Lemon Rice Recipe | Chitranna | Nimmakaya Pulihora | How To Make lemon Rice

This exotic South Indian rice dish is made from everyday ingredients and will be appreciated by vegetarians and meat-eaters alike. It is extremely low in fat and packed full of exciting flavors. Considered as a very healthy rice dish due to the ingredients like curry leaves, turmeric, lemon juice, ginger, and green chilies.

A change from plain boiled rice to a colorful unusual rice dish that can be served as a main course, also this delicious dish is substantial enough to be eaten as a complete meal on its own.  Serve this with salad, pickle, papad, chutney or curd or raita.

A lovely. soft, fluffy rice dish tempered with few spices and perfumed with curry leaves and fresh lemon juice, looks very attractive, and appetizing.

This dish keeps good for long hours due to the addition of turmeric because of this many people pack it for long journeys and it is a very common travel food.

I personally prefer to make it during summers, also I love to add some sliced onion into this dish as my own preference, although traditionally onion is not added to this dish.

Please consider the sliced onion as optional when you follow my recipe 🙂

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of boiled rice
• 2 tbsp. oil
• 1 tsp. mustard seeds
• 3 tbsp. peanuts
• 1 tbsp. chana dal (Bengal gram)
• 1 tbsp. urad dal
• 1 tsp. turmeric powder
• 2 sprig curry leaves (Kadi Patta)
• 3-4 green chilies (chopped or slit)
• 1 tsp. ginger (finely chopped)
• 2-3 tbsp. lemon juice (add more or less as per the tanginess you want)
• Pinch of Asafoetida (Hing)
• Salt to taste
• 1 medium onion sliced (Optional)

Procedure:

1. Soak chana dal and Urad dal in water for 15 minutes. Drain and keep aside.
2. Heat oil into a pan, add the mustard seeds, peanuts, urad dal, chana dal, asafoetida (Hing), and allow it to crackle.
3. Add the curry leaves, green chilies, ginger, and sliced onion and fry until the onion is translucent.
4. Then add turmeric powder and salt. Mix well.
5. Add the cooked rice, lemon juice, and mix everything well so that the rice gets coated with all the spices and flavors nicely.
6. Serve the lemon rice with salad, pickle, papad, chutney, curd or raita.