Nimmakaya pulihora (Lemon rice)

Pulihora or Lemon rice is a very common rice dish in south India.Also is a typical naivedyam/ prasadam in temples or at home. To make Pulihora,pre cooked rice is flavored by something sour like lime juice, raw mango or tamarind paste etc. and then it's seasoned with a typical seasoning of lentils and spices. 

Pulihora is usually served as it is. But I have tasted it along with potato curry and I liked it.Also it can be paired up with curd rice to make it a festive meal. Pulihora is also good for packing in lunch box. It’s a eat in the bowl dish for me as no sides are necessary. 

My favorite kind of pulihora is the Tamarind one.I always keep the cooked tamarind paste handy so I could quickly make tamarind rice.When I run out of the paste my next resort would be lemon rice. To make lemon rice you need to obviously use lemons but I make it with lime or lemon which ever is handy. I can’t really tell the difference between both of em.For me they both are sour which is the point of making this dish :-). Also they both turn out tasty. I just pick which ever looks fresh in the grocery store.Saying all that, today I’m making it with lime but you can substitute them with lemons.

I have used Sona masoori rice for this recipe which we usually consume. Making pulihora with Basmati rice is out of question. It doesn’t look authentic for me and it looks more like pulao. But again its personal preference. Also seasoning is really important for this dish. Don’t be skimpy with seasoning otherwise it just looks like yellow rice. The finished rice should have a crunch in every bite.The spice I have used here is mild so my kids can eat. You can use more green chillies if you like it spicy.I have used 3 limes in this recipe and the sourness of the dish is perfect for me.But you can adjust the sourness by using more or less juice.


Servings:
Two (2)
Total time:
50 minutes
Category:
Rice dishes,Festive Recipes
Author:
Praveena Gudipati

Ingredients: (I use US standard measuring; 1cup=8oz=250ml)
2 cups rice
4 cups water
1/4 teaspoon Turmeric
salt
2 teaspoon oil
3 lemons medium size

For seasoning:
2-3 tablespoon oil
3 tablespoon peanuts
1tablespoon urad dal 
1 Tablespoon Chana dal
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon Cumin seeds( Jeera)
2 red chilli
4-6 green chilli
1/8 spoon or few pinches Asafotida (Inguva)
Curry leaves

Nimmakaya pulihora step-by-step Recipe 

1. Wash the rice couple times and cook it in a rice cooker. I used 4 cups water but depending on the rice it might take more or less water. 
2. While rice is cooking we can make rest of the prep:
3. Juice the lemons using citrus juicer or lemon squeezer.If the lemons are too big quarter em.I have used 3 limes and the size is shown in picture.Keep the juice aside.
   
4. Prepare the seasoning: Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. When the seeds splutter,add peanuts as they take more time to brown. once little color appeared add chanadal and Urad dal.Then add red chili and curry leaves. When the lentils turned brown add green chillies.Turn off the stove and add hing.
5. Keep the seasoning aside.
6. When the rice is done take it in a big, wide bowl. Add 2 teaspoon oil, turmeric and salt to taste.Toss the rice gently with a big spoon. Adding salt when the rice is hot helps it melt down/coat rice properly. Adding oil will keep grains separate after cooling down.Mix the rice in between to let it cool down faster.
7. Once the rice is at room temperature add squeezed lemon juice and mix properly with hand.Do not squish rice.Using hands helps lime juice coat the rice properly.Also do not add whole juice at once. Add some and taste it to make sure the sourness works for you.
8. Finally add the seasoning and mix with a spoon/hand.
   
9. Keep it aside for 10-15 minutes to let the rice get all the flavors.Serve.

Tips: 

• If you are using Basmati rice use 1.5 cups water to 1 cup rice.

Related Recipes:

• Cranberry Pulihora (cranberry Rice)
• Raw mango pulihora (Raw mango Rice)
• Usiri pulihora (Gooseberry Rice)
• Chinthapandu Pulihora (Tamarind rice)
• Vermicelli Pulihora
• Biyyapu Rava Pulihora