Lemon rice is a very easy to make and popular south Indian dish.  The tanginess from the lemon, the spice from the green chillies, the crunch from the peanuts and the yellow colour from the turmeric make the dish an irresistible one.

This was one of my favourite lunch to take to school. It had to have lots of peanuts and every spoon of rice had to have at least a few peanuts. This would be a dish you could make for picnics or potluck and would look good on an Easter table. This dish is usually made with cold rice and a good way to use your leftover rice.

Ingredients

2 cups rice cooked and cooled (leftover rice works well)

2 tbsp lemon juice

salt to taste

4 tbsp raw peanuts (if you want to make it fancy, add cashew nuts instead) – if using roasted peanuts add to the end

1 – 2 green chillies chopped

1/2 cup chopped onions

2 tsp coriander (cilantro) leaves chopped

1-inch ginger chopped

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1 tbsp oil

1 tsp urad dal

1 tsp channa dal

1 tsp mustard seeds

a pinch asafoetida

1 tsp curry leaves

Method

Heat oil in a pan, add asafoetida, urad dal, channa dal, mustard seeds and wait for it to splutter.

Add curry leaves and raw peanuts and fry for a few minutes on a medium flame.

Add onions, chillies and ginger and stir-fry until golden brown.

Mix the lemon juice, turmeric powder and salt in a small bowl.

Add the lemon juice mixture.

Add rice and mix well. Sprinkle cilantro. If using roasted peanuts, add peanuts and mix well.

Serve with papad or potato chips, raitha (recipe in the previous post) or pickle or yoghurt or just eat it plain.