How To Make Lemon Rice

Simple and flavourful peanut and lemon rice -a South Indian specialty

Rice is the staple diet of South India and there are so many ways of making simple but flavourful rice pilaf .Many South Indian rice preparations are very quick and made by using left over rice.I love rice and often try different recipes to make quick and filling rice preparations.

lemon rice is a very popular south Indian preparation .It is very flavourful and can be made with either left over boiled rice or  fresh boiled rice. Its a dry preparation so a good recipe to use for lunch boxes and as a travel food.It is also offered as prashad in many south Indian temples.
If you have left over rice then it can be made in a jiffy,just a tempering of urad daal, mustard, peanuts and curry leaves are added in boiled rice and then lemon juice is added to give that tangy flavour. Addition of cashew nuts is optional.

This rice is a complete meal in itself so you don't need any accompaniment to serve with it but papad,salad and coconut chutney goes very well with this preparation .

Prep time-10 min
Cooking time-15 min
Difficulty level- easy
Spice level- mild spice
Cuisine- South Indian
Type-main

INGREDIENTS-

• Boiled rice - 2.5 cup
• Pea nuts /moongphali - 2 tbsp
• Lemon juice- 2 tbsp
• Curry leaves -10
• Green chili /hari mirch,chopped - 2 tsp
• Ginger/adrak,chopped -1/2 tsp
• Cooking oil - 2 tbsp
• Mustard seeds/rai - 1.5 tsp
• Asafoetida/hing - 1/4 tsp
• White lentil /urad daal - 1 tsp
• Bengal gram /chana dal - 1tbsp
• Whole red chili /sadut laal mirch - 4
• Cashew nuts /kaju - 12
• Turmeric /haldi-1/2 tsp
• Salt/namak- to taste

PROCEDURE-

1. Heat oil in a heavy and broad bottom pan.
2. Add peanuts and stir fry on low flame till golden in colour
3. Drain and keep aside.
4. Now add urad daal,chana daal and when it start's to get some colour add the cashew nuts and stir
5. When cashew start's getting a nice color then add whole red chilies,green chilies ,curry leaves and asafoetida.
6. Add turmeric,fried peanuts,boiled rice and salt and stir to mix well.
7. Switch off the flame and then add lemon juice and mix.
8. Keep it covered for about 10-15 minutes so it absorbs all the flavours and the urad daal and chana daal will also become slightly soft.

Serving suggestions-Serve with salad, papad,coconut chutney or tomato chutney

Check some more rice recipes-

• Puliyodharai
• Minty Tomato rice
• Curd Rice
• Vangi Bhath
• Sichuan kimchi rice
• Mexican chili bean rice

Kolhapuri Misal Pav (Spicy Tomato Stew with Sprouts)

Spicy tomato stew with moth sprouts and topped with Indian croutons

Misal Pav is a very popular street food/breakfast from Maharashtra. Healthy and spicy, there are a few different versions of making this, depending on the region. Misal is a medley of sprouts, a spicy broth and a crispy topping, served with fresh sweet buns (pavs).

I've never had misal pav before but had been wanting to try this from a long time now. A few days back I found this recipe in one of my old dairy, and I tried it immediately. I had no clue its such a wonderful dish, and will surely be making this more often!

This Kolhapuri Misal recipe, as the name suggests, is a popular street food from the city of Kolhapur. It consists of three main parts: 

1. Freshly ground spice mixture.
2. Stir frying the sprout mix (usal)
3. A spicy and tangy tomato broth (kat). 

The three are then topped with Indian fried savory mixes (namkeen/farsan), which is then collectively called as Misal, and served along with fresh sweet buns (pavs).

This recipe may look daunting because of its length, but is actually a very quick and easy to follow recipe. Enjoy my version of hot and spicy Kolhapuri Misal Pav!

Prep time-10 min
Cooking time-20 min
Difficulty level-medium
Spice level-hot
Cuisine-Indian
Type-snack,street food
Serves - 4

Ingredients-For sprouts/usal

• Moth/Matki sprouts - 3 cups
• Refined oil/tel - 3 tsp
• Mustard seeds/rai - 1/2 tsp
• Cumin seeds /jeera- 1 tsp
• Curry leaves - 8
• Asafoetida /hing- 1/4 tsp
• Chili powder /mirch- 1/2 tsp
• Turmeric/haldi - 1/2 tsp
• Salt/namak - 1 tsp

For the dry spice mix (masala)

