In this aromatic lemon rice from south India long grains of basmati rice are tempered with mustard seeds, lentils, chili peppers and nuts. Tangy lemon juice ties all these vibrant flavors together. A vegan, soy-free, gluten-free recipe, can be nut-free.
I'm going to show you how to make the best lemon rice you'll ever eat, and I'm going to show you how to do it in about 20 minutes.
Lemon rice is a south Indian staple, and a food I became familiar--and fell in love--with when I married a Tamilian. This was one of the rice dishes (along with tomato rice, coconut rice and turmeric rice) that my mom-in-law always packed for long road trips (usually to temples) every time we visited family in Madras or Chennai, as it's now called, because it's easily made, easily packed, and easily eaten with no need for fussing around with curries and dals.
But elumichai saadam, as lemon rice is known in Tamil, is not just travel-friendly food. It is extraordinarily delicious. And versatile. You can serve it with any saucy dish. I often make it to accompany north Indian dishes like chana masala or palak paneer, and it never fails to make any meal that much more special. But more on that later.
Table of Contents
Why you'll love this lemon rice
- It's lemony.
- It's aromatic with the basmati and spices.
- It's foolproof. Even a beginner cook can't go wrong.
- It comes together in about 20 minutes.
- It's super versatile, and works well either by itself or as a side.
- It makes a great brown bag lunch.
Ingredients
- Basmati rice: Basmati, with its long grains and heady aroma, is the best rice here. Wash it thoroughly before using to get as much of the starch off as possible so the grains are long and separate after you cook. Brown basmati works as well, but will need a longer cooking time.
- Vegetable oil: I use avocado oil for most of my Indian cooking, but peanut oil is a fine substitute or you can use coconut oil, which works very well in this recipe.
- Black mustard seeds: These are part of the tadka or tempering along with the following few ingredients, and they infuse flavor throughout the dish. Be sure to wait until the seeds have popped in the oil or they will taste bitter.
- Urad dal (split black gram dal): Lentils play the role of adding flavor and an extra crunch to south Indian rice recipes. They are also good for you and with the rice form a complete protein.
- Dry red chili peppers: Use the dry chili peppers you can buy at an Indian store or a spicy pepper like the Mexican arbol. Arbol can be spicy so deseed if sensitive to head and use less. You can also use red pepper flakes.
- Curry leaves (coarsely chopped): Curry leaves, indispensable in south Indian cuisine, add tremendous flavor to this dish, so please try and use them. At a pinch, if you absolutely can't, use chopped cilantro. I like chopping the curry leaves because they can be eaten more easily than if you were to leave the leaves whole.
- Fenugreek seeds (optional): Fenugreek seeds are extremely healthful and add a very faintly bitter undertone, which really helps build the layers of flavor in this dish. They are bitter so don't use too much, and make sure they don't burn in the pot.
- Cashew nut pieces: Cashew nuts add more healthful protein to this recipe but more importantly they taste marvelous here, their nutty crunch contrasting nicely with the lemony rice.
- Peanuts: Add them for the same reasons as the cashew nuts. You can also just use either cashew nuts or peanuts if you'd rather not use both.
- Turmeric: For health and all of the wonderful things it does to your body, and for that stunning color.
- Lemon juice. This is of course one of the stars of this recipe. You can add a lot or a little, let your tastebuds direct you on how tangy you want this rice to be. I use half a cup.
- Lemon zest: This is not an ingredient traditionally added to south Indian lemon rice, but I add it because it adds more amazing lemony flavor. If using the lemon zest always be sure to use an organic lemon.
- Salt to taste
- Cilantro, for garnish, and for a hit of lemony freshness at the end.
How to make lemon rice
- Try and use a fragrant rice, like basmati, although any rice will do. Basmati rice not only tastes great, but if properly cooked, its grains do not clump together, making it easier for the spices and lemon to disperse evenly and also making for a better presentation.
- Cook your rice first and separately until it's just done. I do this in the microwave, but you can do it any way you like, in the Instant Pot, in a pressure cooker, or on a stove. Your rice should be fully cooked, unlike when we do a biryani where the rice is left partly uncooked. That's because you won't do any more cooking once you mix the rice with the tempered spices.
