Nimmakara Pulihora (Andhra Lemon Rice)

Recipe by

Venkata Narasamma Kasaraneni

Serves

4 to 6

Difficulty

Intermediate

Photo by:

Melati Citrawireja

Excerpted from The Diaspora Spice Co. Cookbook. These are just a few of the deeply personal recipes that tell the story of our farm partners, their kitchens, and the spices they grow. Order your copy here!

In the Kasaraneni home, lemon rice is usually made to mark an auspicious day like Navratri or Sakranti. The dish is such a perfect expression of their land because the recipe almost entirely uses ingredients that the family grow themselves - from their famous Pragati turmeric giving the rice its signature lemon yellow color, to the sesame in the sesame oil, to the aromatic short grain rice, to the lemons that the turmeric is actually intercropped with!

When I think of lemon rice, I always think of it as savory sunshiney funfetti — it’s got so many contrasting colors and textures — the crunch of the toasted lentils, the nutty pop of the mustard seeds, the lemony rice, the fresh bits of cilantro - it really does feel like a party in a bowl. Often rice recipes can be a bit one-note because everything is cooked together — this sort of becomes a composed rice dish because you’re layering in flavor and textures all the way up until you’re ready to serve for maximum effect.

Ingredients

1¼ cups (250 grams) jeera or samba rice
2 lemons
3 tablespoons untoasted sesame oil, or other neutral oil
1-inch piece ginger, finely chopped
¾ teaspoon Pragati Turmeric
1 serrano pepper, quartered lengthwise
1¼ teaspoons fine sea salt, plus more
¼ cup (50 grams) raw, shelled peanuts
2 tablespoons chana dal
1 tablespoon split urad dal
1½ teaspoons Bindu Black Mustard seeds
24 fresh curry leaves (about 2 branches)
1 to 2 dried Guntur Sannam chilies, torn in half
⅓ cup (17 grams) roughly chopped cilantro, leaves and tender stems

Methods

Place 1¼ cups jeera or samba rice in a bowl and rinse with cold water, swishing it around with your fingers, and rinsing several times until the water runs clear. Fill the bowl with cold water, making sure the rice is covered by a couple inches, and soak for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, zest and juice 2 lemons, keep them separate, and set aside.
Heat 1 tablespoon untoasted sesame oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. When the oil is shimmering, add 1-inch finely chopped ginger, and sauté, stirring occasionally, until the ginger begins to soften, 2 to 4 minutes.
Drain the soaked rice well and add to the pan, increasing the heat to medium-high, and cook, stirring frequently, until the water has evaporated and the grains are opaque and separated, 3 to 6 minutes. Add ¾ teaspoon ground turmeric, stirring to coat each grain, and continue to cook for another 30 seconds. Add 1 quartered serrano pepper, 1¼ teaspoons fine sea salt, reserved lemon zest, and 1¾ cups water, stir, cover, and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the rice is just cooked through and all the water is absorbed, 14 to 19 minutes. Add ¼ cup lemon juice, saving any extra juice for another use, fluff with a fork, and cover for another 10 minutes.
While the rice is resting, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons untoasted sesame oil in a tadka spoon or small saucepan over medium heat. When shimmering, add ¼ cup raw, shelled peanuts, 2 tablespoons chana dal, 1 tablespoon urad dal, and 1½ teaspoons mustard seeds, and cook, stirring frequently, until the peanuts start to turn light golden, 2 to 5 minutes. Add 12 curry leaves — be careful, the curry leaves will crackle and pop! — and 1 to 2 torn dried Guntur Sannam chilies, depending on your desired heat level, and continue to cook until the curry leaves turn bright green and translucent, 10 to 30 seconds. Add the peanut mixture to the rice along with ⅓ cup roughly chopped cilantro, then tear the remaining 12 curry leaves into the rice, and gently mix everything together with a fork. Taste and season with salt, if necessary. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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