• Refined oil/tel-1/2 tsp
• Cloves /laung-6
• Pepper corns/sabut kali mirch- 8
• Cinnamon /daalchini -1/3 inch
• Cumin seeds /jeera -1 tsp
• Coriander seeds /sabut dhaniya -1 tsp
• Sesame seeds /safed til -1/2 tsp
• Fennel seeds /saunf -1/4 tsp

For the broth (rassa/kat)

• Coconut, dessicated and dry roasted - 1.5 tbsp
• Tomatoes, chopped - 2
• Ginger, chopped - 1/2 inch
• Kashmiri Red Chilies, whole -4
• Tamarind /imli  - 1 /2 inch
• Misal Masala-1 tsp*
• Turmeric /haldi -1/3 tsp
• Chili powder /mirch -2 tsp
• Jaggary/gur-1 tsp
• Salt /namk -1 tsp
• Water- 3 cup
• Refined oil-3 tbsp

For garnishing and serving

• Sweet Buns (Pav) -8
• Mixed Namkeen - 4 tbsp
• Fresh Cilantro - 2tbsp
• Lemon wedges - 4
• Sweet Chutney - 4 tbsp (optional)
• Yogurt - 3 tbsp (optional)

PROCEDURE-

1. For the Dry Masala (Can also use readymade masala )
1. Heat a tsp oil in a pan and add all the spices listed under For the dry spice mix (masala). 
2. When the cloves start swelling up, remove the spices and grind to make a fine powder. 
3. Take out in a bowl and keep aside.
2. For the Sprouts/Usal
1. Wash and pressure cook sprouts* with 2 glasses water for 2 whistles or till almost cooked (al dente).
2. Heat 1.5 tbsp oil in a pan and add mustard seeds and cumin seeds, and when the seeds start crackling add asafoetida and curry leaves.
3. Now add turmeric and boiled sprouts, then add salt and chili powder, saute for few seconds.
4. Add 1 cup water, cover and cook till water almost dries up.
5. Take out in a bowl and keep aside.
3. For the Broth 
1. Grind tomatoes, kashmiri chilies, tamarind and the roasted dessicated coconut together and make a fine paste.
2. Heat 4 tbsp oil in a pan and add the tomato paste and saute till oil separates from the sides.
3. Now add the dry masala, misal masala**, chili powder, turmeric, jaggary, salt and 3 cups of water.
4. Boil the broth for around 3-4 minutes.

How To Serve- 

1. Take a individual serving bowl and then add sprouts, pour the hot broth on top, depending on how spicy do you want your misal to be.

2. Garnish with Namkeen Sev/Farsan and chopped fresh cliantro.

3. Serve with sweet buns/pavs and another small bowl of just kat/broth.

MY TIPS and NOTES--

1-*To make moth sprouts-  
 Wash and soak 1 cup moth beans overnight in 4 cup water. Next day drain the water ,cover   with a muslin cloth and keep covered for 2 days to sprout them.
2-**Misal masala, is easily available in Indian stores and you can substitute it with garam masala.
3-You may substitute moth/matki sprouts with mungo (moong), black gram, dried green peas or with mixed sprouts.
4- You may also add some boiled potato cubes, crispy potato chips, roasted salted peanuts on top of the misal.
5 -If you are short of time then you may use readymade goda masala or Kolhapuri masala instead of freshly roasting and grinding the spice mix.
6 -Add yogurt and sweet chutney if you find the broth a bit too spicy for your taste. 
7-Misal also tastes great with steamed rice .

Vegetable Daliya Khichdi

Healthy lentil,vegetable and broken wheat porridge

To make healthy and filling breakfast daily is really a task, though their are many easy recipes like bread toast, Bread poha , Grilled potato sandwich and many other easy and quick recipes The very popular Maharastrian dish-Aloo poha is also a very easy recipe to make and is my personal favorite . But if we want to make something healthy and filling then we have to do little extra effort. The new era's health food -Oats ,broken wheat, bulgur are quite filling and healthy and we can make a variety of dishes with these ingredients.

Daliya /broken wheat is made with unrefined wheat so its full of fiber ,vitamins, Iron, phosphorous and minerals.In past few years oats have became very popular world wide and now in India it also become a favorite and popular breakfast but they are quite expensive and not very easily accessible in small towns and centers.

Broken wheat/daliya is equally healthy and nutritious like oats though not as quick to make as oats.You can make many sweet and savoury dishes with daliya,sweet milk porridge - Daliya ki kheer, or can make- Daliya and vegetable upma which take few minutes to make.

