Indian Lemon Rice

Indian Lemon Rice - spicy, tangy, and delicious - and, made under 30-minutes in the instant pot. This classic south-Indian dish is a must-try recipe. Here is my version of Instant pot Lemon Rice.

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Lemon Rice, or Chitrana as they call it, is a famous spiced rice dish from South India. It has onions, lime or lemon juice, turmeric, crunchy peanuts, and a spicy tadka or tempered spices flavor. Classic south Indian flavors explode in this rice dish as we use a copious amount of curry leaves, fresh chilies, gram dal or lentil and mustard seeds for tempering this rice. Fragrant basmati rice literally gets a flavorful and zesty makeover when seasoned with the tadka and lime or lemon juice. And to make this dish, even more, simpler, I have the Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker version for you. The best part is you dump, yes, literally dump everything inside the pot and pressure cook till you get that perfect Indian Lemon Rice.

Each part of India has its own version of Lemon Rice. The eastern part, where I am from, is famous for ghee-lemon rice where lemon juice is used instead of lime juice and made fresh with ghee. It’s a lighter and non-spicy version of the yellow turmeric-based lemon rice we see in southern India.

Ingredients for the Lemon Rice:

This recipe requires only a handful of ingredients. 2 teaspoon Oil or ghee (if vegetarian), 1 tablespoon mustard seeds, 1 tablespoon Bengal gram lentil and black gram lentil (no skin), 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger, 2 dry red chili, ½ red onion - sliced, few green chilies, and a handful of curry leaves, ½ teaspoon turmeric powder, juice of 1 lime or more if required, salt to taste and roasted peanuts and cilantro to garnish. 2 cups of basmati rice - washed, rinsed, and soaked in 2 cups of water

Why Should You Cook Lemon Rice in the Instant Pot?

Instant Pot cooking is always quicker than the stovetop version and it requires no babysitting your food. Which means while the rice cooks, you can do some other work and your instant pot will beep once your food is ready. And it takes just four minutes of cooking time. Yes, it's that simple and easy.

How to Make Indian Lemon Rice in Instant Pot?

• Wash and rinse the rice. Soak it in an equal amount of water and set it aside.
• Click on the sauté function of the instant pot and add a teaspoon of oil in the pot. You can add more oil if you want but it's not required.
• Add all items listed under the tempering section in the order listed. After the seeds pop, add curry leaves and green chilies and wait for 30-seconds before adding ginger and sliced onions.
• Mix well and wait till the onions are lightly brown but not fully cooked. Add turmeric, salt, washed and rinsed rice and the water. Stir well.
• Add half of the lime or lemon juice at this point and mix well. Now close the lid and seal the vent. Set the instant pot to the pressure cook mode and add 4 minutes of cooking time. After the beep, wait for the natural pressure release and open the lid.
• By using a fork, fluff the rice and add lime or lemon juice. Add roasted peanuts and chopped cilantro. Gently mix the rice. Serve hot with any Indian side.

NOTE: You can add two tablespoons of chopped cilantro while cooking and it will have a fresh, herby flavor. Add 1 teaspoon of ghee (vegan or vegetarian) after the rice cooks. It enhances the flavor. You can skip roasted peanuts and add roasted cashew to the dish.

Check these other popular Indian dishes from my blog.

• Indian Potato Curry
• Vegan Curry Recipe
• Easy Indian Curry Paste
• Instant Pot Cauliflower Tikka Masala
• Okra Masala

📖 Recipe

What to Serve With Indian Lemon Rice?

Indian lemon rice is served with yogurt or raita, pickle, and papadum. However, you can always pair it with any curry or lentil dishes of your choice.

Why do we squeeze lemon juice on to rice or dal?

Lemon juice, being acidic in nature, helps to keep the rice white while cooking. When squeezed in lentil or daal while cooking, lemon juice helps to make it more digestion friendly. In addition, a dash of lemon juice on cooked rice and daal adds a nice, tangy flavor.

What kind of rice do Greek restaurants use?

Greek restaurants use short-grain white rice, long grain brown rice, and sometimes the Orzo pasta which resembles the grains of rice.

How is Greek Lemon rice different from Indian Lemon rice?

Indian lemon rice is a spiced rice that uses turmeric, herbs and onion. In contrast, the Greek lemon rice uses garlic, dill and a meat-based broth.