Lemon Rice
Rice tossed with turmeric, peanuts, and a mustard tempering.
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Join HomecookedIngredients
- 300 g Basmati rice
- 2 Lemon
- 50 g Peanuts
- 1 tsp Brown mustard seeds
- 10 Curry leaves
- ½ tsp Ground turmeric
- 2 Chili
- 2 tbsp Neutral oil
- ¾ tsp Salt
Method
- Cook the rice and spread it to cool.
- Heat the oil over medium heat and add the mustard seeds, curry leaves, peanuts, and chili; once the seeds pop and the peanuts color, stir in the turmeric.
- Fold the tempering, lemon, and salt through the rice.
- Serve warm.
Nutrition per serving
Estimated from ingredients; varies with exact portions and brands.
About Lemon Rice
Lemon rice, or chitranna, is a everyday South Indian dish that transforms plain cooked rice into something aromatic with almost no effort. It belongs to the family of tempered rice dishes eaten across Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, and it is a classic way to use up leftover rice, which is why the grains are cooked and spread to cool before being dressed. The heart of the dish is the tadka — hot oil bloomed with brown mustard seeds until they pop, curry leaves, peanuts, and chili — poured through the rice along with turmeric for color and lemon for its signature tang.
The result is loose, separate grains that are savory, nutty from the fried peanuts, faintly citrusy, and gently spiced, with the curry leaves lending their unmistakable aroma. It is a naturally vegan dish and comes together in under twenty minutes, making it a reliable quick lunch or a side to a larger thali. Lemon rice is a common lunchbox and travel food precisely because it holds up at room temperature and tastes good hours after it is made. A pinch of salt and a squeeze of fresh lemon at the end keep it bright.
Lemon Rice: frequently asked questions
How many calories are in Lemon Rice?
One serving of Lemon Rice has about 428 calories, with 15g of protein, 62g of carbs, 15g of fat and 6g of fiber. These are estimates based on the ingredient amounts in this recipe and will vary with your exact portions and brands.
Is Lemon Rice gluten-free?
Based on its ingredients, Lemon Rice has no gluten-containing components, so it's naturally gluten-free — as always, check that any packaged ingredients you use are certified gluten-free to be safe.
How long does Lemon Rice take to make?
About 18 minutes start to finish, but only around 7 of those are hands-on — the rest is largely unattended cooking time you can step away from. In the Homecooked app the timers and parallel steps are sequenced for you so the hands-on part feels even shorter.
How many servings does Lemon Rice make?
This recipe makes 4 servings. In the app you can scale it up or down and the ingredient amounts adjust automatically.