Lemon Rice Recipe

Lemon Rice is the best way to use leftover rice and transform it into a quick summer meal ready in 20 minutes.

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

• About Lemon Rice
• My Tried and True Tips
• Watch Lemon Rice Video
• Serving Suggestion
• Lemon Rice Recipe

About Lemon Rice

Lemon Rice is a popular South Indian rice recipe. It is also known as chitranna or elumichai sadam. It has the nuttiness of peanuts, the spiciness of chilies, and the bursting tartness of lemon. This chitranna makes all your one-pot meal dreams come true.

We were introduced to this delicious fried rice recipe during our stay in South India. And ever since then, it has been a regular repeat in our weekly meal menu and my husband’s office lunchbox .

Reasons to Bookmark Lemon Rice Recipe

• vegan and gluten-free
• easy to pack and reheat
• requires only 20 minutes
• fuss-free and one-pot dish
• meal-prep and lunchbox friendly

My Tried and True Tips

• The leftover cooked rice sitting in the fridge works best for this fried rice recipe.
• Any medium-short grain white rice is perfect for making lemon rice.
• Many chitranna recipes suggest adding lemon juice in the beginning. However, I prefer stirring the lemon juice towards the end once the rice is ready to serve.
• Talking about the cooking oil used in the making of chitranna. Try to use either ghee, sesame oil, coconut oil, or the traditional gingelly oil. It requires rich, flavoursome oil to enhance the flavour of the ingredients.

Watch Lemon Rice Video

Serving Suggestion

You can serve lemon rice with a bowl of chilled mint raita or masala potato roast . One can serve it with spicy Indian curries, such as chana masala or chicken curry .

More Indian Rice Recipes

• Chana Pulao
• Pudina Pulao
• Coconut Rice
• Vegetable Pulao
• Mushroom Pulao
• Paneer Tikka Pulao
• Curd Rice (Yogurt Rice)

Ingredients

• ▢ 2 Cup cooked white rice
• ▢ ¼ Cup lemon juice
• ▢ Salt to taste
• ▢ 2 teaspoon black mustard seeds (rai)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon dhuli urad dal
• ▢ 2 tablespoon peanuts
• ▢ 1 tablespoon cashew nuts, sliced
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon asafoetida (hing)
• ▢ 2 green chilies, slit
• ▢ 1 sprig of curry leaves
• ▢ Salt to taste
• ▢ 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• ▢ 2 tablespoon mustard oil/sesame oil/coconut oil

Instructions

• Heat oil in a kadhai over a high flame. Once the oil starts fuming, reduce the heat to low.
• Add mustard seeds and allow to splutter. Next, add urad dal and hing. Fry till dal turn light golden in color.
• Add peanuts, cashews, curry leaves, and green chilies. Fry till cashews turn golden in color. Add turmeric powder, mix and turn off the heat.
• Now add rice, salt, and lemon. Stir to combine. Rice should get coated with the seasoning nicely.
• Cover the pan with the lid and allow the rice to absorb the flavors for 5 – 10 minutes.
• Serve lemon rice warm with chilled raita and roasted potato.

Recipe Notes:

• The leftover cooked rice sitting in the fridge works best for this fried rice recipe.
• Lemon Rice requires strong, flavorsome oil to enhance the flavor of the ingredients.
• You can store lemon rice for a week in the refrigerator. Reheat in a microwave or stir-fry pan before serving.

Nutrition

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Lemon Rice Recipe

Equipment

• Heavy Bottom Kadhai

Ingredients

• 2 Cup cooked white rice
• ¼ Cup lemon juice
• Salt to taste
• 2 teaspoon black mustard seeds (rai)
• 1 teaspoon dhuli urad dal
• 2 tablespoon peanuts
• 1 tablespoon cashew nuts, sliced
• ¼ teaspoon asafoetida (hing)
• 2 green chilies, slit
• 1 sprig of curry leaves
• Salt to taste
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 2 tablespoon mustard oil/sesame oil/coconut oil

Instructions

• Heat oil in a kadhai over a high flame. Once the oil starts fuming, reduce the heat to low.
• Add mustard seeds and allow to splutter. Next, add urad dal and hing. Fry till dal turn light golden in color.
• Add peanuts, cashews, curry leaves, and green chilies. Fry till cashews turn golden in color. Add turmeric powder, mix and turn off the heat.
• Now add rice, salt, and lemon. Stir to combine. Rice should get coated with the seasoning nicely.
• Cover the pan with the lid and allow the rice to absorb the flavors for 5 - 10 minutes.
• Serve lemon rice warm with chilled raita and roasted potato.

Video

Notes

• The leftover cooked rice sitting in the fridge works best for this fried rice recipe.
• Lemon Rice requires strong, flavorsome oil to enhance the flavor of the ingredients.
• You can store lemon rice for a week in the refrigerator. Reheat in a microwave or stir-fry pan before serving.

