Lemon Rice | Chitranna | Nimmakaya Pulihora andhra style

Lemon Rice is a delicious South Indian dish you can easily put together when in a hurry. You can also make it with leftover rice. Serve Lemon Rice with a Raita (yogurt salad) and Poppadums for a simple yet tasty meal.

I tasted lemon rice for the first time in hyderabad at my friends place.It is ideal to pack and take along when travelling.

In south lot of rice varieties are made  like lemon rice,mango rice, pulihora (tamarind rice), coconut rice, etc during festivals as they do not require onions in it and also are very easy to make.

 

Together with Tamarind rice, Lemon rice is a popular long-lasting travel food.

This rice also spelled as Ellumichai Sadam, Ellumichai Satham, Lime rice, Chitrannam, Lemon ki chawal.

Ingredients:
 2 cups rice, cooked or leftover rice
1 lemon
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp Urad dal
2 dried red
2-3 Green chillies,slit  (adjust as per your spice level)
1 tsp Bengal gram 
2 tbsp peanuts
A generous pinch of turmeric powder
 A generous pinch of asafoetida
few sprigs of curry leaves
2-3 tsp  oil
salt to taste

Method:
1.Pressure cook rice(1 cup rice: 2  cups water)  until it is soft and fluffy.Spread this rice on a plate to cool.
2.Extract lemon juice and keep aside.Soak channa dal in water for 15mins,set aside.
3.Heat oil in a kadai and temper it with dried red chilli,green chilies ,mustard seed,urad dal,hing and curry leaves.Once the mustard seeds splutter.Add the peanuts,Cashewnuts and fry it.
4.•Add  turmeric powder and switch off the flame.
5. Now place rice in a wide mixing bowl  and pour the seasoning to it and add enough salt and mix well until everything is mixed.
6 lastly add squeezed lemon with out seeds and coriander to it and mix well.
7.Serve it immediately with papad/sabudana papad and pickle

TIPS

1.The rice should be comparatively softer to eat but still grains separate and it should not be like the way its cooked  for pulav/biriyani.
2. add lemon juice after you mix the rice with the seasoning .If adding lemon juice to seasoning add only when you switch off gas and seasoning is cooled down else it will become bitter.
3.always taste the rice and add salt,lime/lemon juice to it according to your taste buds.
4. make sure that rice should not be mushy .use sona masoori rice than basmati rice .
5.rice tastes better with time