar will dissolve into a fragrant lemon syrup.
Pour in the lemon juice and cold water and stir until all the sugar has dissolved. Strain into a jug, pressing on the lemons.
Add the mint leaves and ice, taste for sweetness, and serve very cold.
Kitchen notes
Wash the lemons well, as you're using the peel. Scrub with a little salt and warm water.
Don't leave the lemon halves in the jug for more than a few hours; the pith turns the drink bitter.
The strained base (before adding water) keeps for a week in the fridge. Mix one part base to three parts water.
Lemonade with the whole lemon
On the Aegean coast in summer, roadside stalls sell jugs of cloudy, pale-yellow limonata, often made from lemons picked that morning. It’s sweeter and much more aromatic than a squeeze-and-stir lemonade, because it uses the oils in the peel.
The zest trick
Lemon peel contains fragrant oils that juice alone doesn’t have. Rubbing zest with sugar, then leaving sliced lemons sitting in that sugar, draws the oils out into a syrup. It’s the same idea as making a quick lemon sharbat base, just with more of the lemon used.
Make-ahead base
Make a double batch of the lemon syrup, strain it and keep it in a bottle in the fridge for up to a week. On a hot afternoon or at iftar, mix one part syrup with three parts cold water and add ice and mint.
Serving
Serve very cold with mint leaves. For a Turkish-Pakistani twist, add a pinch of , and you’re halfway to shikanjvi.
Questions people ask
How is it different from shikanjvi?
Shikanjvi is lemon juice, sugar and water with salt and spices like kala namak and cumin. Limonata has no salt or spices; its depth comes from the lemon peel oils.
Can I use less sugar?
Yes, but the sugar is what pulls the oils from the zest. Use at least half the amount, or replace some with honey after steeping.
Is it good for iftar?
Very. A make-ahead base in the fridge means a jug is ready in a minute.
Nutrition (estimate, per serving)
- Calories
- 100
- Protein
- 0 g
- Fat
- 0 g
- Carbs
- 27 g
