Lemon rice recipe – Very popular rice dish from South India. It can be part of simple everyday meal or part of the special occasion or festival feast. It also known as chitrannam or Nimmakaya annam in other Indian languages.
The easiest and quickest rice recipe that you will ever come across. If you have cooked rice ready or have some leftover rice, this recipe can be done in only 5 minutes.
If cooking the rice specially for this, I would recommend cooking the rice few hours before. So cooked rice has some time cool down and firm up. So while making lemon rice, the rice grain will not break while Stirling.
Addition of peanuts and cashews give nice crunch in this rice dish.
The amount of lemon juice is as per your liking. Also every lemon has different sourness. So start with little amount, taste and see if needed more.
Check out other south Indian rice recipes
tomato rice // tamarind rice // raw mango rice // sweet corn rice // Curd rice
How to make Lemon rice recipe (Step by Step Photos):
1) First you need cooked rice. Here is the step by step method to cook perfect rice. each and every rice grain is separated from each other. Perfect for this kind of rice recipes. Let the rice cool down slightly and then use in this recipe.
2) Prepare all the ingredients, as once oil is heated we need them one by one. Heat the oil in a pan on medium heat. Once hot add mustard seeds, let them pop.
3) Then lower the heat to low, add urad dal.
4) Saute with stirring constantly till it becomes light brown in color.
5) Now add dried red chili, cashews and peanuts.
6) Roast them till they are light brown in color.
7) Then add curry leaves, slit green chilies and turmeric powder.
8) Saute for 30 seconds.
9) Now add cooked rice and salt if needed. make gas heat medium. you can skip the salt, if your cooked rice already salted.
10) Mix well and make sure that rice grain do not break too much. Let the rice get heated up
11) Squeeze fresh lemon juice.
12) Again mix well.
Lemon rice is ready to serve.
Serving suggestion: Serve as such or with papadum. This is good rice recipe to pack in kids’ or adult’s lunch box. Serve some roasted or fried papadum on side. This makes light yet filling meal.
Lemon rice recipe (Chitrannam recipe)
Ingredients
- 3 cups Cooked rice
- 2 tablespoons Oil
- ½ teaspoon Mustard seeds
- ½ teaspoon Urad dal (split, skinless black gram)
- 1 Dried red chilies
- 2 tablespoons Peanuts
- 2 tablespoons Cashew nuts
- 1-2 Green chili slit
- 6-7 Curry leaves
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric powder
- Salt to taste
- 2 ½ tablespoons Lemon juice
Instructions
- First you need cooked rice. Let the rice cool down slightly and then use in this recipe.
making lemon rice recipe:
- Heat the oil in a pan on medium heat. Once hot add mustard seeds, let them pop.
- Then lower the heat to low, add urad dal. Saute with stirring constantly till it becomes light brown in color.
- Now add dried red chili, cashews and peanuts. Roast them till they are light brown in color.
- Then add curry leaves, slit green chilies and turmeric powder. Saute for 30 seconds.
- Now add cooked rice and salt if needed.
- make gas heat medium.
- Mix well and make sure that rice grain do not break too much. Let the rice get heated up
- Squeeze fresh lemon juice.
- Again mix well.
- Turn off the stove.
Tara Nair
WOW! This one is so simple and looks yummy too. I am gonna try this right away. Thanks for sharing the recipe Kanan 🙂
Kanan
Thank you. Hope you like it
Dale
Is the Dal raw? My Dal came out very crunchy. Yet still very good.
Kanan
Yes raw dal is used. It is fried on low-medium heat, so it gets fried and crunchy (of course eatable). Happy to know that you liked it.
Anna
Looks wonderful! I happen to have roasted sunflower seeds and think I’ll use them instead of the other nuts. Believe me, I am a nut!! Lol!
Having a happy day. Gayatri mantra in my head! 😀
Kanan
Thank you. Have a nice day.
Annonymous
Simple and delicious! Love it.
Kanan
Thank you.
Ritu
hey, thank you so much for sharing… I have tried lemon rice so many times, but somehow it just doesn’t work! gotta try this recipe now…thanks again:)