🇸🇦 Arabicar
لومي
Batinah coast of Oman, Iranian Hormozgan, lower Gulf, OM
Dried lime (loomi)
14 d
brine + sun cycle
turn black, rattle dry
3-4
limes per pot
pierced into Iranian khoresh
1000 y
on Gulf tables
Omani and Iraqi staple
85%
moisture loss
from fresh lime to loomi
Visual atlas
Profile
Dried lime, known as loomi in Arabic, limu omani in Persian and noomi basra in Iraqi kitchens, is a whole Citrus aurantifolia lime brined in salt water and sun-dried for two to three weeks until the pulp turns to a dry, hollow black crumb and the whole fruit weighs almost nothing. It is emphatically not kaffir lime, which is a different species (Citrus hystrix) used for its leaves. Loomi is a fermented and oxidised ingredient: what begins as a bright, floral lime finishes as something astringent, smoky, slightly medicinal, with a fermented funk that reads halfway between fig and tamarind. It anchors Persian stews like gormeh sabzi, ash-e reshteh and fesenjan, Iraqi dolma and masgouf side sauces, Kuwaiti and Emirati machboos, and Omani shuwa marinades. Cooks either pierce the whole lime and throw it into the simmering pot so it gradually swells and releases its sour oils, or crack it and grind the inside to a dark powder for spice rubs.
Origin
Batinah coast of Oman, Iranian Hormozgan, lower Gulf, OM.
OM
Batinah coast of Oman, Iranian Hormozgan, lower Gulf · Batinah coast, Oman
Process
01October
Harvest
Key limes (Citrus aurantifolia) come off the Batinah groves green, thin-skinned, fiercely acidic.
02Day 1
Brine bath
Whole limes plunge into boiling salt water for a few minutes — sets the skin, seeds the fermentation.
03Week 1
Sun drying
Limes are spread on rooftops and racks under the Gulf sun. Skin tightens, juice concentrates.
04Week 2-3
Turning black
Enzymatic browning and slow ferment push the limes from khaki to mahogany to true black.
05The rattle
A finished loomi is light, hollow, rattling. Seeds knock inside like dice.
06Your jar
Pierce, never grind whole
Toss pierced into stews; grind powder fresh for rubs. Flavour holds a year in an airtight jar.
Inside the berry
The molecules that make it taste like Kampot — and not like anything else.
GC-MS of loomi: limonene still leads the top, but long sun and slow ferment layer on furanones, dimethyl sulfide traces, and caramelised sugars that read as 'smoky'.
3.1%
Essential oil
of dried whole fruit
58%
d-Limonene
of volatile oil
8.5%
Moisture
post sun cycle
60+
Volatile compounds
identified after fermentation
Volatile compound profile
- d-Limonene58.0%
The citrus backbone: still lime, duller, drier.
- alpha-Terpineol9.4%
Pine-lilac, softens the raw acid into something floral.
- 4-Hydroxy-2,5-dimethyl-3(2H)-furanone3.2%
Caramel-strawberry — the 'smoked' illusion in a non-smoked fruit.
- gamma-Terpinene6.1%
Bitter-green citrus pith, the astringent bite.
- Dimethyl sulfide0.4%
Fermented savoury thread, almost shellfish in the background.
- Citral2.8%
Fresh lemon-verbena ghost, fainter after drying.
Versus other peppers
| Pepper | Limonene | Oil |
|---|---|---|
★ Omani Batinah Benchmark loomi, clean ferment | 90% | 3.1% |
Iranian Hormozgan (limu omani) Slightly softer, more mahogany than black | 88% | 2.9% |
Iraqi Basra Smaller fruit, more astringent dolma profile | 85% | 2.7% |
Fresh key lime Reference: before 85% moisture loss | 0% | 4.2% |
Sumac Same sour job, fruit-acid route not citrus | 0% | 0.4% |
Cuisines
How the world cooks with it.
3 signature dishes
No Iranian khoresh is complete without three pierced limu omani bobbing in the pot — the sour backbone under the meat.
- Gormeh sabzigrade: iranian-limu-omani
Herb stew of parsley, fenugreek, dried lime — the national dish, dark-green and tart.
- Ash-e reshtehgrade: iranian-limu-omani
Thick noodle-legume soup finished with kashk and whole dried lime.
- Fesenjangrade: iranian-limu-omani
Pomegranate-walnut stew; a single loomi cuts through the sweet walnut fat.
Around the world
What it's called, from Phnom Penh to Palermo.
🇨🇳 Chinesezh
黑柠檬
🇬🇧 Englishen
Dried lime (loomi)
🇫🇷 Frenchfr
Citron noir séché
🇩🇪 Germande
Schwarze Limette
🇮🇳 Hindihi
सूखा नींबू
🇮🇹 Italianit
Lime nero essiccato
🇯🇵 Japaneseja
ドライライム
🇵🇹 Portuguesept
Limão-preto seco
🇪🇸 Spanishes
Lima seca (loomi)
Seasonality
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Peak harvest & dryingHarvest windowStored, available
Pairings
Protein
- Lamb shank
- Hammour fish
Plant
- Red kidney beans
- Caramelised onion
Drink
- Chai loomi
Frequent questions
Whole key limes (Citrus aurantifolia) boiled briefly in salt brine, then sun-dried on rooftops for two to three weeks until they turn mahogany-black, hollow, and rattle when shaken. Known as loomi in Oman, limu omani in Iran, noomi basra in Iraq, and simply black lime in the West.