For me, food = rice. Therefore, I am always on the lookout for new and interesting rice recipes to make. The recipes where the rice can be eaten as a stand-alone dish are especially appealing to me; they help with my weekday vegetarian food.
Lemon Rice is a very popular South Indian dish that is enjoyed for its simplicity and lemony flavour. It is usually served with a raita (yogurt salad) along with poppadom (a thin crisp savoury wafer).
If I want to serve a protein with Lemon Rice, I always opt for seafood because it (seafood) is light enough to be eaten with such a dish. Given that seafood tends to have an affinity for citrus, it seems natural to pair the two.
Lemons tend to be less acidic than limes, therefore, pay attention to the quantity indicated in the recipe depending on which citrus you are using. Do not use any bottled lime/lemon juice, the flavour is not the same and would prove to be unappetizing.
You will notice that the recipe calls for ingredients such as hing (asafoetida), curry leaves and fresh coriander/cilantro.
If you have access to any or all of those ingredients fine but if you don’t that’s okay, you can still make the dish, it would not have the distinct flavour that they bring to the dish but it will nevertheless be delicious.
INGREDIENTS
- 4 cups of just-cooked Basmati or long grain white rice (you want the rice to be very hot)
- 3 tablespoons Canola or vegetable oil
- 1 ½ teaspoons black mustard seeds
- Minced hot pepper to taste
- ¾ teaspoon ground turmeric
- A pinch of asafoetida (hing) optional
- 10 – 12 curry leaves (if you have)
- ¾ cup finely chopped onions
- 1 tablespoon finely minced ginger
- Salt to taste (see notes below)
- ½ cup chopped cilantro/coriander leaves (leave out if you don’t have)
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed lime juice (1/3 cup if using lemons)
DIRECTIONS
- Heat oil in large pan or karahi on medium heat.
- Add mustard seeds and fry; as soon as they begin to pop, add pepper, turmeric, hing and curry leaves (if using) and sauté for 1 minute. Then add onions and ginger and sauté until onions are soft but not coloured (reduce heat if necessary).
- Add the hot rice along with the cilantro/coriander and toss to mix well. Remove from heat and pour lime/lemon juice over rice and toss mix and incorporate. Cover and let rest for at least 30 minutes before serving (this is to give the rice enough time to absorb the lemon juice and flavours)
NOTES
- It is important that the rice be hot as it will better absorb the lemon juice and flavours.
- The rice should be cooked with salt to taste but if it isn’t you will need to add salt to taste for the dish at direction # 2.
- 1 ¼ cups raw Basmati or long grain white rice will give you the 4 cups of cooked rice.
- Check Mattai’s for the hing (asafoetida), you may find some there.
