Lemon Rice/Elumichai Sadam

Lemon Rice/Elumichai Sadam:

In Tamil Nadu, You cannot find a family trip or picnic without Lemon Rice. While packing this rice for trips and picnics we used to take the "Roasted coconut thick chuttney" ( made with coconut, tamarind and red chillies) along with this. Which is the perfect combination to enjoy the outdoor lunch with the family and friends.

A quick and tasty menu for lunch box. We love lemon rice with "potato podimas" or with "pappads".

Even vegetables like carrot or green peas can be added in this recipe if it consumed in the same day. Otherwise it is better to avoid those and go only with the fried daals.

Here is the simple recipe of Lemon Rice/Elumichai Sadam.

Cooked Rice- 1 cup

Ingredients to prepare the lemon mix:

Lemon (Medium size) - 3(Sqeeze and have the juice ready)
Red Chili (long) - 6
Turmeric - 3/4 of tea spoon
peanut - 4 tea spoons (optional)
bengal gram - 3 tea spoons
mustard seeds - 1 spoon
urad daal - 1 spoon
curry leaves - 1 string
salt - as per taste
Oil- To temper (3 tea spoons)

1. In a pan, pre-heat 2 tea spoons of oil, then add mustard seeds and urad daal, then add peanuts and bengal gram daal.
2.Keep the flame simmer and Let it fry for a minute or two, Keep turn over to make sure all the sides of daals are roasted properly.

3. When the bengal gram turns brown and the peanut skins are open add curry leaves and red chillis to it.

4.Roast till the red chillis are puffed. Do not over roast, then the chilis will turn black.

5.Now mix the squeezed the lemon juice with salt and turmeric powder. And pour the mix to the tadka.

6.let it cook for a minute and switch off the flame.

7. Have Fluffy cooked rice in a bowl and add the remaining 1 spoon of oil to it then add the lemon mix little by little.

8. Serve with potato fry or with your favorite side dish.

Notes: 

1.Always fry/roast the daals in low/medium flame.

2.Do not add salt at once. Add little by little according to taste.

3.the mix made here is sufficient for 2 cups of cooked rice. 

4.You can preserve the mix for 4-5 days if refrigerated. Or else finish it in a day or two.

5.This mix can be used to make lemon idiyappam, lemon sevai, lemon aval and lemon semiya etc