Today I am sharing a delicious, healthy and filling vegetable, daal and daliya ki khichdi which can be served for breakfast, main meal and can also be given to small kids and patients as it is not only very healthy but also very easy to digest.You dont need any accompaniment to serve with this, its a complete one pot meal but if you want to make it more interesting then curd,papad and salad are preferred to serve along with this vegetable daliya khichdi

Prep time- 10 min
Cooking time - 15 min
Difficulty level - easy
Spice level - mild
Cuisine - North Indian
Type -breakfast, main
Serve - 4

INGREDIENTS-

• Yellow lentil/moong daal - 3/4 cups
• Broken wheat /daliya - 3/4 cup
• French beans/faras beans,chopped - 1/2 cup
• Carrot/gajar, chopped - 1/2 cup
• Peas/matar, shelled - 1/2 cup
• Tomato,chopped  - 1 medium (125 gm)
• Green chili /hari mirch, chopped - 1tbsp
• Ginger/adrak, chopped - 2 tsp
• Lemon juice /nimbu ka ras - 2 tbsp
• Fresh coriander,chopped - 3 tbsp
• Turmeric/haldi - 3/4 tsp
• Chili powder/lal mirch - 1.5 tsp
• Salt/namak - to taste
• Cooking oil - 2 tbsp

Tempering/waghar/tadka-

• Ghee - 2 tbsp
• Cumin/jeera - 1.5 tsp
• Asafoetida/hing - 1/2 tsp

PROCEDURE-

1. Wash moong daal with water and keep aside.
2. Heat oil in the pressure cooker and add daliya ,1/2 tsp cumin and green chilis and saute till the daliya change its colour and become slightly whitish (for about 2 minutes)
3. Add washed daal, tomato, carrot, peas and french beans and stir.
4. Add salt,turmeric,chili powder and 3 cups of water and mix.
5. Pressure cook on medium heat for 3 whistles.
6. Open the cooker when cool down completely.
7. Add 2 cups of warm water and chopped ginger in the cooker and mix well.
8. Let it come to a boil on medium heat and then simmer for 3-4 minutes.
9. Heat ghee in a small pan and add cumin and asfoetida.
10. When cumin become red then add it in the khichdi and switch off the flame.
11. Add lemon juice and fresh coriander and mix.
12. Serve hot with a tsp of ghee on top.

Serving suggestions-taste best with plain yogurt, raita, salad and roasted popadam

My Notes-

1. I have used yellow moong daal but you can also make this with green moong daal, masoor daal or tuvar daal but avoid using urad daal or chana daal if you are making this for kids or patients as these two daals are quite heavy and not so easy to digest.
2. Can add any vegetable of your choice like chopped potato,cauliflower,corn ,squash, bottle gourd,spinach etc.
3. I have used 1/2 cup of each vegetable but you can increase the amount of vegetable if you wish.
4. If you want to make it little watery then add 3 cups or 3.5 cups of water at step-7

How To Make Masala Dosa

Crispy rice and lentil crepes stuffed with a mildly spiced potato mixture. A South Indian classic.

If you ask me about my favorite snack or tiffin then I will take only one name - Masala dosa!! Though there are so many popular snacks and tiffin variety from Southern India but the crisp and spicy Masala dosa tops the list ,undoubtedly the most popular snack from South Indian Cuisine.Now it is not limited in India but is popular world wide.

Their are many snacks from South India which are healthy,easy to prepare and taste wonderful. From this same dosa batter we can also make Idlis which are steamed and are very healthy.The crisp and potato masala stuffed dosas are hot favorite of people of all age groups. Dosas are crisp pan cakes made by a fermented rice and lentil batter.A mix of regular rice and par boiled rice, white lentil /urad daal and little fenugreek seeds are used to make the batter.

 For making dosa you have to do some pre- preparation.The rice and lentil are soaked separately then both are ground to make a smooth paste and then left to ferment for minimum 5- 8 hours, the fermentation time totally depends on the heat of the climate.Then a stuffing is made with boiled potato,tomato,green chili and few spices .Poha /beaten rice,chana daal and tuvar daal is also added to add crispness and to give a nice golden colour to dosa,but this is optional you can add or just skip this.

Dosa is usally served with few accompaniments- Sambhar ,  Mysore rasam , tomato chutney and coconut chutney.

