Lemon Rice – How to Cook Lemon Rice

Lemon rice is a popular South Indian dish, in which cooked rice are tossed with various spices and lemon juice. It’s a spicy, very aromatic and lightly sour dish in taste. Lemon rice is also known as  Elumichai sadam.

I mostly make lemon rice when I have some leftover rice in the refrigerator except for the few times when we are already craving some south Indian food or there is complete south Indian menu for that meal. So, even if you have one bowl of cooked leftover rice, lemon rice is perfect way to use it up.

If you are using cooked rice at home making lemon rice takes hardly 5 minutes of your time. All you need to do is prepare the tempering for lemon rice, and toss the cooked leftover rice with the tempering mix and generous squeeze of lime/lemon and your steaming bowl of rice is ready.

You can serve it with piping hot sambhar, curd with accompaniments like papad/applam  and pickle. You have a delicious and flavourful South Indian meal ready in no time.  

Add a spoonful of ghee in your lemon rice to make it even better 🙂

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Print Recipe

Lemon Rice

Servings

Ingredients

• 2 cups basmati rice cooked (or leftover rice)
• 2 tbsps vegetable oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 3 sprigs curry leaves
• 2 green chillies chopped
• 2 Tbsp cashew nuts
• 1 tbsp chana dal
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 2 tbsp lemon
• to taste salt
• 1.5 tbsp ghee

Servings Ingredients 2 cups basmati rice cooked (or leftover rice) 2 tbsps vegetable oil 1 tsp mustard seeds 3 sprigs curry leaves 2 green chillies chopped 2 Tbsp cashew nuts 1 tbsp chana dal 1 tsp turmeric powder 2 tbsp lemon to taste salt 1.5 tbsp ghee

Instructions

1. Fry the cashew nuts in 1.5 tbsp ghee and remove as soon as they turn brown, It will take very less time about a minute or so.
2. Add Mustard seeds to the ghee in the pan and when they start crackling add chana dal, chopped green chilis and curry leaves. Saute them for about 2-3 minute.
3. Add turmeric powder, salt , red chili powder mix it and than add cooked rice to this mixture. Mix it with the help of a spatula,while mixing take care to mix it lightly so that grain of rice does not break and remain separated.
4. Sprinkle lemon juice over rice and serve hot with Rasam / sambhar or coconut chutney.

Recipe Notes