Lemon Rice
Lemon rice is a tasty and easy south Indian dish. It is a great lunch box option for kids, which can be prepared in ten minutes if you have some leftover cooked rice.
On days you are not quite in the mood for cooking, you can prepare this with a side of pickle and pappad. On the other hand, it can be an alternative to regular rice when you want to amp it up a notch.
Lemon rice pairs well with chicken curry, prawn masala and cauliflower Manchurian.
Ingredients
Basmati rice -or- Sona Masoori rice, 1 cupSalt, 1 tsp
Sesame/sunflower/canola oil, 2 tbs*
Mustard seeds, ½ tsp
Urad dal, ½ tbs
Chana dal, 1 tbs
Whole chili (broken), 2 nos.
Curry leaves (finely chopped), 2 tbs
Peanuts, 2 tbs
Cashew nut, 10 nos.
Ginger (minced), 1 tsp
Green chili (finely chopped), 1 no.
Lemon zest, ½ to 1 tsp**
Sugar, 1 tsp
Turmeric powder, ½ tsp
Lemon juice, 2 tbs
Coriander leaves, a few
[Optional] Ghee, 1 tbs
*I find organic cold pressed sesame oil best suited for this recipe
**Make sure to grate no more than the outer skin of the lemon, as the white bits are more sour
Preparation:
- Wash and soak the rice for 20 minutes. This will help the rice to cook easier. Here I used basmati rice. After soaking wash once more and cook the rice by adding salt.
- Once the rice is cooked, strain and set aside.
- Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds.
- Once it pops, add urad dal and chana dal, and sauté over a low flame until the urad dal turns light brown.
- Add whole chili and curry leaves and sauté for few seconds.
- Add peanuts and cashews, and sauté until the peanuts are crispy and golden in colour.
- Add ginger, green chili, lemon zest and sugar (in that order) and sauté until fragrant.
- Add turmeric and sauté for a few seconds.
- Switch off the flame and add rice, mix well.
- Stir in ghee, if required.
- Transfer to a bowl and add lemon juice, mix well. Check salt.
- Garnish with coriander leaves.
- Your lemon rice is ready! Enjoy with pappad, pickle or any desired side dish.
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