lemon rice recipe | South Indian lemon rice | chitranna rice |
by Tarla Dalal

lemon rice recipe | South Indian lemon rice | chitranna rice | with 22 amazing images.

lemon rice recipe is a popular South Indian rice. lemon rice has a nice sour lemon taste. This is a easy and quick lemon rice recipe made with basic ingredients like lemon juice, boiled rice and Indian spices. Popular South Indian breakfast often is lemon rice also called chitranna rice often made with leftover rice.

Rice is the much-loved staple food of South Indians. The day begins and ends with steaming hot rice, which is enjoyed in different ways.

In a traditional meal, the rice is relished with soupy rasam or spicy sambhar. Or, the rice is mixed with tempering and flavouring ingredients to make delectable preparations like Tamarind Rice Peanut Rice or Lemon Rice.

Such one-dish rice meals like lemon rice are called as variety rice, mixed rice or rice bhaat in South India. They make a convenient meal on a busy day, and are just perfect to carry in the lunch dabba as they taste awesome even after a couple of hours.

Notes and tips on making lemon rice recipe. 1. Washing helps in removing excess starch from the rice which eventually results into non-sticky grains. Most commonly short-grained rice are used to make South Indian lemon rice but, you can make use of any variety of rice. We suggest not to use Basmati rice. 2. Mix gently and cook on a medium flame for 1 to 2 minutes, while stirring continuously. 3. In fact, best results are achieved by using leftover rice as they barely have any moisture.

To make South Indian lemon rice healthier, replace cooked rice with brown rice. See our healthy South Indian lemon rice recipe for details. If you want to make chitranna rice in a microwave, then see our how to make lemon rice in a microwave.

Here is an authentic recipe for lemon rice, a traditional rice dish with a refreshing citrusy flavour. It is also made as part of the many-course traditional South Indian meal. Check out our article on how to serve a traditional South Indian meal.

Enjoy how to make lemon rice recipe | South Indian lemon rice | chitranna rice | with detailed step by step photos and video.

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Lemon Rice ( South Indian Recipes ) recipe - How to make Lemon Rice ( South Indian Recipes )

For Lemon Rice
1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
2 1/2 cups cooked rice (chawal)
1 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds ( rai / sarson)
1/2 tsp urad dal (split black lentils)
1 tsp chana dal (split bengal gram)
5 to 6 curry leaves (kadi patta)
1/2 tsp grated ginger (adrak)
2 whole dry kashmiri red chillies , broken into pieces
1/2 tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
salt to taste

Method
For lemon rice

To make the lemon rice, heat the oil in a broad non-stick pan and add the mustard seeds.
When the seeds crackle, add the urad dal, chana dal, and curry leaves and sauté on a medium flame for 1 minute.
Add the ginger, red chillies and sauté on a medium flame for 30 seconds.
Add the turmeric powder and rice, mix well and cook on a medium flame for 1 to 2 minutes, while stirring continuously.
Add the lemon juice and salt, mix well and cook on a medium flame for 1 to 2 minutes, while stirring occasionally.
Serve the lemon rice hot.

Nutrient values (Abbrv) per serving

Energy	175 cal
Protein	2.6 g
Carbohydrates	26.7 g
Fiber	1.7 g
Fat	6.4 g
Cholesterol	0 mg
Sodium	3.5 mg

Click here to view calories for Lemon Rice ( South Indian Recipes )

Lemon Rice Video by Tarla Dalal

Lemon Rice ( South Indian Recipes ) with step by step photos

If you like Lemon Rice

Lemon Rice ( South Indian Lemon Rice) is an ideal recipe for quick lunch. Also, you can carry lemon rice in lunchbox. Apart from that, you can make other South-Indian rice recipes like :
• Tamarind rice

• Curd rice

• Peanut Rice

For cooking the rice:

For making the lemon rice, we will first cook the rice. For that, wash around ¾ cup of rice few times and soak with enough water for half an hour. Washing helps in removing excess starch from the rice which eventually results into non-sticky grains. Most commonly short-grained rice are used to make South Indian lemon rice but, you can make use of any variety of rice.
After half an hour, drain the rice using a strainer.
Boil 4 cups of water in a deep pan. Alternatively, you can even pressure cook the rice.
Also, add oil. Oil coats the rice grain helping us to achieve separate grains on cooking

Add salt to taste.
Add the soaked and drained rice.
Mix well and cook on a medium flame for 8 to 10 minutes or till the rice is 95% cooked.
Drain with the help of a strainer. You can even refresh using cold water to discontinue the internal cooking process. Keep aside.

For lemon rice:

Heat the oil in a broad non-stick pan. Once the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds.

When the seeds crackle, add the urad dal. They add a nice crunch to the Lemon Rice.
Also, add chana dal. You can even add peanuts and cashew nuts
Add the curry leaves.
Sauté on a medium flame for 1 minute or till the dals turn light brown in colour.
Add the ginger. The addition of curry leaves and ginger enhances the flavor of lemon rice.

Add the red chillies.
Sauté on a medium flame for 30 seconds.
Add the turmeric powder.
Also, add rice
Mix gently and cook on a medium flame for 1 to 2 minutes, while stirring continuously. It is advisable to cook rice 2-3 hours prior to cooking the yellow rice. In fact, best results are achieved by using leftover rice as they barely have any moisture.

Add the lemon juice to Lemon Rice.
Add the salt to the Lemon Rice, South Indian Lemon Rice. Adjust the quantity of lemon juice according to sour taste you would prefer.
Mix well and cook Lemon Rice, South Indian Lemon Rice on a medium flame for 1 to 2 minutes, while stirring occasionally.
Serve the Lemon Rice, South Indian Lemon Rice hot with pappadum and yogurt.
Our website has a huge collection of authentic South Indian recipes, glance through it to explore more recipes from different regions of South.

pro tips for lemon rice

Washing helps in removing excess starch from the rice which eventually results into non-sticky grains. Most commonly short-grained rice are used to make South Indian lemon rice but, you can make use of any variety of rice. We suggest not to use Basmati rice.
Mix gently and cook on a medium flame for 1 to 2 minutes, while stirring continuously.
In fact, best results are achieved by using leftover rice as they barely have any moisture.
Serve lemon rice with coconut stew.