Lemon Rice and Curd Rice

Instead of serving plain rice for meals every day in a south Indian family, we can make some deviation and enjoy a different serving. One such variation is to serve varieties of rice like Tamarind Rice, Lemon Rice, Curd Rice etc. And if we serve with a yummy combination of roasted Potato with it, the meal would become highly enjoyable. And we are bringing here the method of making two such rice varieties – Lemon Rice and Dahi Rice – with a yummy Potato Roast. Let us see how we make them.  Please note that they can be enjoyed as a standalone dishes also.

And so let us start with Lemon Rice first:

Lemon Rice is a very popular rice preparation and is made very often in South Indian Homes. It takes less than ten minutes to make this rice if you have cooked rice with you already. It is a very aromatic rice with the crunchiness of peanuts, tanginess of lemon and flavor of green Chillies and curry leaves.  One can pack it in tiffin boxes also.

Ingredients:

Cooked Basmati or Long grained rice – 3 cups (cooled to room temp)

Gingili Oil – 2 tbsp

Mustard Seed – 1 tsp

Urad Dal – 1 tsp

Channa Dal – 1 tsp

Raw Peanuts – 3 tbsp

Dried Red Chilli – 2 (broken)

Green Chillies – 2 to 3 (slitted)

Ginger – 1 “ long (grated)

Curry Leaves – from 2 sprigs

Asafoetida – 1/8 tsp

Turmeric Powder – 1/3 tsp

Lemon Juice – 2 tbsp

Salt – to suit taste

Finely chopped Cilantro – 2 tbsp

Method:

Heat the Oil in a broad pan. Add the Mustard Seeds. When they crackle, add the Urad Dal, Channa Dal, Raw Peanuts and the broken dried Red Chillies. Roast them in low flame till the lentils turn golden brown and crunchy. Add the Ginger and Green Chillies. (You can adjust quantity to suit your preference). Add the Curry Leaves. Stir till the Green Chillies change color. Add the Asafoetida and Turmeric Powder. Stir them for 30 seconds. Switch off the flame. Stir them well for few seconds and keep it under a fan for 8 to 10 minutes for cooling. Add the Lemon Juice and Salt.   Add the cooked Rice and mix gently till everything combine well with the rice.  Taste and adjust Salt and Lemon Juice to suit taste. Add Cilantro and mix.

The delicious Lemon Rice is ready.

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Now, let us see how to make the tasty Curd Rice.

Curd rice is a popular South Indian dish which is served as a part of the five course meal. People mix Curd with plain steamed rice and eat it with a pickle as a side dish. But , there are other variety of Dahi Rice which is made by mixing Rice with Curd and certain seasoning and it is what is called as Dahi Rice in general. At times, Pomegranate pearls or small cut pieces of Cucumber (Vellarikkai) are added to further enhance the taste.  We will see the method of making the Curd Rice here.

Curd Rice/Thayir Sadam

Ingredients :

Cooked Rice (cooked soft) – 3 cups

Yogurt (Curd) – 1 cup

Milk – ½ cup (Adjust the quantity depending on the sourness of curd)

Oil – `1 tbsp

Mustard Seeds – 3/4 tsp

Urad Dal – 1 tsp

Channa Dal – 1 tsp

Dried Red Chilli – 1 (broken)

Green Chillies – 2 (slitted)

Ginger – 1 inch long (grated)

Currry Leaves – from 1 twig

Asafoetida – one pinch

Salt – to suit taste

Method:

Take the cooked Rice in a mixing bowl. Mash it lightly when it is still hot. Then, allow it to cool.

Add required Salt to the curd. Smoothen it and add ¾ th of the curd to the rice. Add ½ cup of Milk to it. Mix very well. Taste the sourness of the rice. Add more Curd or Milk as per your preference to increase or decrease the sourness. The consistency should be lightly loose. If you are going to serve a little later, make it thinner since the rice will become thick after sometime. Also, note that the Curd will become more sour as the time passes and so, adjust the sourness accordingly.

(If you are using fresh curd which is not sour, you can avoid milk).

Heat the Oil in a pan. Add Mustard Seeds and allow it to splatter. Add the Urad Dal, Channa Dal and Red Chillies. Stir cook till the lentils turn golden.

Add the Green Chillies and the Curry Leaves. Roast till the Curry Leaves turn crisp. Add Asafoetida. Stir and switch off the flame.

Transfer this tempering to the Curd Rice. Mix well.

The flavorful Curd Rice is ready. You can serve now or store in the refrigerator for few hours and serve later.

Notes for the Curd Rice:

Cook the rice soft. And soften it when it is still hot.

You can also add nuts and sliced fruits to the curd rice to enhance its taste.

If you want the rice to be creamier, you can add little butter.   

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And finally the Potato Roast – a simple side dish to go with the above rice preparations by roasting Potato with spices and herbs. It is a very yummy dish which can be served as a standalone dish with a cup of coffee or tea also. Let us see how to make this dish.                          

Potato Roast

Ingredients :

Black Pepper Corns – 1 tbsp

Saunf (Fennel Seeds) – 1 tbsp

Curry Leaves – 8

Garlic Pods – 5

Large Potatoes – 2 (Boiled, Peeled and cubed)

Oil – 2 tbsp

Curry Leaves – from 2 sprigs

Red Chilli Powder – ¾ tsp

Roasted Cumin Seeds Powder – ½ tsp

Coriander Seed Powder – 2 tsp

Turmeric Powder – 1/8 tsp

Salt – to suit taste

Method:

Grind the Black Pepper Corns, Saunf, Curry Leaves and Garlic Pods to a fine paste with little water.  Keep aside.

Heat the Oil in a pan. Add Curry Leaves and stir for 20 to 30 seconds. Add the ground paste. Cook in low flame till the Oil separates.

Add the other dry masalas – Red Chilli Powder, Roasted Cumin Seeds Powder, Coriander Seed Powder, Turmeric Powder. Add Salt. Stir cook in low flame without burning the spices. If you are in doubt, add 2 tbsp of water to make sure that you do not burn the masalas.

Add the boiled Potato pieces and mix well. Adjust Salt. Mix well again. Add a tsp of Oil. Mix again. The Potato pieces should get coated evenly with the masala. Adjust Salt, if required. Cover the pan with a lid and simmer for 3 to 4 minute in low flame.  Do stir in between.

The spicy Potato Roast is ready. Transfer to a serving bowl.

It goes well with Lemon Rice, Curd Rice and Dal Rice etc. It is an opt recipe for tiffin box also.