If you are looking for easy rice recipes for lunch, comfort food that takes just 30 minutes and lunch box friendly, kid friendly meals, try this South Indian Lemon Rice Recipe. Refreshing, tangy and lemony!
South Indian Lemon Rice recipe or Elumichai Sadam is a traditional variety rice or Kalavai Sadam made with cooked rice, turmeric, lemon juice and finished with a tempering of mustard seeds, lentils and curry leaves. Pack for school lunch, serve as lunch or dinner with a veggie side.
In a South Indian household, variety rice rules the lunch menu during summers. Easy to put together, delicious and doesn't need an elaborate side dish to serve. It is also lunch box friendly for both kids and adults.
Growing up, this was a staple in my lunch box at school. Making Lemon rice or Elumichai Sadam is not at all time consuming, which is the best part about this recipe. Another bonus is that it doesn’t need any side dish.
Lemon rice contains hing or asafoetida. For a 100% gluten free recipe, omit the ingredient. Lemon Rice is Vegan. If you are allergic to peanuts, feel free to substitute with cashew nuts or skip the ingredient entirely.
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Elumichai Sadam (as referred to in Tamil), is a popular temple food or prasadam. The recipe contains no onion no garlic.
Elumichai Sadam is made for festivals like Aadi Perukku or Aadi 18 and Navaratri.
It is also made for Seemantham or Valaikapu function (South Indian Baby Shower Ceremony) as part of the 9 rice varieties that is traditionally cooked for the expecting mother.
If you talk about Ayurveda friendly meals or Sattvik food, Lemon rice fits the bill perfectly.
Best Travel Food
South Indian’s remember Lemon Rice or Elumichai Sadam as the most important part of their train journey’s. This is the best travel food as it stays fresh for atleast 48 hours.
Those days when Tamil Brahmin community carried everything from water to food during travel. It is because food was not easily available especially No Onion No Garlic varieties. Recipes like Curd Rice, Podi Idli were hot favorites.
The food packets were eco friendly and no use of plastic was permissible. Ask any Tam Brahm and he / she would share the exact same nostalgia about train journeys.
I still pack this for my husband’s international travels along with Podi Idli, Methi Thepla, some rice crispies and fried chilies (mor milaga).
How to Make South Indian Lemon Rice recipe
Wash and soak 1 & ½ cups of Rice (short grain rice) for 20 minutes.
Drain the water, add 2 cups of water and pressure cook. Once rice is cooked, transfer it to a wide mixing bowl, add salt to taste and let it cool.
Now heat a pan, add sesame oil, mustard seeds, roasted peanuts, urad dal, chana dal, whole dry red chillies, finely chopped green chillies, curry leaves.
Once mustard crackles, add hing or asafoetida and turmeric powder. Mix well and immediately add the tempering to the cooked rice.
Squeeze lemon juice. Mix the rice well and let it rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Side Dish for Lemon Rice
Potato Roast is hands down the best accompaniment for Lemon rice.
It is served with appalam, rice crispies or vadagam, potato chips and banana chips.
Serve lemon rice with Thayir Pachadi (South Indian Raita) in summer season. Some of our favorites include Vendakkai Pachadi, Beetroot Pachadi and Tomato Pachadi.
If serving Elumichai Sadam for lunch, pair it with protein rich Kootu. We love Peerkangai Kootu (Ridge Gourd), Pudalangai Kootu (Snake Gourd) or Murungai Keerai Kootu (Drumstick / Moringa)
Important Tips / Storage Instructions
Short grain rice is most preferred. Kolam, Sona Masuri, Ponni are some of the top choices. You can also make lemon rice using Basmati rice, if you don't stock any short grain rice varieties.
You can also substitute rice with cooked Millets or Quinoa.
For packing lemon rice in kids school lunch box, cook rice in the night using pressure cooker or instant pot. Next morning, it will take no less than 10 minutes to pack.
When packing this for travel, add extra sesame oil while tempering. It will prevent the rice from drying. Do not use toasted sesame oil (used for Asian / Chinese cooking) for this recipe. You can also opt for Sunflower oil or vegetable oil.
If packing for travel, ensure the rice is at room temperature. Packing hot rice will affect shelf life.
Lemon Rice is consumed at room temperature. It is never served warm. I don't reheat leftovers either. If stored in refrigerator, I simply leave the bowl on the counter top until it attains room temperature.
Traditionally, peanuts are added to lemon rice. You can use cashews or feel free to omit nuts, if allergic.
The color of this rice is key - Adding turmeric at the right stage of cooking helps in achieving the color. Turmeric is added to the tempering just before its ready to be mixed with rice.
Other South Indian Variety Rice Recipes
Puliyodharai (Tamarind Rice)
Ellu Sadam (Sesame Rice)
Coconut Rice (Thengai Sadam)
Raw Mango Rice (Manga Sadam) - Seasonal Rice Variety during Summers
Nellikai Rice (Amla Rice)
This post appeared on Masalachilli in December 2017. I have added step wise pictures and fresh content to this post.
