Lemon rice.You can’t go wrong with classic lemon flavored rice for a super tasty meal. This much loved rice dish is a breeze to cook and a guaranteed winner on the dinner table.
When lemons are in season, all I want to do is celebrate the flavor and aroma of these beautiful fruits. And that means, creating more lemon infused recipes in my kitchen and share them with you.
I’m so excited to see the lemon trees full of these golden beauties and they look so pretty. Even though I’m not a huge fan of winter, I always look forward to this season of the year. Just because I love lemons. In fact, I love the bright yellow color, sweet aroma and tangy flavor of lemons.
As the name suggests, this lemon rice recipe is all about simple rice flavored with tangy lemon juice. The tempered spices, obviously, add another layer of flavor to this utterly delicious rice recipe.
To begin with, pour fresh lemon juice in cooked rice, and let the rice grains absorb the tangy flavor and beautiful aroma of lemon juice. The second part of the recipe involves tempering a few spices to take the flavors to the next level.
You’ll need splutter mustard seeds in hot oil followed by stir frying urad dal (skinned black gram) and chana dal (split bengal gram). Chana dal is totally optional in this recipe, so feel free to skip it. The dals or lentils need to turn brown before you add in green chilies, ginger, dried red chilies and curry leaves. Give this a quick stir fry and reduce the heat to very low.
Now you’ll add in ground turmeric and a pinch of asafetida. The ground spices may burn really quickly, so make sure the heat is very low. Again, ground turmeric gives this rice that light yellow hue you see in the pictures. Truth to be told, I’m totally in love with that color. A tiny amount of turmeric goes a long way, so stick to the given measurements to create the best lemon rice.
Finally, stir fry the lemon infused cooked rice in the tempered spices. Whoa! Get ready to be gobsmacked by the lovely color and aroma of this beautiful rice.
Garnish with roasted peanuts if you like. It adds a lovely contrast to the yellow lemon rice. If you’re not a fan of peanuts, roasted cashew nuts or almonds make a great substitute.
A South Indian favorite, this simple rice is great on its own, or serve with your favorite curry, pickle and pappadums for an exotic dinner.
Lemon Rice | Video
Ingredients
Rice:
- 2 cups basmati rice
- 4 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Lemon rice:
- 1 tablespoon oil
- ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon urad dal skinned black gram
- 1 teaspoon chana dal skinned bengal gram
- 2 green chilies chopped
- ½ " fresh ginger finely julienned
- 1 dried red chili
- 1 sprig curry leaves
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric turmeric powder
- A pinch of asafetida
- Peanuts roasted in ghee to garnish
Instructions
Rice:
- Rinse rice under cold running water. Soak for 30 minutes. Drain. Place rice in a saucepan. Cover with 4 cups water. cook rice for 5-6 minutes or until tender. Drain.
- Pour in lemon juice. Stir gently to combine. Set aside.
Lemon rice:
- Heat oil in a large frypan over medium-high heat. Add mustard seeds and allow to splutter. Add urad dal and chana dal. Stir fry for 2 minutes or until golden brown. Add green chilies, ginger, red chilies and curry leaves. Stir fry for a minute. Reduce the heat to low. Add tumeric powder and asafetida. Fry for a minute. Add cooked rice. Season with salt. Stir to combine. Heat through.
- Garnish with peanuts if you like.
Video
Notes
- Peanuts can be substituted with roasted cashew nuts or almonds if you like
Nutrition
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