Monday 18 May 2009

Chitrannam (Lemon Rice)


Back at home we had rice twice a day, for lunch and then for dinner too. So you can imagine the shock I had when I came here and saw here, everybody ate bread twice a day than warm lunch and dinner oh and the breakfast too was a hot meal back at home.
Ofcourse I adjusted to the habbit here of having bread in the morning and evening here.
Hi hi no work here just slice the bread and that is it for breakfast and evening.

When my sis visited me last year she was saying I have no cooking here..............
I am sure Chitranam is not new to you all as you all have made this, but for me it is the first time I make them.
And it was super spicy, lemony delicious.

Recipe is from Indira's blog Mahanadi , it is the first blog I came across few years back. and I am so glad I discovered the blog world.
You want to have the real authentic recipe chekc her place.Mahanadi blog .

Rice:4 cups of basmati rice cooked.
2 to 3 juicy limes - cut and juice to a cup
6 to 8 green chillies, Indian or Thai variety - slit vertically ( or acccording to your taste)
¼ cup - Chana dal pre-soaked in water at least half an hour before.
2 tablespoons - urad dal
1 teaspoon each - salt and turmeric
2 tablespoons oil.
1/2 tsp each - mustard seeds, cumin, and red dry chilli pieces.
12- 15 fresh curry leaves.
1/4 cup peanuts
1/4 cup cashew nuts.

Method:
In a skillet, heat one tablespoon of oil.
First add peanuts, fry them until they turn light brown. Remove. Add and fry cashews next. Remove from the pan to a plate, keep them aside.

Now in the same skillet, add another tablespoon of oil.
Add and fry the curry leaves first. Then cumin and mustard seeds. When seeds start to splutter, add the split green chillies, channa dal and urad dal.
Saute them till golden and crisp. In the end, sprinkle half teaspoon turmeric for that golden yellow color.
Mix and then saute for another one to two minutes.


Now add the toasted peanuts and cashews to the cooked rice.
Stir in salt and sprinkle the limejuice. Combine thoroughly and delicately.
Have a taste, it should zing or shock your taste buds like sucking on a fresh lime wedge. If not, add some more limejuice and salt. Mix again. And keep in mind that rice absorbs the limejuice, and the tanginess you feel during the preparation reduces in intensity after sometime.

Sending this to Nags for her , which is a event started by Meeta of What' s for Lunch Hooney.
Sending this also to Easy Crafts

72 comments:

prathibha said...

Lemon rice looks really good..:)
This is mostly done during festivals at our place....n we do it with regular rice..

jayasree said...

What a lovely color... Looks yummy. Lemon rice is one of the easiest yet tasty variety rice. Good to know u enjoyed it.

Parita said...

i love lemon rice..its super tasty and easy to make..nice click :)

Lena Jayadev said...

wowww..its looking great...nice snap.. :)

sra said...

I did a double-take, almost, when I saw Chitrannam in your blog! It looks beautiful.

Anonymous said...

What a lovely rice dish! I love citrus flavor here and the peanuts and cashews!

Chitra said...

chitrannam is bit different from ours..looks delish:)

Saritha said...

comfort food,looks delicious :)

Vani said...

I love lemon rice too. Like your addition of fried cashews!

Lakshmi said...

Chitranna(in Kannada) is a comfort food! It looks yumm in the pic HC.

Laavanya said...

I love tangy lemon rice with spicy potato fry... :) Looks great!

Deepthi Shankar said...

I love this .. comfort food

Vrinda said...

Lemon rice looks so yummy.I know lemon rice but the name Chitranam is new to me..Is it tamil name of lemon rice?Awesome click..

Soma said...

This recipe is such a quick but really delicious!

notyet100 said...

lemony lemon rice looks yum,..prepared yesterday,.:-)

Unknown said...

the picture is so tempting..looks delicious..

Finla said...

Prathiba, now festivals going on, i just wanted to try them out :--)

Jaysree i totally agree, now that i made them, they will be more often here.

Parita thankyou.

Lean thankyou

Sra hi hi what do you mean by that , i don't make traditional food ;-)

5 star foodir try them youwill fall in love with them as i did

Chitra i woudn't know as this is my first time in making them.

Varunavi and vani thankyou.

Lg thankyoufor the info.

Laavanya me too love them.

Desha thankyou

Vrinda i would have no clue, i just wrote that name as in Indiras place it was written like that, and the recip is from her place.

Soma i was surprised how easy they were to make.

notyet100 hi hi you too ;-)

Sowmya thankyou .

Ashwini said...

Ya, we used to eat chitranna for breakfast back in India. Looking at the photo I am tempted and hungry for it now.:-)

Thistlemoon said...

Looks just beautiful!

Unknown said...

That sounds simple. And yeah I do agree with the fact that we hardly cook here compared to wat is cooked in India. You can live on bread for days!

Mangala Bhat said...

really good .....lovely pic :)

Lisa Turner said...

I adore lemon rice with cashews. It's one of my favorite ways to dress of basmati.

Poornima Nair said...

Our all time favorite...looks yumm.

Irene said...

This looks delicious! I love rice that has nuts in it!

Priya Suresh said...

Lemon rice, my all time fav..gorgeous!

Ramya Vijaykumar said...

Wow HC, the lemon rice looks very yummy... only one scoop oh no I want more!!!

sra said...