- For the tempering, you'll need mustard seeds, curry leaves, dry red chili peppers, turmeric, urad dal (black gram dal--always use the split dal for seasoning, not whole), fenugreek seeds (you can leave these out, but they add a really nice sweet-bitterness that enhances the taste of this rice), and nuts like peanuts and raw cashews. You can just go with one kind of nut or the other. If you want to make this nut-free, just leave the nuts out.
- I chop curry leaves when I add them to rice dishes, because although curry leaves are edible, some people are put off by the large leaves and don't know what to do with them. Chopping the leaves also makes them crisp up nicely.
- I like using lots of lemon juice in my lemon rice--about a third to a half cup of lemon juice for 2 cups of uncooked rice. Obviously this is a matter of taste, so you can start out with less and add more depending on how lemony you want your rice to be.
- Speaking of lemony, while my lemon rice is quite traditional, I have made one modern tweak that I really like--I add to it some lemon zest. The aromatic oils in the zest make it even more fragrant, and I strongly recommend it. Don't overdo it--the zest of one small or medium lemon is more than enough. Also try and use an organic lemon if you plan on using the zest.
- Once you've got your rice cooked, your spices and nuts tempered, and your juice squeezed, all you need to do is mix it all together and season it. Garnish it, if you want, with some cilantro and you're all set.
- One note I'd like to add here is to not add any warm Indian spices--garam masala spices--to your lemon rice. The flavors of cardamom, cloves and cinnamon, as wonderful as they are in so many Indian recipes, will overwhelm the delicate flavor of your lemon rice and they are not welcome here.
Serving ideas
- The best thing about lemon rice is you can serve it just by itself, with maybe some carrot pickle and a poppadum on the side. That's also what makes it so travel-friendly.
- You can also serve it with a south Indian onion sambar or pumpkin sambar.
- Or serve it with north Indian dishes like Chana Masala or Tofu Palak Paneer or this spicy Urad Dal.
More rice recipes
- Perfectly Cooked Basmati Rice
- Lemon Garlic Rice
- Indian Style Fried Rice
- Vegan "Chicken" Biryani
- Chickpea Rice
- Carrot Rice
Lemon Rice
In this aromatic lemon rice long grains of basmati rice are tempered with mustard seeds, lentils, chili peppers and nuts. Tangy lemon juice ties all these vibrant flavors together.
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Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 214kcal
Ingredients
- 2 cups basmati rice (uncooked. Rinse the rice thoroughly under running water, then cook until just done)
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
- 1 tablespoon urad dal (split black gram dal)
- 2 dry red chili peppers (broken into 1-inch pieces. Or use red pepper flakes)
- 2 sprigs curry leaves (coarsely chopped)
- ½ teaspoon fenugreek seeds (optional. These are bitter so don't use too much)
- 4 tablespoon cashew nut pieces
- 4 tablespoon peanuts
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- ½ cup lemon juice (from about 4-5 large lemons. Start out by adding about half of this to the rice and add more depending on how lemony you want the rice to be)
- Zest of 1 lemon (optional)
- Salt to taste
- 2 tablespoon cilantro (finely chopped)
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a pot large enough to hold the cooked rice. Add the mustard seeds.
- When the mustard seeds sputter, add the curry leaves followed by the urad dal, dry red chili peppers and curry leaves.
- As soon as the dal is lightly blonde, lower the heat and add the fenugreek seeds and the nuts. Saute until the nuts just start to turn color. Keep an eye on the fenugreek and don't let it brown because it can char and turn intensely bitter.
- As soon as the nuts are lightly golden, add the turmeric and salt and stir. To the pot add the rice and the lemon juice.
- Turn off the heat and mix gently, taking care not to mash the rice. Add salt as needed.
- Garnish with cilantro and serve hot or at room temperature.
Nutrition
Calories: 214kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Potassium: 106mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 19IU | Vitamin C: 16mg | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Please leave a comment and recipe rating below!
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Jamini
Hi. It would be really helpful if you could add the weight of the ingredients. Since I tend to cook for only one person. Really love your recipes. Keep it up.❤️
Vaishali
Hi Jamini, added!
Merri
Hi - I'm making the lemon rice tonight. In the overall photo for the lemon rice, there appears to be a simple green bean dish as well.
Can you please share that recipe? THANKS!
