Lemon Rice (Chitranna) is a popular South Indian rice preparation in which cooked rice is flavored with lemon juice and a few other simple ingredients. Try my easy recipe here.
Here are some more rice recipes you may like: Tahri, Ellu Sadam, Kerala Style Ghee Rice, Indian Black Pepper Rice, and Raw Mango Rice.
Jump to:
About South Indian Lemon Rice
Lemon Rice (Chitranna, Elumichai Sadam) is a traditional South Indian rice preparation in which cooked rice is flavored with lemon juice and tempered with peanuts, curry leaves, and other simple ingredients.
It is easy to make, needs basic pantry ingredients, and comes together in under 15 minutes.
Lemon rice is a great recipe to utilize the leftover rice.
Serve it with pickle and papad for a comforting meal, or pack it for office or school lunch boxes. You can also serve it as a side dish with festive South Indian meals.
This easy lemon rice recipe is vegan and can be easily made gluten-free.
Ingredients
You will get all the ingredients to make this recipe in any Indian grocery store.
Cooked Rice – Sona Masuri is the preferred choice for the South Indian lemon rice recipe. However, you can also use any white short-grain, nonsticky rice or basmati rice.
Cook the rice beforehand and cool it down completely before stir-frying it with the other ingredients. Day-old rice is perfect for this recipe.
You can replace plain white rice with cooked brown rice, quinoa, or couscous.
Check out this post to learn how to cook rice perfectly.
Oil – Traditionally, chitranna is made using sesame oil. You can also use ghee or any cooking oil as a substitute.
Lemon Juice is the star ingredient of this dish. It adds a nice, subtle, tangy taste with a refreshing flavor. You can also replace lemon juice with lime juice.
Peanuts & Cashews – Adds a nice crunch.
Curry Leaves – Adds a subtle flavor and aroma. Make sure to use fresh green curry leaves.
Green Chillies – You can adjust the quantity to suit your taste.
Others – You will also need brown mustard seeds, split and skinned black lentils (white urad dal), Bengal gram lentils (chana dal), dry red chilies, asafetida (hing), salt, and turmeric powder.
Skip adding asafetida to make it gluten-free.
How To Make Indian Lemon Rice
Heat 2 tablespoon sesame oil in a pan over medium heat.
Once the oil is hot, add the following ingredients and saute until the dals are lightly browned, stirring continuously.
- ½ teaspoon brown mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon white urad dal
- 1 teaspoon chana dal
Add the following ingredients and saute for 10-12 seconds.
- 2 green chilies (slit into half)
- 3-4 dry red chiles (stalks removed)
- 10-12 curry leaves
- ½ teaspoon asafetida
Add ¼ cup raw peanuts and 6-8 cashew nuts and saute for 40-60 seconds until the nuts are slightly browned, stirring continuously.
Now add ½ teaspoon turmeric powder and saute for 10-12 seconds.
Add the following ingredients and mix well.
- 2 cups of cooked and cooled rice
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice (or lime juice)
- 1 teaspoon salt
Reduce the heat to low.
Cook for 2-3 minutes.
Check for salt and lemon juice and add more if required. Serve hot.
Pro Tips By Neha
Do not overcook the rice. They should be perfectly cooked but not mushy.
The rice must be cooled well before using in the recipe.
Add the lemon juice to taste.
Frequently Asked Questions
Spread the hot cooked rice on a baking tray in a thin layer. Cover the tray with cling wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes or freeze for 15 minutes to cool the rice quickly.
You Might Also Like
Recipe Card
Easy South Indian Lemon Rice Recipe (Chitranna)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil (or any other cooking oil)
- ½ teaspoon brown mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon split and skinned black lentils (white urad dal)
- 1 teaspoon Bengal gram lentils (chana dal)
- 2 green chilies (slit into half)
- 3-4 dry red chilies (stalks removed)
- 10-12 curry leaves
- ½ teaspoon asafetida (hing) (skip for gluten-free)
- ¼ cup peanuts
- 6-8 cashew nuts
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 2 cups cooked and cooled white rice
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice (or lime juice)
- 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
Instructions
- Heat oil in a pan over medium heat.
- Once the oil is hot, add mustard seeds, urad dal, and chana dal, and saute until the dals are lightly browned, stirring continuously.
- Add green chilies, dry red chiles, curry leaves, and asafetida, and saute for 10-12 seconds.
- Add peanuts and cashew nuts and saute for 40-60 seconds until the nuts are slightly browned, stirring continuously.
- Now add turmeric powder and saute for 10-12 seconds.
- Add rice, lemon juice, and salt, and mix well.
- Reduce the heat to low.
- Cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Check for salt and lemon juice and add more if required. Serve hot.
Jill Short
Really yummy . I added a teaspoon of cumin seeds too.
shyamlen
nice recipe!!! I am going to make it today. I can’t wait!
Elina Sellgren
Hi! I am going to try this recipe tomorrow!
I have been wondering why Indian recipes, such as this one, sometimes use dal uncooked in small quantities? Is it for the texture or taste?
Another question: why is coriander powder and whole coriander seeds used both? As far as I understand, the powder is made of the seeds. Do they taste different in different form?
Neha Mathur
Hi Elina,
The uncooked dal is added for texture. I personally like them a lot. Some people also soak them before using them in tempering. If you do not like crispy dal coming into your mouth, you can soak them in water for 15 minutes. In some recipes, coriander seeds and powder both are used for different tastes and textures, although coriander powder is made from seeds themselves.
Speed, Testera
This really looks delicious. I wonder how it taste.
Neha Mathur
It tastes delicious. Do try it once.
Gayathri Sathyanarayanan
Tempting lemon rice.nice clicks.
Preetha Soumyan
No words to say about the clicks.. and the lemon rice looks fantastic