Lemon Rice Chitranna Recipe How To Make Lemon Rice

Jump to:About the recipe IngredientsHow to make Best and Easy Lemon rice or Chitranna?Expert TipsVariationsInstant Pot Lemon RiceVideo recipeRecipe cardUser Reviews

About the recipe

Lemon rice, also known as chitranna , nimmakaya pulihora, chitrannam, elumichai sadam is a popular rice recipe from South India where the tempering made using herbs, spices, and nuts along with lemon juice is tossed to the steam rice, making it spicy, tangy, and aromatic with a nutty flavor and highly addictive. This tempering is called oggarane or gojju in Kannada. You really don’t need any spoon or cup measurements. You can vary all the ingredients as per your taste. Yes, I just love preparing rice items mainly because of the flexibility it gives to prepare as per one’s preference unlike any other dish. If you are a bachelor or beginner, this is one of the best recipes you can try. Overall the crunchiness of lentils (chana dal and urad dal), cashew nuts, and peanuts, the spiciness of green and red chilies, and flavor of asafoetida, ginger, and lemon make this rice simply irresistible. Any variety of rice can be used to prepare this dish. We generally prepare this whenever we have left over rice at home. This dish can be prepared for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Since it travels well, it is also good for lunch box or picnic. Chitranna can be served alone, but also tastes great with roasted potatoes or any namkeens 🙂 Stovetop at home and firewood in temples is the most preferred way to make chitranna. But I have also tried making one pot lemon rice in Instant pot. The taste diifers from the traditional method but if you are looking for one pot meal, then do it in your instant pot.

Navratri No Onion No Garlic Rice Series

I hope you guys are enjoying the rice series as much as I am. This is my 6th rice dish for Navratri. If you have not yet checked the first four rice recipes click on these links: (all satvik, no onion, no garlic rice recipes)

Rice Kesari bath,Curd Rice, MosarannaPuliyogare, Coconut Rice, Jaggery Rice, Gudanna

Three more recipes and my rice series will come to an end 🙂 WOW! I cannot believe I was able to achieve this one. Thanks to my lil one and hubby, who are supporting me in every way to make this series a successful one, and also a special thanks to my readers who are loving this series 🙂 If you ask me which is my favorite rice recipe from all the cuisines, My answer would definitely be Lemon Rice. There are variations to this rice dish. But temple-style chitranna (lemon rice) is by far my favorite, and today I am going to share the recipe for temple style chitranna. This is very popular in Mangalore, Udupi, Karkala region of Karnataka. Some other variations are adding onions, pepper, raw mango(mavinkayi chitranna), or coconut.

Ingredients

1 cup Rice2 tablespoon Coconut Oil / Canola Oil / Vegetable Oil1 teaspoon Mustard Seeds1 teaspoon Urad dal1 tablespoon Chana Dal½ teaspoon Turmeric powderA pinch Asafoetida / Hing¼ cup Peanuts10 to 15 Cashews1 Dry red chili broken1 Green chile chopped1 tablespoon Ginger chopped10 Curry leaves or approx 1 sprig¼ cup Coriander leaves / Cilantro chopped2 tablespoon Lemon juice adjust as per tasteSalt to taste

How to make Best and Easy Lemon rice or Chitranna?

To make this dish perfect, you will have to be generous with the tempering (especially peanuts and curry leaves) and cilantro (coriander leaves). You can replace peanuts with cashew nuts or use a combination of both. Any oil of your preference can be used in making this dish, but I would say use good coconut oil for a classic traditional taste and saute the turmeric powder in oil for a few seconds. Add lemon juice only at the end when mixing the rice with tempering. Else your rice may taste bitter. If you follow these simple steps, then your dish is going to be a super hit 🙂 Detailed steps in the recipe card.

Expert Tips

Rice - Make sure the rice is non-sticky, not mushy. If you have overcooked the rice by mistake, then allow it to cool completely and break the lumps, and then add it to the tempering. If you have leftover day-old rice, use 3 to 4 cups for the recipe. Any rice that you use for your everyday meal, i.e., basmati, jasmine rice, long grain rice, anything can be used to make this lemon rice. Herbs, Spices - I generally add all the spices available in my pantry. This is only going to make your rice more flavorful. But you can skip ginger, red chilies, urad dal, and chana dal if it is not available. Asafoetida or Hing can be skipped if you want a gluten-free version.

Variations

Looking for more lemon or lime rice variations? Then check these out

Mavinkayi ChitrannaChipotle Lime RiceLemon Pepper Rice

Eerulli Chitranna - In Karnataka, even onion is sauteed with tempering and added. This gives the rice a unique taste.

Serving Suggestions

Lemon rice tastes good on its own. But it can also be served with namkeens like papad, sandige, yogurt salad, pickle, and chutneys. This is a very good recipe for your lunchbox or tiffin box, as it tastes great even at room temperature.

Make ahead & Storing.

Lemon rice tastes good the day it is made. In case you have any leftovers, store them in the refrigerator for a day but not more. Reheat in the microwave for 15 seconds, or sprinkle some water and heat on the stovetop for 5 to 10 minutes. If you add onions to the rice, I would not recommend storing it. Finish it the same day.

Instant Pot Lemon Rice

Lemon rice or chitranna can also be made in your instant pot. I have added details to the recipe card. First, make the tempering using the herbs and spices given in the ingredient list and then add the raw rice and cook together. The taste is good but not the same as the traditional one. If you are looking for a quick one-pot dish, then you can try it this way.

Video recipe

You can also check here the making of lemon rice or chitranna at home Follow me on Instagram and tag me with #cookwithkushi so that I get a chance to see all the recipes you make and give them a ♥.