Simple & Easy South Indian Lemon Rice Recipe

South Indian Lemon rice is one of the easiest, most colorful, and mouth-watering rice dishes. It is one of our school-time favorites. A complete meal and you can eat it with curd, raita, or any chutney. Other names for this dish are Chitranna or Nimmakaya Pulihora.

Making South Indian Lemon Rice is a wonderful way to use your leftover rice. Once you try it you will fall in love with it. You do like to prepare it again and again.

Whenever someone hears of this dish they think it is something too hard to make. But it is not the case. It is one of the easiest comfort food to prepare and is quite commonly made in South Indian houses. It only requires a few ingredients and you will be ready in no time.

Key points To Remember For Lemon Rice

• Rice selection is important. Select the rice grains that are of non-sticky variety. You can have both short and long-grain rice.
• It is preferable that the rice is not lumpy or overcooked. But if the cooked rice turns out lumpy then break the lumps once the rice is cool enough.
• You can use the leftover rice to make the dish. In fact, some people believe it is better than freshly cooked rice.
• Do not avoid spices like mustard seeds and either dry red chillies or green chillies.
• Groundnut is for texture and crunch in the dish so do not skip them. You can even add cashew nuts for the same.
• Traditionally, sesame oil is used to make the dish. You can substitute it with sunflower oil, peanut oil, avocado oil, grapeseed oil, or any neutral oil.
• One is not to eat this dish hot. It has to be lukewarm or at room temperature.

Tips For Lemon Rice

• You can skip the dal in the recipe if you do not want them.
• Some people add asafoetida to this. That ingredient is optional.
• It is uncommon to add coriander to this dish but you can use them if you like.
• Do not use nuts like almonds, pecans, walnuts, etc as the authenticity of the recipe will be lost.
• For some variations, use chopped onions, mint, or urad dal in the dish.
• Roast the peanuts in the air-fryer if you do not like roasting them in oil.
• Add more vegetables like carrots, bell peppers, beans, corn, etc, and more spices to make a version of fried lemon rice.

You can try our other South Indian Recipes like South Indian Idli, South Indian Sambar, and South Indian Coconut Chutney.

Watch South Indian Lemon Rice Recipe Video

Ingredients of South Indian Lemon Rice

• Boiled Rice -2 cups
• Green Chili 2-3
• Chana dal-1 tbsp
• Cumin seeds-1/2 tbsp
• Oil - 1 1/2 tbsp
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tbsp
• Lemon - 1 (Medium-sized)
• Groundnut - 2 tbsp (fried)
• Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
• Curry leaves - 6 to 8 leaves

Steps for South Indian Lemon Rice

• Soak the rice and keep it aside for 10-15 minutes before to start cook. (it will cook rice quickly) Boil the rice and allow it to cool. (don't boil too much). You can also use leftover rice.Extract the juice from lemon and mix it with rice thoroughly along with required salt.
• Heat oil with a medium flame, once hot, add Ground nuts,cashew fry it.
• Heat oil with a medium flame add mustard seeds, when it splutters, add sliced green Chili, Curry leaves, turmeric powder then wait a few moments until it turns the color.
• Add rice stir the mix and allow it to cook for a few minutes.
• Finally, garnish with fried ground nuts and cashew nuts. Your South Indian Lemon Rice is ready to serve. You can also enjoy with boiled egg, potato fry or chips.

Download South Indian Lemon Rice Recipe Card