Curry leaves - 3 sprigs or about 12 to 15 fresh leaves
Whole mustard - ½ tsp
Dried red chilli - 3 to 4
Turmeric powder - ½ tsp
Lemon - 2, large (about ¼ cup of Lemon juice)
Peanuts - ½ cup
Salt to taste
Instructions
First fry the raw peanuts in a small frying pan using 1 tablespoon of oil until they turn crispy. This will take a little more than 1 minute. Take the crunchy peanuts out in a bowl and set aside.
Now heat a kadai or wok and add the remaining oil to it. Once the oil is warm, temper it with dried red chillies, mustard seeds and curry leaves. They will splutter, so be careful; you can cover the kadai for a few seconds using a lid to save yourself from oil splutters.
After about a minute, add the cold rice to the kadai and start frying it in oil. Sprinkle the turmeric powder on the rice and start mixing it in so that every rice grain is coated with turmeric and turns golden yellow.
Season the rice with salt and mix in to distribute the seasoning evenly. Stir fry the rice for a good 5 minutes on medium-low heat until the rice grains turn glossy.
Now switch off the flame and leave the rice for a few minutes for the temperature to come down a bit as lemon juice does not work on super hot food.
Finally drizzle all the lemon juice over the rice and sprinkle the fried peanuts. Give a good mix with a light hand using a spatula.
Rice will absorb all the flavors from lemon juice and transform to a mind-blowingly delicious lemon rice with crunchy peanuts to complement it with perfection!
Your tasty lemon rice is ready. Serve on individual plates and enjoy with sambhar on the side!
Recipe by Flavor Quotient at https://www.flavorquotient.com/2023/10/lemon-rice-best-ever/