Lemon Rice/chitranna (Rice cooked with Lemon Juice)

Lemon Rice

Tangy spicy and delicately flavored rice preparation from southern India is my favorite as it is nutritious, easy to make, tasty and good to pack for lunch box. The yellow color or rice dotted with brown fried nuts along with the green color of coriander leaves and white of fresh grated coconut makes it extremely attractive. This preparation of rice can be kept for 24hrs. with out refrigerating.

Preparation Time: 5min

Cooking Time: 10 min.

Servings: Makes four large servings

                      

Ingredients required for making Lemon Rice 

• 150 gm. Rice
• 25 ml. Lemon juice

Lemon Juice

• 50gm. Ground nuts

Shallow fried groundnuts

• 4-5 Curry leaves (sweet neem leaves)

Curry leaves

• 1/2 Tea spoon mustard seeds

Mustard seeds

• 1/2 Tea spoon Cumin seeds

Cumin seeds

• 1 Red dry chili
• 1/4 Turmeric Powder
• 1 Tea spoon sugar
• 1 Tea spoon finely cut coriander leaves
• 1/4 Fresh coconut
• Red chili powder to taste
• Salt to taste
• 5ml.cooking oil
• Water

Direction For Making Lemon Rice:

 Step1

• Wash and soak the rice in 200ml. water for 30 min.
• Shallow fry ground nuts to brownish color.
• Grate the fresh coconut.
• Cook the soaked rice in the cooker or a thick bottom pan.
• For lemon juice, squeeze two or three lemons and pass the juice through sieve to remove the seeds.
•  Keep the lemon juice aside.
• Spread the hot rice on a plate so that the grains of cooked rice do not stick.

Rice after boiling

• If the grains of cooked rice are sticking to each other  keep the cooked rice in a sieve and pass running water through the cooked rice and drain the excess of water.

Step2

• Take oil in a wok and heat on high flame.
• Break the Red dry chili to two or three pieces.
• To the hot oil add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves and pieces of red chili.

• Lower the flame.
• Let the seeds splutter and the flavor of red chili, curry leaves, cumin seeds mustard seeds to come out by cooking for 10-15 seconds.
• Added cooked rice and mix it thoroughly.
• Add Turmeric powder, red chili powder, salt and mix thoroughly.
• Add sugar mix and cover.
• Cook on low flame for 2 min. with occasional stirring.
• Add lemon juice and mix thoroughly and cooked for 2-3 min on high flame.
• Add fried ground nuts.

• Mix and keep it covered for 2-3 min. for the flavor of lemon to seep in rice and ground nuts.

• Remove the wonderfully yellow colored lemon rice in a serving bowl and garnish it with grated coconut / coriander leaves

Lemon rice 

No accompaniments required with lemon rice. Just serve and eat :).Since lemon also acts as preservative so this preparation of rice does not get spoilt even in summer for 24hrs. Thus it is very good for not only lunch box but also for travel and picnic.

Tips:-

• Do not cook for too long after adding the lemon juice.
• Ground nut should be added last to maintain the crispness.
• Do not over fry the ground nuts.

Suggested Variation:

•   Ground nut can be replaced by almonds and cashew nuts.