Whole Food Plant Based Lemon Rice Recipe

It is no surprise that Chitranna (Lemon Rice) is among the most popular South Indian rice dishes. What may come as a surprise that we've made this without any oil. This mouthwatering lemony and tangy dish has been a part of many of my school lunches and a must have during festivals.

Commonly, lemon rice is topped off with mustard seeds, lentils, groundnuts, and curry leaves fried in oil. The onions if used, are sauteed in oil as well. Heated extracted oil is unhealthy, unlike the abundance of health that oil within the whole nuts provide.

Here’s how you can enjoy Chitranna, be it with mango, lemon, amla or kokum, without a single drop of extracted oil.

Course: Course 3: Grain Dish for Lunch & Dinner Meals
Cuisine: Karnataka Recipe from South India
Prep Time:10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 2 people

INGREDIENTS

1 cup Unpolished Rice soaked
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
1 tsp Urad Dal \ Split Black Gram
3 tsp Peanuts roasted
1 tbsp Curry Leaves
2 tsp Coriander leaves chopped
2 tsp Coconut grated
2 Green Chili slit
2 tsp Miso Paste (Healthy Salt Alternative. See Nutrition Science Highlights below)
1/4 cup Lemon Juice
1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
2 cup Water as required
Servings: 2 people

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Soak 1 cup unpolished, red or brown rice for 30 minutes. Cook it with 2 cups water until it is soft but not over cooked. Spread it out on a large plate so it doesn't become sticky.
2. Dry roast groundnuts over low flame until just done. Ensure that it does not darken. Remove on to a plate and roast urad dal the same way. Once it is light brown, add mustard seeds, curry leaves, slit green chili and switch off the stove as soon as it starts sputtering. Make sure you do not over-roast any of these.
3. Once done, add the above seasoning to cooked rice, with miso paste and turmeric powder. Mix well.
4. Switch off the stove and add lemon juice. Garnish with coriander leaves and grated coconut.

Plant Based Chef Pro Tips

1. Replace lemon juice with grated raw mango for Mango Chitranna Recipe!

Nutrition Science Highlights for WFPB Lemon Rice Recipe

1. Why miso paste? Miso paste is fermented & salted soya bean paste. Maximum recommended salt intake is 3 grams per day per person. In addition to helping us restrict salt intake, replacing salt with miso paste also helps by neutralising the negative effects of salt by soya phytonutrients. You can easily make fresh miso paste at home by mixing 100 grams of cooked soya paste with 10 grams of salt, or 10 tablespoons of cooked soya paste with 1 tablespoon of salt. If making at home, ensure to use immediately, or freeze in batches to use later.
2. Why whole grains? Whole grains are healthier than refined grains such as white rice, refined flours, maida, rava, etc., as the bran layer is intact, with all its vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients. Whole grains have been found to be protective against a whole range of chronic diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, and lifestyle-related cancers.
3. Why cool grains? When cooked grains are allowed to cool on the counter or in the fridge, its starch crystallises to form resistant starch. This can be eaten by our good gut bacteria and also reduces the glycemic index (the rate at which glucose is absorbed), making the whole grain even healthier. For the same reason, parboiled whole grains can be used as well.
4. What's wrong with roasting? The brown color we get on roasting whole grains, tubers, legumes, or nuts is due to the formation of carcinogenic AGE compounds. We can reduce the formation of these compounds by roasting peanuts mildly, on a low flame.
5. Why not tadka? Tadka, thaaLippu, oggaraNe. Tempering spices in oil is quintessential to Indian cuisine. This practice may have started as a compromise when whole nuts were unavailable, and indeed, is more common in inland, drier areas where nuts do not grow easily, all year round. You can enjoy the taste and fragrance, though, by just dry roasting the spices you require, without the oil, or even better, mixing spice powders directly into your dish!