Nutrition

Chana Salad is a protein-packed healthy salad that happens to be delicious too. You will surely fall in love with it!

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

• The Brown Chickpeas
• The Green Dressing
• How To Build A Healthy Salad
• Watch Chana Salad Video
• Healthy Chana Salad Recipe

For lunch, I always stick to something that is healthy, fulfilling, and can literally be a one-bowl meal. That is the reason chana salad has become one of my favourite weekday lunches.

All the meal prep for the chana salad is done during the morning time ( including boiling the brown chickpeas and making the dressing ). During lunch hours, simply dress the chana salad and enjoy it.

Chana Salad would also pack up nicely for my husband’s office lunchbox .

Why You’ll Love This Salad

• Gluten-Free
• Quick and Easy
• Protein-Packed
• Healthy and Nutritious
• and a one-pot fulfilling meal

The Brown Chickpeas

In the Indian subcontinent, the brown chana is commonly used for making curry , kebab, or a variety of dishes. Like regular white chickpea (kabuli chana) you can use brown chana in a variety of creative culinary ways.

• It is an excellent source of gluten-free, vegan, plant-based protein .
• Like many other legumes and beans, the dried brown chana also requires a soaking time of 5 – 6 hours before cooking.
• The soaking process reduces the cooking time , deactivates anti-nutrients , and improves the amount of magnesium, zinc, and iron you absorb .

For the salad, you can either boil brown chana in a pressure cooker or cook them in an instant pot . Canned/tinned chana is also fine for making the salad.

The Green Dressing

What makes this chana salad even more pleasant is the refreshing mint dressing. It is very similar to the internet’s viral GREEN GODDESS DRESSING.

This green dressing is bursting with summer flavours pairing perfectly with the texture of the salad. It is the star of the show.

If you want to try any other dressing recipes with this salad, here are – 6 BEST SALAD DRESSING RECIPES

How To Build A Healthy Salad

• Don’t stop at one or two vegetables. Try to make it as colourful as possible with the best available seasonal greens and veggies.
• Avoid adding any fried or calorie-loaded toppings. That would just kill the purpose of a healthy salad.
• Pick your protein for the salad wisely. The meats laced with too much fat are a big no for any healthy salad. Roasted chicken, boiled beans, or pan-fried tofu make a delicious protein-packed salad.
• Keep the dressing light and simple. Too much cream, mayo, and cheese are not going to make the right dressing for a healthy salad.

Watch Chana Salad Video

More Salad Recipes

• Lentil Salad
• Sprout Salad
• Barley Salad
• Chickpea Salad
• Mixed Beans Salad
• Vegan Couscous Salad

Get all my Salad Recipes here and you can watch the videos on Instagram .

Ingredients

• ▢ 2 Cup brown chickpeas (kala chana)
• ▢ ½ Cup chopped onion
• ▢ ½ Cup chopped cucumber
• ▢ ½ Cup chopped tomato
• ▢ ½ Cup diced boiled potato
• ▢ ¼ Cup chopped coriander (cilantro)
• ▢ Juice of one lemon

Ingredients For Dressing

• ▢ ¼ Cup mint leaves
• ▢ ¼ Cup fresh coriander leaves
• ▢ ½ Cup greek yogurt/curd
• ▢ 2 clove garlic
• ▢ Salt to taste
• ▢ ½ teaspoon whole peppercorns or to taste
• ▢ ¼ Cup extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

Prep Work:

• Soak chickpeas (chana) overnight or for at least 4 – 5 hours. After soaking time, drain all the water from the chana.

• Boil chana in a pressure cooker with a dash of salt and approximately 1 ½ cups of water. Do not overcook the chana as it might turn mushy.

• Transfer the boiled chana to a colander. This step will drain the excess liquid and allow chana to cool down completely before adding to the salad.

• Combine all the dressing ingredients in a blender. Grind to a smooth consistency. Transfer to a jar and keep in the fridge till required.

• Chop all the vegetables, mix and keep in the fridge.

• Add the boiled chana to the chopped vegetables and mix nicely.

• Pour mint dressing over the salad and toss gently.

• Sprinkle fresh coriander leaves, squeeze lemon juice and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

• Serve healthy chana salad immediately.

Recipe Notes:

• To cook chana perfectly in a pressure cooker, 3 – 4 whistles over low heat are good enough. It approximately takes 15 minutes to become al-dente. Or you can cook chana in an instant pot as well.
• Do not add too much water while boiling the chana.
• To keep the salad crunchy avoid adding warm chana to the salad.
• If brown chana is not available, you can subsitute it with white chickpeas (safed chole/kabuli chana).
• Salad dressing can be prepared in advance and stored in the fridge for 3 – 4 days.
• From sweet corn, peppers, and cucumber, to avocado , they all taste great in this vegetarian salad.

Nutrition

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