LEMON RICE OR ( CHITRANNA) is a very delicious and flavourful rice with right amount of crunchiness, spiciness, and tanginess. Lemon rice is a comfort food at many homes. If you have left over rice. Then this dish can be prepared and served in less than 30 minutes
Ingredients:
1 cup Raw Rice
2 cups water
Big lemon sized ball Tamarind
2-3 Green Chillies
4 Dried Red Chillies
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
1 tbsp Chana Dal
1 tbsp Urad Dal
3 tbsp Peanuts
1/2 tsp Powdered Jaggery optional
1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
1/8 tsp Hing
2 sprigs Curry Leaves
3-4 tbsp Oil
Salt to taste
For the mustard paste
2 tsp Mustard Seeds
Instructions
Pressure cook the rinsed rice with 2 cups of water for 3 whistles.
Soak the tamarind in water for 10 – 15 minutes and squeeze the extract out of it. Keep it aside. Spread the cooked rice on a wide plate and let it cool completely.
Heat oil in a pan. Add the mustard seeds, chana dal, urad dal and peanuts. Fry them until golden brown color.
Add the slit green chilies, red chilies, curry leaves and hing and fry for a few seconds. Add the tamarind extract, jaggery and turmeric powder to it and mix well. Cook the mixture until the oil gets separates. Turn off the flame. Add this cooked mixture and salt to the rice and combine everything. Soak the mustard seeds in little water for 10 minutes. Grind the soaked mustard seeds to a paste using mortar and pestle. Don’t make this mustard paste in advance. Add this paste to the prepared rice mixture and combine well. Serve and enjoy!
For tempering:
1 tsp Mustard seeds
3-4 tbsp. Groundnuts
1 tbsp. Chana dal
2 tsp Urad dal
2 tsp Sesame seeds
3-4 whole Red chilies
4-5 light colored long Green chilies, slit
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
a sprig of Curry leaves
a pinch of strong Asafoetida
2 tbsp. Oil
