Lemon Rice Recipe Chitranna Whiskaffair

on Jan 17, 2023, Updated Sep 30, 2023 You may like some more rice recipes: Tahri, Ellu Sadam, Kerala Style Ghee Rice, Black Pepper Rice, and Raw Mango Rice. When I want to make a quick lunch, I look for easy stir-fried rice recipes. I usually always have cooked rice in my refrigerator, so just a few minutes of prep and cooking, and my lunch is ready. After moving to Bangalore, I was exposed to the enormous world of South Indian variety rice dishes. This lemon rice is one of them. It’s made using Indian limes rather than lemons, which we interchangeably call limes and lemons in India. So, technically, it’s lime rice. But what’s in the name? Try this delicious dish, and its incredible taste will blow you away.

About Lemon Rice

Lemon Rice (Chitranna, Elumichai Sadam) is a traditional South Indian rice preparation in which cooked rice is flavored with lime juice and tempered with peanuts, curry leaves, and other simple ingredients. It is easy to make, needs basic pantry ingredients, and comes together in under 15 minutes. Lemon rice is a great recipe to utilize the leftover rice. Serve it with pickle and papad for a comforting meal, or pack it for office or school lunch boxes. You can also serve it as a side dish with festive South Indian meals. Cooked Rice – Sona Masuri is the preferred choice for the South Indian lemon rice recipe. However, you can also use any white short-grain, nonsticky rice or basmati rice. Cook the rice beforehand and cool it down completely before stir-frying it with the other ingredients. Day-old rice is perfect for this recipe. You can replace plain white rice with cooked brown rice, quinoa, or couscous. Check out this post to learn how to cook rice perfectly. Oil – Traditionally, chitranna is made using sesame oil. You can also use ghee or any cooking oil as a substitute. Lime Juice is the star ingredient of this dish. In India, the words limes and lemons are used interchangeably. Although this dish is actually made using lime juice, its name is lemon rice. Lime juice adds a nice, subtle, tangy taste with a refreshing flavor. You can replace lime juice with lemon juice. Peanuts and Cashews add a nice crunch. Curry Leaves – Adds a subtle flavor and aroma. Make sure to use fresh green curry leaves. Green Chillies – You can adjust the quantity to suit your taste. Others – You will also need brown mustard seeds, split and skinned black lentils (white urad dal), Bengal gram lentils (chana dal), dry red chilies, asafetida (hing), salt, and turmeric powder. Skip adding asafetida to make it gluten-free. Once the oil is hot, add the following ingredients and saute until the dals are lightly browned, stirring continuously.

½ teaspoon brown mustard seeds 1 teaspoon white urad dal 1 teaspoon chana dal

2 green chilies (slit into half) 3-4 dry red chiles (stalks removed) 10-12 curry leaves ½ teaspoon asafetida

Add ¼ cup raw peanuts and 6-8 cashew nuts and saute for 40-60 seconds until the nuts are slightly browned, stirring continuously. Add the following ingredients and mix well.

2 cups of cooked and cooled rice 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice (or lemon juice) 1 teaspoon salt

Cook for 2-3 minutes. Check for salt and lemon juice and add more if required. Serve hot. The rice must be cooled well before using in the recipe. Adjust the lime juice to taste.