SERVES 3-4
This tangy lemon and curry leaf flavored rice is a good accompaniment for most Indian and Thai curries. You can even serve this dish with an accompaniment of plain or salty yogurt. Even though I use basmati rice, it can be prepared with other rice varieties such as jasmine, mapillai samba and palakkadan matta.
1 cup basmati rice
2 cups of water
1/2 tsp salt or to taste
2½ tbsp lemon juice or to taste
½ tsp urad dal (black lentils). Use the lentils that have their skin removed and halved.
½ tsp chana dal (split chickpeas)
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp raw peanuts
½ tsp mustard seeds
12-15 curry leaves
1 green chili, sliced
¼ tsp turmeric powder
¼ tsp asafetida
1 Rinse rice until water turns clear. Boil the rice in a rice cooker using 2 cups of water. You can also boil the rice in a pan, pressure cooker or instant pot.
2 Meanwhile soak urad dal and chana dal in water for 10 to 15 minutes as the rice cooks. Then drain the water from the dals and set aside.
3 Once the rice is cooked, fluff it with a fork and transfer to a large bowl and let it cool down. Then add the salt and the lemon juice and mix well until combined and set it aside.
4 Heat 1 tbsp oil in a small pan on medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the peanuts to the pan. Cook the peanuts until roasted and they turn light golden brown. Stir the peanuts often so that they do burn. Remove peanuts on a plate lined with paper towel.
5 To the same pan, now add mustard seeds and let them crackle (about 10-15 seconds).
6 Add the soaked dal to the pan. Sauté until they turn light golden brown.
7 Add the curry leaves and chili. Sauté for few seconds. Add the turmeric and asafetida, and mix well. Remove pan from heat.
8 Transfer tempering to rice. Also, add the roasted peanuts to the rice. Gently mix the rice, tempering and the peanuts. Make sure that the rice does not break. Check and add more salt and lemon juice if needed.
Serves as a good accompaniment for spicy curries.
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