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South Indian Lemon Rice recipe | Elumichai Sadam
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups Rice Use any short grain - Ponni, Sona Masoori, Kolam
- 2 cups Water
- 1 teaspoon Chana Dal (Kadala Paruppu or Bengal Gram Dal)
- ½ teaspoon Urad Dal or Ulutham Paruppu
- ½ teaspoon Mustard Seeds, Kadagu or Rai
- 1 tablespoon Peanuts
- 3-4 Whole dry red chillies
- 1-2 Fresh green chillies finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric Powder
- 3 tablespoon Sesame Oil
- 2 tablespoon Lemon Juice or Juice of 2 lemons
- 2 Sprigs of curry leaves
- a pinch of asafoetida or hing skip this for gluten free recipe
- Salt to taste
1 cup is 250ml, 1 tbsp 15ml, 1 tsp 5ml
Instructions
- Wash and soak 1 & ½ cups of Rice (short grain rice) for 15-20 minutes. Drain the water, pressure cook using 2 cups water.
- Once the rice is cooked, transfer it to a wide bowl and allow to cool completely.
- Once cool, prepare tempering by heating sesame oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds, peanuts, urad dal, chana dal, dry red chillies, finely chopped green chillies and curry leaves.
- When the lentils are toasted (brown) and mustard crackles, add turmeric powder and hing (asafoetida), mix once and switch off the flame.
- Add this tempering to the cooked rice along with salt to taste.
- Add freshly squeezed lemon juice, mix everything well and let it rest for 5 mins (to absorb flavors) before packing in lunch box and/or serving.
Notes
- Any variety of rice can be used for the recipe. Traditionally, aromatic rice or long grain Basmati Rice is not used. I use Sona Masoori, Ponni, Kolam variety of short grain rice. It is available in leading supermarkets and grocery stores.
- If planning this for kids school lunch, cooking the rice can be done previous night to save time. You can use Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker to cook the rice.
- When packing this for travel, add more sesame oil while tempering. It will prevent the rice from drying. The Sesame oil used for the recipe is also referred to as Gingelly oil. Do not use toasted sesame oil (used for Asian cooking) for this recipe. You can also opt for Sunflower oil or vegetable oil.
- If packing for travel, ensure the rice is at room temperature. Packing hot rice will affect shelf life.
- Lemon Rice is consumed at room temperature. It is never served warm. I don't reheat leftovers either. If stored in refrigerator, I simply leave the bowl on the counter top until it attains room temperature.
- Traditionally peanuts are added to the dish. You can add cashews too or skip nuts entirely, if you are allergic.
- The color of Lemon Rice is key - Adding turmeric at the right stage of cooking helps in achieving the color. Turmeric is added to the tempering just before its ready to be mixed with rice.
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We will be back again with yet another exciting recipe .. Until then, stay healthy and happy!
Vidya Narayan
Lemonrice always turns out so good, I love the crunch cashewnuts add to it!
Great. My version here doesn't have any nuts though.
Somehow, the one given as prasad in temples always tastes better?
Absolutely. Nothing beats that taste.
This is comfort food 🙂
Absolutely dear!
So well presented Vidya, lemon rice always tastes awesome , my version has a little ginger in it as well, looks great!
Oh Ginger sounds really tasty. Should try it sometime. Thank you for your kind words.
You are welcome my friend, I got that tip from a friend from Chennai, am sure you will like it as well.
absolutely! Thanks again.
Wow Vidya!! You have made this lemon rice look so gorgeous! We love lemon rice a lot and your pics are nudging me to make these soon 🙂
HaHa.. Make them soon then! Thank you so much dear for all the kind words!
Beautiful rice ! I have never seen seedless lemon and it is really nice to use them !!
I had neither seen them as well. The skin was very thin and had too much of pulp with juice, no seeds. Thank you so much.
I have never seen a more brighter and tastier looking Lemon Rice!Will surely try out ur recipe sweetheart..:)
Thanks a ton my dear for all the kind words of appreciation. Means a lot.
I can already smell the aromas from this beautiful rice dish! 🙂
thanks so much! Wish there was a virtual way of tasting too .. ha ha .. u never know someday!!
That would be a wonderful invention! 🙂 Thanks for the great recipe!
ha ha .. Most welcome!
Wonderful ?
Thanks dear
The lemon rice looks delicious. Adding fresh curry leaves to any tempering smells heavenly. I can understand how this would be a good dish to have when travelling. It's a light dish which would be easy to digest.
Absolutely true. Thank you for stopping by and pouring your comments.
Whenever I have left over rice this is the dish that comes to my mind. Simple, tangy and tasty.
and very apt for summers too! Thank you so much
Wow... Seedless lemon! Thats really interesting and I have never seen such type of lemons.. so nice of your friend. This one is my most favourite variety rice and always reminds me of school days lunch box..
Absolutely kind of her, Blogging and FB has given me so much, new friends, one of them being you! Lemon Rice is every South Indians love, mine included.. Thank you so much.
I can't access the types of rice you suggest. Can I use a medium grain rice as a substitute?
Yes Medium Grain rice would be fine. Thank you
So nice method you have used.
Thank you
Love the lemon in this rice recipe! Adds so much flavor!
Its a traditional recipe and glad you liked it.
I love how flavorful this is!! Such a delicious recipe!
Great lunch or side dish at dinner too!
Wow so many great flavors in this Lemon Rice! I have never tried Ponni rice so anxious to look for it!
Thanks Lisa. Ponni is a short grain variety from South India and I hope you find it and try the recipe. You can use it for your everyday recipes too, just in case you would like to know.
I feel like I've been missing out since I've never had this before. So glad you shared your recipe so I can give it a try. Looks and sounds ah-mazing!
Thanks so much and hope you enjoy these Jen. Cheers!
So yummy dish...I am surely going to try soon
Thank you Sushma for appreciating. I hope you enjoy making and eating the Lemon Rice. Cheers!