Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Lime Rice with Bell Pepper

Lime Rice or Lemon rice as it is called is a common dish in Southern Indian households.  It was invented to use the left over rice and it had nothing but the garnish of few lentils, peanuts and some lime juice with a bit of heat added. Even when it is so common, it is different from house to house. Some people add onions, garlic and some don't. My mother made it in an entirely different way - rich with mustard and coconut. When I started cooking by myself, I made a point not to make this without adding some vegetables every time I made it. I add at least frozen peas to it if not anything. This time, I had to use the bell peppers from the vegetable garden and here comes this dish.
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Ingredients: 
Rice - 2 cups (if using sona masoori, use 1 1/2 cups)
Bell pepper - 6 seeded and chopped into chunks
Oil - 3 TBSP
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Green chillies - 10 slit lengthwise (or to taste)
Curry leaves - few
Asafoetida/hing - generous pinch
Turmeric - couple of generous pinches
Bengal gram dal / chana dal - 1 TBSP
Urad dal / Black gram dal - 1 TBSP
Peanuts - 2 - 4 TBSP
Salt - to taste
Lime - 1 if very juicy or 1 1/2
Grated coconut - 4 TBSP (optional)
Cilantro - 3 TBSP chopped

Method:
Wash and rinse rice. Cook with enough water ( 1:2 ratio). Let cool and fluff with a fork to separate the grains.  In a  pan, heat the oil. When hot, add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add slit green  chillies, curry leaves followed by bengal gram dal, black gram dal, hing and peanuts. Let the peanuts get toasted. Add the bell peppers, turmeric, little bit of salt. Stir often to prevent burning. When the bell peppers are cooked, add coconut, and cooled rice. Mix well. Add cilantro and check and adjust the salt if needed. Turn off the heat. After about 10 minutes, squeeze the juice of lime and mix. Serve as one pot meal.
This post is written for weekend cooking post that I write with Srivalli  and  Vaishali.

Notes:
If using Sona Masoori rice, use 3 cups of water per cup of rice.

Enjoy.
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3 comments:

  1. Healthy and delicious looking lime rice. Very colorful indeed.
    Deepa

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  2. Bell peppers in lime rice looks fabulous and flavourful.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm a big rice fan.....would love to try this.

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