Lemon Rice | Elumichai Sadam

Lemon rice or ‘Elumichai Sadam’ in Tamil is a simple recipe which is easy to cook and tastes delicious .This all-time famous lemony recipe is still preferred as a lunch box for long travels. The speciality of this recipe is that lemon keeps the rice fresh for a long time and it is one of the recipes which can be served at room temperature. If you have left over rice and wondering what to do, then try this simple recipe.

Lemon Rice Ingredients

Cooked rice – 2 cups
Juice of 1 egg-yolk size lemon
Green chillies (index finger size) – 3 finely chopped
Ginger – 1 inch size – grated
Oil – 2 tablespoons
Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
Jeera/cumin seeds – 1 tsp
Chana dal – 2 tsp
Urad dal – 2 tsp
Kari leaves – 7 to 8 leaves
Turmeric – ¼ tsp
Heeng/Asafoetida – 1 pinch
Sale to taste
Water – 2 tablespoons
Sesame oil – 2 tablespoons

Cook the rice and cool it down or you can use left over rice. It is better to cool down the rice if you are using freshly cooked rice so that it is easy to mix without crushing the rice. Rice is very tender when it is hot. I prefer cooling it down and then proceed with the recipe. Now heat the pan and add 2 tablespoons of oil. Many families in South India still use groundnut oil for cooking and so am I. There are so many options in the market for cooking oil so you can choose the one you love. Proceeding further,  add mustard seeds, Jeera, chana dal, urad dal, green chilly, ginger, heeng and kari leaves and stir. When dal turns golden brown add turmeric powder, lemon juice and 2 tablespoonful of water. Stir until the water comes to boil and now add the cooked rice and mix gently until the rice is fully blended with the spices and turn off the stove. Sprinkle salt to taste, mix well and at last add 2 to 3 tablespoons of sesame oil (optional). Wait for at least half an hour for the rice to absorb the flavours. Serve warm or at room temperature or pack it and go for a long ride :-D!!

You can make lemon rice better by:

• Adding grated ginger as garnish. It is healthy and adds aroma to the recipe.
• Never squeeze the lemon directly on the recipe because you don’t want to chew the seeds as they are bitter and spoil the taste. Always filter the lemon juice and then add it to the rice.

Love Mosambi Juice? Click Here for the recipe.

Thank you for visiting my kitchen. Come again for more recipes. Have a great day 😀