Name: South Indian Lemon Rice
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 140 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 2 cup Cooked Rice, cooled completely; 2 tbsp Lemon Juice, freshly squeezed; 2 tbsp Peanuts, raw; 1½ tbsp Cooking Oil; ½ tsp Mustard Seeds; 1 tsp Split Bengal Gram, split bengal gram; 1 tsp Split Black Gram (Skinless), split black gram; 2 Green Chili Pepper, slit; 1 Dried Red Chili Peppers; ½ tsp Ground Turmeric; 10 Curry Leaves; ¾ tsp Salt

2 hr 20 mintotal

20 min hands-on2 hr hands-off

Prep 10 min · Cook 10 min

Serves: 2
Difficulty: Easy
Spice: Mild

Add to your week

Method

Bring the specified cooking oil to temperature in a heavy-duty pan over a medium flame. Introduce the raw groundnuts, frying them methodically until they achieve a resounding crunch and a deep golden exterior. Extract and reserve immediately.
Add the mustard seeds to the remaining hot oil. When they pop, add the chana dal and urad dal and sauté until they turn a light roasted gold.
Add the slit green chillies, the dried red chilli and the fresh curry leaves. Shake the pan to flash-fry them for a few seconds and release their aroma.
Dramatically lower the heat to its minimal setting to prevent scorching. Bloom the turmeric powder into the infused fat, stirring briskly to maximize color extraction.
Add the cold cooked rice and the salt. Toss it firmly but carefully, so the turmeric colours every grain an even yellow.
Turn off the heat. Fold in the reserved crunchy peanuts and the freshly squeezed lemon juice.
Toss deeply one final time to homogenize the profile. Cover and allow the dish to rest for 5 minutes, enforcing a critical flavor assimilation period.
5 min

How to tell it's done

Anticipate strikingly vibrant, sunshine-yellow rice boasting flawlessly independent, non-gummy grains, punctuated by the aggressive, contrasting crunch of perfectly roasted peanuts and lentils.

Nutrition

Per serving, from 2 servings.

374kcal

Where the calories come from

Protein8 g9%
Carbohydrate51 g54%
Fat15.6 g37%

Sugars: 1.5 g
Saturated fat: 2.3 g
Fibre: 2.5 g
Sodium: 879 mg
Potassium: 213 mg
Calcium: 33 mg
Iron: 1.5 mg

Estimated by calculation from the ingredient list, using USDA FoodData Central. Not a laboratory analysis.

Getting it right

Tip

A cardinal culinary sin is exposing fresh citrus juice to active heat; always add the lemon off the flame to unequivocally prevent the dish from mutating into an undesirable bitterness.

What to serve it with

Good for travel or a lunchbox. Serve it a little below room temperature, with plain yogurt, a crisp papad, or a well-spiced potato sabzi.

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Ingredients