Lemon Rice with Cranberries

  • Servings: 3
  • Difficulty: Intermediate
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At the holiday time my fridge always has a few seasonal fruits and vegetables and the temptation to use them in a recipe on the spur of the moment results in some successes and a few abysmal failures. Here is one that turned out well. While making lemon rice for a potluck party I used a few cranberries and roasted Virginia peanuts. Wow!

Lemon Rice with Cranberries

Make tadka and spices as usual when making lemon rice. Add a handful of roasted Virginia peanuts at the end and sauté for a minute. Then add a handful of fresh cranberries and sauté them for 2 – 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Mix with the rice an enjoy.

Ingredients

  • Cooked rice – 4 cups
  • Canola Oil – 3 tbs
  • Sesame oil – 1 tbs
  • Black mustard seed – 1 tsp
  • Urad dal – 1 tsp
  • Chana dal rinsed – 1 tbs
  • Asafoetida powder – 1/4 tsp
  • Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
  • Curry leaves – 6 – 12
  • Fresh Green Chilies slit – 6
  • Roasted Virginia Peanuts – 1/4 cup
  • Cashew pieces – 2 tbs
  • Fresh minced cilantro – 2 tbs
  • Fresh Cranberries – 1/2 cup
  • Minced Ginger – 1 tsp
  • Fresh lemon juice – 3 tbs
  • Salt – to taste

Directions

  1. Heat the Canola oil in a large sauté pan and splutter the mustard seeds. Add Urad and chana dals. Add asafoetida and turmeric powder. Add the peanuts, cashews and curry leaves. Now add the sesame oil and stir. Add the chilies and cranberries and sauté for 2 – 3 minutes and cover and turn off the heat.
  2. Add the cooked rice to the pan and the salt. Stir in the lemon juice, fresh ginger and cilantro and toss until the spices are evenly mixed and coat the rice.
  3. Serve warm or at room temperature with a raita or patchadi and some potato chips or a salad.

Note: Traditionally lemon rice calls for more turmeric to give the rice a lemon yellow color. Here I decided to let the cranberries take pride of place.

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