Vaishali
Hi Merri, so happy you asked about the green beans. 🙂 It's my favorite quickie vegetable side for curries and Indian rice dishes. It's really simple--use a pound of chopped green beans, frozen work perfectly. Heat a teaspoon of oil, add a teaspoon of mustard seeds and asafetida, if you have it. When it sputters, add a couple of broken dry red chili peppers to season the oil and, optionally, 1/4th tsp of turmeric. Add the beans and salt to taste and stir fry them until they are tender but still al dente. You can make them as tender as you like--if you want them softer, place a lid on the wok, turn the heat to the lowest point, and let them cook until they reached the desired doneness for you, stirring frequently to make sure they don't stick. Check if you need more salt and sprinkle on some shredded coconut and turn off heat. Hope you try it!
Merri
That sounds amazing! Thanks for sharing!
Kc
So when you say urad dal do you mean whole urad or split the recipe should Specify
Vaishali
Hi, urad dal--or any dal--refers to a split lentil. Whole urad is called saboot urad. Just a handy tip on Indian cooking. 🙂 One more thing to keep in mind is tha you never use the whole lentil when you use it for seasoning--it simply won't cook as fast.
I've clarified it's the split kind in the recipe for those who don't know.
Mary
Hi! Looking forward to trying this. I can access fenugreek and regular mustard seeds if that’s okay (love the aroma when toasted!) but would need to use red pepper flakes – how much? and curry powder for curry leaves..? Is that a good idea? If so, how much? ...
Also, the dal... don’t know if I can find them. I live on an island. Any suggestions for a substitute, if I can’t?
Thx,
Mary
Vaishali
Hi Mary, skip the dal, use a few more nuts instead. You can use between a fourth to 1 tsp of red pepper flakes based on your tolerance for heat. And don’t sub curry powder for leaves; they are completely different. Use a couple of tablespoons of cilantro instead.
KK
This sounds so yummy.
Someone gave me something called "hing" and told me it's good for lemon rice. I've been wanting to try lemon rice since. I don't see it in your recipe though. Is there any truth to what he says or is he just imagining things?
Vaishali
Hi KK, you can add hing—asafetida—to many Indian dals and it’s great in lemon rice. Add a generous pinch when you sputter the mustard seeds.
KK
Update:
I've made this recipe so many times since my first post using the hing powder as you suggested. Wow! This is such an amazing flavored dish. It's one of our regular go-to's now as a side. Yummy!!!
shobana
It the same we do but with a little twist just like what u have mentioned here
1/4 tsp of mustardd seeds and 1/4 tsp of fenugreek seeds dry roasted and powdered
we just drizzle that 1/2 tsp when the rice is completely mixed to enhance the flavor and it will be out of the world lemon rice .
Vaishali
I must try it your way sometime!
Donna
This looks delicious! I will try it tonight. And, I have a question... Do you know where might one might be able to buy the iron pot you use for the rice? It looks like it would be the perfect kitchen utensil. Thank you for all of your wonderful recipes!
Vaishali
Hi Donna, are you referring to the wok in the photo? That's actually a steel wok I got from a relative who was returning to India --she had used it for lots of deep frying and it had turned dark with the grease on the inside, which makes for a good photo, so that's mainly what I use it for. 🙂 It's quite small, so I don't actually cook rice in it. Larger Indian woks, called kadhais, are usually easily available online or at Indian grocery stores and they're great to saute veggies in. I usually cook rice in the microwave or a pressure cooker and then mix it with the spices in a large saute pan or pot.
Donna
Thank you for the info. I'll look for a kadhai. Your site is really wonderful and all the recipies I have tried from it are DELICIOUS!
Vaishali
Thank you! 🙂
Kate Myers
I love use Indian recipes. However the spices are expensive and hard to find. I don’t have enough money to buy spices for a recipe I might use once a month.
Is there anyway that you might tweak these recipes to have more familiar grocery store spaces?
I love all of the lemon recipes!
Vaishali
Hi Kate, you can leave out the mustard seeds and the fenugreek in this recipe, and saute some cilantro instead of the curry leaves. Red pepper flakes from the supermarket are a fine substitute for the dry red chili peppers. The main flavor here is the lemon, and so long as you put it together with some nuts and the cilantro and red pepper flakes you will have a yummy dish.
Hope that helps! 🙂
PamelaB
If you have a local food coop you should be able to buy the spices in the quantities you need. I love being able to buy & try unfamiliar spices in small quantities.
Tho during the pandemic the way bulk departments work have been adjusted for safety. So maybe for future use.
marita
My first lemon rice ever! Love it. So tasty. We had it as a main alongside a salad.
Vaishali
Marita, so happy to hear!