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    Whisk Affair » Recipes » Rice » South Indian Lemon Rice (Chitranna)

    Published: Jan 17, 2023 | Last Updated On: Sep 23, 2023 by Neha Mathur | This post may contain affiliate links. I earn from qualifying purchases.

    South Indian Lemon Rice (Chitranna)

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    Lemon Rice (Chitranna) is a popular South Indian rice preparation where cooked rice is flavored with lemon juice and a few more simple ingredients. Try my easy recipe here (vegan, can be easily made gluten-free).

    South Indian lemon rice served in a bowl.
    Jump to:
    • About Lemon Rice
    • Ingredients
    • How To Make Lemon Rice
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Serving Suggestions
    • Storage Suggestions
    • You Might Also Like
    • Recipe Card

    About Lemon Rice

    Lemon Rice (Chitranna) is a traditional South Indian rice preparation where cooked rice is flavored with lemon juice and tempered with peanuts, curry leaves, and a few more simple ingredients.

    It is very 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 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. You can easily double or triple it too.

    Here are some more rice recipes that you may like

    • Tahri
    • Ellu Sadam
    • Kerala Style Ghee Rice
    • Indian Black Pepper Rice
    • Raw Mango Rice
    • Palak Rice
    • Turmeric Rice
    • Veg Green Pulao
    • Dalia Khichdi
    • Masala Rice

    Ingredients

    Lemon rice ingredients 1
    Lemon rice ingredients 2

    Rice – Sona Masuri is the preferred choice to make South Indian lemon rice recipe. Having said that, you can use any white short-grain nonsticky rice or basmati rice as well.

    Cook the rice beforehand and make sure to cool it down completely before stir-frying it with other ingredients. Day-old rice is perfect for making this recipe.

    You can replace plain white rice with cooked brown rice, quinoa, or couscous.

    Oil – Traditionally, chitranna is made using sesame oil. You can also use ghee or any vegetable oil as a substitute.

    Lemon Juice – This is the star ingredient of this dish. It adds a nice subtle tangy taste with a refreshing flavor. You can replace lemon juice with lime juice too.

    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 asafoetida to make it gluten-free.

    How To Make Lemon Rice

    Heat 2 tablespoon sesame oil in a pan over medium heat.

    Oil heating in a pan.

    Once the oil is hot, add

    • ½ teaspoon brown mustard seeds
    • 1 teaspoon white urad dal
    • 1 teaspoon chana dal

    and saute until the dals are lightly browned, stirring continuously.

    Mustard seeds, urad dal and chana dal added to hot oil.

    Add

    • 2 green chilies (slit into half)
    • 3-4 dry red chiles (stalks removed)
    • 10-12 curry leaves
    • ½ teaspoon asafetida

    and saute for 10-12 seconds.

    Green chilies, red chilies, curry leaves and hing added to the pan.

    Add

    ¼ cup raw peanuts and 6-8 cashew nuts and saute for 40-60 seconds until the nuts are slightly browned, stirring continuously.

    Cashew nuts and peanuts added to the pan.

    Now add ½ teaspoon turmeric powder and saute for 10-12 seconds.

    Turmeric powder added to the pan.

    Add 2 cups of cooked and cooled rice, 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice (or lime juice), and 1 teaspoon salt, and mix well. 

    Cooked rice, lemon juice and salt added to the pan.

    Reduce the heat to low.

    Cook for 2-3 minutes.

    Check for salt and add more if required. Serve hot.

    Ready lemon rice.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    How to quickly cool down the cooked rice?

    Spread the hot cooked rice on a baking tray in a thin layer. Now cover the tray with cling wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes or freeze for 15 minutes to cool down the rice quickly.

    Serving Suggestions

    Lemon rice is best served with pickle and papad on the side.

    You can also serve a raita of your choice along with it.

    It is a great dish to pack for school or office lunch boxes.

    Chitranna is also served as a side dish with South Indian festive meals. You can serve Sambar, Rasam, and a Poriyal along with it to make a complete meal.

    Storage Suggestions

    Leftover lemon rice will easily last for 3-4 days when stored in an airtight container, in the refrigerator.

    Reheat in a pan or microwave until nice and hot, before serving.

    Splash some water before heating if the rice looks dry.

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    Recipe Card

    Loved this recipe?Click here to leave a review and give us a five star rating ★★★★★
    Lemon Rice (Chitranna) is a popular South Indian rice preparation where cooked rice is flavored with lemon juice and a few more simple ingredients. Try my easy recipe here (vegan, can be easily made gluten-free).

    Easy South Indian Lemon Rice Recipe (Chitranna)

    Lemon Rice (Chitranna) is a popular South Indian rice preparation where cooked rice is flavored with lemon juice and a few more simple ingredients. Try my easy recipe here.
    5 from 3 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Main Course
    Cuisine: Indian
    Diet: Vegan, Vegetarian
    Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 15 minutes minutes
    Servings: 2 people
    Calories: 504kcal
    Author: Neha Mathur

    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 rice
    • 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice (or lime juice)
    • 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
    US Customary or Metric
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    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 add more if required. Serve hot.

    Video

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFSjfBxXzQQ

    Notes

    You can easily double or triple the recipe.
    Sona Masuri is the preferred rice choice to make lemon rice. Having said that, you can use any white short-grain nonsticky rice or basmati rice as well.
    Cook the rice beforehand and make sure to cool it down completely before stir-frying it with other ingredients. Day-old rice is perfect to make this recipe.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 504kcal | Carbohydrates: 60g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 10g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Sodium: 1358mg | Potassium: 439mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 841IU | Vitamin C: 206mg | Calcium: 71mg | Iron: 2mg
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      Indo Chinese Schezwan Egg Fried Rice
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      Vegetable Masala Rice
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

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      Recipe Rating





    1. Preetha Soumyan

      June 03, 2014 at 5:46 pm

      No words to say about the clicks.. and the lemon rice looks fantastic

      Reply
    2. Gayathri Sathyanarayanan

      June 04, 2014 at 2:34 am

      Tempting lemon rice.nice clicks.

      Reply
    3. Speed, Testera

      January 12, 2018 at 12:44 pm

      This really looks delicious. I wonder how it taste.

      Reply
      • Neha Mathur

        January 12, 2018 at 3:06 pm

        It tastes delicious. Do try it once.

        Reply
    4. Elina Sellgren

      July 05, 2021 at 6:15 pm

      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?

      Reply
      • Neha Mathur

        July 06, 2021 at 9:55 am

        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.

        Reply
    5. shyamlen

      April 04, 2023 at 7:18 pm

      5 stars
      nice recipe!!! I am going to make it today. I can’t wait!

      Reply
    6. Jill Short

      July 31, 2023 at 5:09 pm

      5 stars
      Really yummy . I added a teaspoon of cumin seeds too.

      Reply

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