You know, Happy, I thought I should explain it right there, but I was, let's say, busy ;-) I know you make traditional stuff, but it's usually curry, from what I've seen, and amidst the cakes and desserts and curries that I see on your blog, this stood out.

indosungod said...

Lemon rice with peanuts is the best. I am not that fond of it but make it often because it is very easy.

pigpigscorner said...

I was not used to it when I first came to the UK as I love my rice. I went home and got myself a rice cooker!

Uma said...

Lemon Rice is always a hit. looks so delicious and tempting :)

Cham said...

The lemon rice I make whenever I have plenty of white rice leftover! U don't make often, Poor HC come and stay with me, I gonna feed only rice :) Good one!

Unknown said...

Lemon rice looks really awesome & delicious..

Anonymous said...

looks very very gooood! it must be so cooling and refreshing, yet nicely spiced at the same time!

Dewi said...

Bookmarking this! Sounds so delicious....

bee said...

to all those idiots in india (i have those in my family) who say 'bread' means no cooking, have they ever tried baking a loaf of bread?

amna said...

Thanks for the tangy lemon rice HC :)

Unknown said...

I learned about this type of rice a few days ago. Love the recipe! I can just taste it now. Would love to direct Foodista readers to your blog. Just add your choice of widget and you're all set!

Shreya said...

this looks so good!:-) simple and yummy

Sig said...

LOL, yeah I remember the time when we used to eat rice twice a day, and I still somehow managed to stay thin :) This looks great!

Sara said...

What a colorful looking rice dish! I bet it tastes amazing too.

Bombay-Bruxelles said...

Your lemon rice looks great! Perfect lunch for a warm day.

PS: This Thursday, if weather permits, we'll be in Ostende.

Peter M said...

This rice sounds fabulous...the aromas have to be very seductive!

Finla said...

Sra i was just kidding aobut the comment :-)

Sharmila said...

Love the look of that lemon rice ... my fav. :-)
You have such a lovely blog ... am still going through your other recipes. :-)

Bong Mom said...

I love lemon rice, looks like I can make it now :)

Yasmeen said...

I love the lemony flavor of Chitrannam,with lemons in season I'm making it often these days:)

Finla said...

Ashwini back athome mom never made this, it is the first time i make them here too.

Jen thankyou

Divya hi hii totallt agree.

Mangla and Lisa thankyou.

Ramya you may have more thanone scoop from me :-)

Cham yeah poor me, i don't make rice eveyrday, i am comming over to yourplace so you can feed me with variety of rce dishes thati enoy.

Bee yeah they all think i have no work in kitchen :-)

EC said...

No cooking..that would quite different life then..wont u get bored of bread all the time ?? The lemon rice looks yummy and perfect..thanks for participating

suvi said...

i love this....yummy! Most of the times I make this when I have leftover rice.

Gattina Cheung said...

love the look of your lemon rice!
people here eat rice, but usually only twice a week, they say if they eat it "often" they feel too full (mmm...) :) :)

ARUNA said...

this is my all time favourite, looks yumm!

AnuSriram said...

Lemon rice looks too good.... Nice colour!
Thanks for your suggestions about breads.. will try it soon and let u know!

Premyscakes said...

looks so inviting!!!!!

Indian Khana said...

Lemon rice..umm...love it any time...and you made it looks so gud...

Chef Jeena said...

The pale yellow colour really matches the name and looks so appetizing - really delicious flavours.

Seena said...

Hm, feeling hungry... :)

TBC said...

The rice looks fantastic!
I am/was a big rice eater too. I've been trying to change my eating habits of late though.

Jenn@slim-shoppin said...

I could eat that twice a day!!

That looks so amazing. Thanks for posting the recipe!

Raks said...

Looks gorgeous!! Yummy,I always love this:))

Priyanka said...

i have yet to make lemon rice at home....looks pretty delicious....your breads looks perfectly baked and soft- very inviting.

Rina said...

Lemon rice is all time favorite Happy..Just with the mild right color and taste..My kids love it too...

Recipeswap said...

I too miss eating rice twice a day,Chitranna looks lovely.

Angie's Recipes said...

Never had lemon rice before...I bet it's very appetizing.

gtyuk said...

I love lemon rice and your appetizing presentation too :)

Sunshinemom said...

I love the tang in lemon rice and it does look so bright and tasty!!

Bunny said...

I've never seen this before, it looks so good! I would really enjoy the nice lemon flavor!

Pooja said...

Simple and comfort food..Love to have it any time..Yummy HC..

Jaya M said...

Happy
I have tried this recipe by Indira and i liked it very much ..my husband like lemon rice even more..

listened to your daughter's and hubby's Violin pieces ....loved it:),both are excellent ..,it is still ringing in my ear...
hugs and smiles

Rico said...

I simply love rices like that, perfectly done and a perfect accompaniment for any meal :) xx Rico-Recipes

Cakelaw said...

Yum! This looks delicious and appeals to the citrus lover in me.

Usha said...

Lemon rice is one of my faves and yours looks just beautiful, loved the crisp cashews in them too!

Aparna Balasubramanian said...

I enjoy both rice and bread (not the store bought machine made variety), though I think I might find all rice or all bread a bit boring. :)

Spiced rice is always nice, and yours looks nice.