Lip-Smacking Variety Rice in Five Minutes
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Points to consider:
- Always use fresh lemon juice: Fresh juice brings in freshness to the rice. Bottled lemon juice available in the market will not taste the same
- Use a long-grain variety of rice: A short-grain rice can turn mushy or be overcooked which will not give the fluffy texture that you need for this rice. Ideally then, use long grain rice like Basmati
- Add the turmeric to your tempering oil: Do not add the turmeric powder on top of the rice in the mixing bowl. You will get the raw smell of turmeric. Also, the turmeric will distribute evenly through the rice this way.
- Add crunch to the rice: You can add ground nuts or even cashew nuts to the tempering to add crunch to the rice. I have tasted this rice with raisins as well. I wouldn’t add raisins though – will always reserve raisins for the desserts.
- Squeezing the Lime: Squeeze fresh lemon juice on the cooked rice, when the rice is not boiling hot. Lemon tends to go sour when you add it to very hot rice.
LEMON RICE
Lemon Rice is a mildly spiced lemon-flavored rice. It forms a part of the lunch or the dinner meal.
Equipment
- Mixing Bowl
- Kadhai or Wok
Ingredients
- 2 cups Cooked Basmati Rice
- Extract of Two Lemons
- 2 tbsp Cooking Oil
- 2 tsp Turmeric Powder
- 1 tsp Mustard Seeds
- 1 tsp Chana Dal or Bengal Gram
- 8-10 Groundnuts
- 10-12 Curry Leaves
- A Pinch of Asafoetida
- 2 Finely Chopped Green Chilies
- Salt to Taste
Instructions
- Add the rice in a wide bowl, with the rice well spread out. Make sure the rice is not too hot, as it might turn sour with the lemon juice.
- Heat the cooking oil in a kadhai. Add the mustard seeds and let them crackle. Add the Chana Dal, green chillies and the curry leaves, and the asafoetida
- Add the groundnuts and let it roast for a while. Keep the flame at a minimum as groundnuts can get turn dark.
- After they have roasted enough, turn off the flame and add the turmeric powder. Make sure the flame is off, else the turmeric could get burnt.
- Add the entire tempering to the bowl of rice, add the lemon juice and salt on top.
- Mix the rice thoroughly well. Be careful not to break the rice strands. You may want to use a fork to mix the rice.
- Delicious Lemon Rice is now ready to be served with papad.