A classic South Indian rice dish, and a confirmed favourite.
I remember having this rice for the 1st time when we were in Mamallapuram (Mahabalipuram) in Tamil Nadu. We spent a week or so in the area visiting the sites – the Shore Temple, the 5 Ratha’s, Krishna’s Butter Ball and generally chilling out in this small coastal town. It is a truly stunning place and deserving of a separate post with photos. One night we ate at the restaurant next to the 2nd hand book shop and run by a lovely family. We asked for some fish, and it was served with a dish of cooked radish, a Dal and a Lemon rice.
Not long after we got home, I tried to recreate the dish, and thanks to Das Sreedharan, of Rasa Restaurants and his books I was able to do so.
It’s a simple and flavoursome rice dish and goes with lots of things. We’ll eat it tonight with a dal and a pumpkin curry. But it works equally well with some grilled/baked fish.
The flavour of the lemon and the mix of Mustard seeds and Curry Leaves are what lift this rice out of the ordinary into the delicious category.
Ingredients ~
- 1 – 2 tsp of Mustard seeds
- 12 Curry leaves
- 1 tbls Urid Dal
- Dried red chillies
- Zest of a lemon
- Juice of a lemon
- 1/2 tsp of Turmeric
- tbls Vegetable Oil
Instructions ~
- Cook the basamati rice with the turmeric added
- When cooked place the rice in a bowl and pour the lemon juice and zest onto the rice
- In the rice pan (now empty) add the vegetable oil, and heat until hot
- Add the Mustard seeds, the Curry Leaves, the Urid Dal and the Dried Chilli
- Stir the mixture and when the Mustard seeds start to pop, and the Urid Dal is a brownish colour, add the rice (along with the lemon juice)
- Take the pan off the heat and stir all the ingredients together
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