To be honest, I was not very fond of Lemon Rice. That’s until I started making it myself. Esh’s all-time favourite food is Lemon Rice with a side of fried fish. I used to wonder how come anyone’s favourite food can be Lemon Rice. Why didn’t I like them before? Because I found them to have a hint of bitterness. Why was it bitter? The preparation method was just wrong. When I started making Lemon Rice, I realised that you are not supposed to add the juice of lemon while tempering the spices! My mom used to do that. Then I found that the way my Mompa makes it is better. He did not use groundnuts or ginger while tempering, and he used to mix turmeric and lemon juice together before adding it to the rice. I just refined it a bit. I like the crunchiness of the groundnut and the flavour that ginger brings out. You can skip if you want. I highly recommend it though.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups cooked Rice
- 2 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon Gingelly oil
- 3 tablespoons Groundnuts
- 1/2 teaspoon Mustard seeds
- 1 tablespoon Ginger, finely chopped
- 2 Green chillies, chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon Turmeric powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 1 sprig Curry leaves
- 1 1/2 – 2 tablespoons Lemon juice, freshly squeezed
Preparation:
Add a teaspoon of oil to the rice, fluff it up and set aside. Be sure to use rice that’s cooked soft and not mushy.
In a pan, heat two tablespoons of oil and fry the groundnuts. Add mustard seeds and let it crackle. Add ginger and green chillies and fry till ginger emanates its fragrance. Add turmeric and salt followed by curry leaves. Sauté and be wary not to burn the spices.
Stir the sautéed spices and lemon juice through the rice slowly. Let the rice set for about 5 minutes.
Serve with any stir fries and coconut thuvayal.
