Limes, Persian

The lime variety known as Persian lime has been grown in Iran for many centuries. These limes are widely available fresh. Persian groceries stock dried limes (limu-omani) from California (which sometimes have seeds) and the dried lime powder (gard-e limu-omani) made from them. This commercial powder is apt to be bitter because it contains ground seeds, but it is easy to make your own from dried Persian limes: With a knife, crack open the limes, halve them, and remove any seeds. Then grind the dried limes to powder in a food processor and store in an airtight jar.