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:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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  8. comfort food,looks delicious :)

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

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

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

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  12. 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..

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  13. This recipe is such a quick but really delicious!

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

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  15. the picture is so tempting..looks delicious..

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  16. 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 .

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

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  18. 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!

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  19. really good .....lovely pic :)

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

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  21. Our all time favorite...looks yumm.

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

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  23. Lemon rice, my all time fav..gorgeous!

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

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  25. 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.

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

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  27. 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!

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

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  29. 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!

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  30. Lemon rice looks really awesome & delicious..

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

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  32. Bookmarking this! Sounds so delicious....

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  33. 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?

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  34. Thanks for the tangy lemon rice HC :)

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  35. 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!

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  36. this looks so good!:-) simple and yummy

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  37. 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!

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

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

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

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

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  41. Sra i was just kidding aobut the comment :-)

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

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

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

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  45. 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 :-)

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  46. 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

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

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  48. 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...) :) :)

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  49. this is my all time favourite, looks yumm!

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

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

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

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  53. Hm, feeling hungry... :)

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

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  55. I could eat that twice a day!!

    That looks so amazing. Thanks for posting the recipe!

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

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

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

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

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

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  61. I love lemon rice and your appetizing presentation too :)

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

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

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

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  65. 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

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

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

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

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  69. 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.

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