Prep time - 20 min
Cooking time - 15 min
Difficulty level - Medium
Spice level - Medium
Cuisine - South Indian
Type - Snack, Main Course


INGREDIENTS-

• Normal Raw rice /chawal  - 2 cups *
• Parboiled rice /ukda chawal - 1cup
• White lentil /urad daal - 3/4 cup
• Bengal gram /chana daal - 3 tbsp
• Pigeon pea / tuvar dal - 3 tbsp
• Beaten rice / poha - 1/4 cup
• Fenugreek seeds /methi dana - 1/2 tsp
• Salt /namak - to taste

For potato masala-

• Boiled potatoes /aloo - 4 (300 gms)
• Tomato/tamatar ,chopped - 1/2 cup
• Green chilies /hari mirch, chopped - 1.5 tsp
• Ginger /adrak, chopped - 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder /haldi - 1/2 tsp
• Chili powder /lal mirch- 1 tsp
• Lemon juice /nimbu ka ras - 2 tsp
• Fresh coriander /hara dhaniya- 2 tbsp
• Salt /namak - to taste

Tempering-

• Cooking oil /tel - 4  tbsp
• Mustard seeds /rai - 3/4 tsp
• Cumin seeds /jeera - 1/4 tsp
• White lentil /urad daal - 1tsp
• Bengal gram /chana daal - 1 tsp
• Asafoetida /hing - 1/4 tsp
• Curry leaves /kadi patta -8

PROCEDURE-

To make the dosa batter-

1. Wash rice and dal and then soak both rice together and all the lentil and fenugreek seeds in a separate container for about 5-7 hours.
2. Then reserve some water in which you have soaked urad daal as we will use this while grinding it.
3. Drain the remaining water and wash the soaked dal and rice with clean tap water.
4. Now grind the soaked daal with some water and make a smooth and fluffy paste of pouring consistency.
5. Remove the ground daal paste into a big container.
6. Now add soaked rice in the mixer jaar, add some water and grind to make a smooth paste.
7. Add the ground rice paste in the same container.
8. Add salt and mix it well.
9. Cover the container with a loose lid and keep it in a warm and dark place.
10. The batter will take about 8-12 hours to ferment and in winters it may take some more time.
11. When it become almost double and you see bubbles on the surface then its ready to use.

To make the stuffing-

1. Peel the boiled potatoes and mash them into small pieces.
2. Heat oil in a pan and add the urad daal,chana daal,mustard and cumin seeds.
3. When cumin start to crackle then add curry leaves asafoetida and chopped green chilies.
4. Stir fry for few seconds.
5. Now add chopped tomato and salt and stir.
6. When tomato become little soft then add turmeric and mashed potatoes.
7. Add all the spices, 1.5 tbsp of water and saute to mix all.
8. Add chopped coriander and lemon juice and mix.
9. Remove in a bowl and keep aside.

How to make dosa-

1. Take the  fermented batter in a bowl and mix well.
2. Add some water if the batter is too thick,as it should be of pouring consistency.
3. Take a non stick or heavy iron griddle /pan.
4. Apply few drops of oil over the pan and wipe with a moist cloth or paper napkin.
5. Pour a laddle ful of batter on the medium hot griddle and spread it on the tawa in a thin round circle.
6. Let it cook for few seconds till it change its colour and become light golden in colour.
7. Spread a tsp of oil around the dosa and 1 tsp over the dosa.
8. Flip the dosa and cook from other side for  few seconds.(this step is optional)
9. Flip it again and put about 3-4 tbsp of potato masala in the center and fold it from both the sides.
10. Serve hot with coconut chutney, sambhar and malaga podi

MY NOTES AND TIPS-

1. You can also add boiled green peas and broken cashew pieces in potato masala at step-3.
2. Instead of using oil you can use ghee or butter  to roast the dosa, it will enhance the taste.
3. Use a big container to keep the batter as it will increase twice or thrice in volume after fermentation and may spill over from a small container.
4. The batter should not be very thick or thin ,it should be of pouring consistency ,the crispiness also depends on the right consistency of the batter.
5. Normal raw rice - use the rice which you use on daily basis,it need not be basmati rice, any short grain, medium grain or broken rice can be used and if you don't have par boiled rice then can use normal rice only.
6. The left over batter can be easily stored in the refrigerator for 3-4 days .
7. The fermentation time depends on the heat in the climate ,it will ferment sooner in summers but in winters it may take quite some time to ferment .
8. Chana daal and tuvar daal gives a nice golden colour to the dosa.
9. Addition of poha makes the dosa crisper but this is optional.
10. I prefer to use a heavy iron skillet /tawa to make dosa but you can also use hard anodized skillet or a non stick pan to make dosa, all works well , but grease the iron skillet/tawa well before using.
11. Keep sprinkling few drops of water on the tawa or wipe the griddle with a damp cloth after making each dosa to bring down the temperature else the dosa will stick to the pan and become difficult to spread properly .