Pahadi nimbu sana

Name: Pahadi nimbu sana
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 2 lemons, peeled, pith removed, segmented and seeded; 2 oranges, peeled, segmented and seeded; 150 g daikon, peeled and coarsely grated; 100 g yogurt; 2 tbsp jaggery / palm sugar, grated; 1 green chilli, pounded; 2 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped; ½ tsp salt

Vegetarian

पहाड़ी नींबू सना · pahāṛī nīmbū sanā

Segments of big hill lemon or local orange mashed together with grated radish, curd, jaggery and green-chilli salt — a sweet, sour and peppery Kumaoni winter salad eaten in the sun.

Pahadi nimbu sana is an Indian salad, ready in about 20 minutes and made with lemon, orange and daikon. It serves 4 and is rated beginner to cook.

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Prep: 20 min
Cook: 0 min
Total: 20 min
Serves: 4
Level: Beginner
Calories: 91

Ingredients

4 servings

2 (170 g) Lemons (opens in a new tab), peeled, pith removed, segmented and seededStands in for one galgal (large hill lemon).
2 (260 g) Oranges (opens in a new tab), peeled, segmented and seededMalta oranges in the hills.
150 g Daikon (opens in a new tab), peeled and coarsely grated
100 g Yogurt (opens in a new tab)Thick curd.Contains milk
2 tbsp (27 g) Jaggery / palm sugar (opens in a new tab), gratedSwap: Sugar
1 (6 g) Green chilli (opens in a new tab), pounded
2 tbsp (2 g) Coriander leaves (opens in a new tab), chopped
½ tsp (3 g) Salt (opens in a new tab)Ideally pisyu loon — salt ground with green chilli, garlic and coriander, or with roasted hemp seeds.

Equipment

Method

1
Step 1
Pound the green chilli (opens in a new tab), coriander and salt together in a mortar to make a rough green salt.
- 3 min
- Mortar and pestle (opens in a new tab)
How it looks · Photo: https://kaboompics.com/ on Pexels
2
Step 2
Peel the citrus, strip off the white pith and membranes and break the flesh into small pieces, removing seeds.
- 10 min
3
Step 3
Squeeze excess water from the grated radish and add it to a wide bowl with the citrus, curd (opens in a new tab), jaggery and green salt.
- 4 min
- Grater (opens in a new tab)
4
Step 4
Mash and mix everything together by hand so the citrus breaks down a little. Taste — it should be sweet, sour and salty in equal measure — and eat straight away.
- 3 min
How it looks · Photo: Mateusz Feliksik on Pexels

About this dish

Origin: Kumaon, Uttarakhand, Uttarakhand, India · Commonly attributedMade with galgal (hill lemon) or malta oranges in the Uttarakhand hills; recipes vary by family.More food from India
Dish: Snack · Salads
Cooking method: No-cook, Raw
Taste: sweet & sour, citrusy, creamy, peppery
Diet: Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · No gluten ingredients · No nut ingredients · Low-carb
All labels
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Whole-food focused · No gluten ingredients · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Low-carb · Low-fat · DASH-style
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for: Budget-friendly
Cook more with: Lemon · Orange · Daikon · Yogurt · Jaggery / palm sugar · Green chilli

Allergens

Contains: Milkfrom yogurt

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

91 kcal per serving

Estimated

1 serving ≈ 179 g · recipe makes 4

Where the energy comes from

Protein 9%
Carbohydrate 82%
Fat 10%

Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
Nutrient	Per serving	Per 100 g*
Energy	91 kcal	51 kcal
Protein	2.2 g	1.2 g
Carbohydrate	21 g	11.7 g
Net carbohydrate	17.6 g	9.8 g
Sugars	15.8 g	8.8 g
Added sugars	6.5 g	3.6 g
Fibre	3.4 g	1.9 g
Fat	1.1 g	0.6 g
Saturated fat	0.6 g	0.3 g
Trans fat	—	—
Cholesterol	3 mg	2 mg
Sodium	314 mg	175 mg
Salt equivalent	0.8 g	0.4 g

Vitamins & minerals per serving

Potassium: 317 mg
Calcium: 84 mg
Iron: 0.6 mg
Magnesium: 20 mg
Vitamin A (RAE): 17 µg
Vitamin C: 69 mg
Vitamin D: 0 µg
Vitamin B12: 0.1 µg
Folate (DFE): 37 µg

How these numbers were made

Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
*Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
Jaggery / palm sugar: Brown sugar (FDC 168833) used as a stand-in for unrefined cane jaggery and palm sugar.
“—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

Remove every bit of pith: it makes the salad bitter.

Common mistakes

Leaving the pith and seeds on the citrus — the salad turns bitter.

Serve with

Traditionally shared outdoors on a winter afternoon, straight from a big bowl.

Storage

Best eaten fresh.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added 28 Oct 2026 · Updated 8 Nov 2026

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

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Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Lemon, peeled, pith removed, segmented and seeded2 piece · 170 g
Orange, peeled, segmented and seeded2 piece · 260 g
Daikon, peeled and coarsely grated150 g
Yogurt100 g

Used in steps 2, 3

Reviews & corrections

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