How to make awesome South Indian rice at home

All of us have tasted different types of rice dishes such as Jeera rice, Veg Pulao etc. but authentic south Indian rice is slightly different from what we’ve consumed so far. Here we’re noting down two most popular south Indian rice dishes; Tomato rice and Lemon rice.

Tomato Rice:

Tomato rice or Thakkali Sadam is one of the most popular rice dishes of south India. It’s extremely easy to cook at home and you can even use your leftover rice from your meal to make fresh and delicious tomato rice.

Tomato rice recipe:

To prepare tomato rice, you’ll need the following:

• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• ½ tablespoon Vasant Cumin Seeds
• ¼ tablespoon Vasant Hing
• ½ tablespoon Vasant Mustard Seeds
• ½ tablespoon Chana dal
• ½ tablespoon Urad dal
• 3 green chillies
• Few curry leaves
• 1 chopped onion
• 3 chopped tomatoes
• Salt (According to taste)
• ½ tablespoon Vasant Red Chilli Powder
• ½ tablespoon Vasant Turmeric Powder
• 2 cups boiled/ cooked rice

Method to prepare Tomato Rice:

• - Heat coconut oil in the pan.
• - Add cumin seeds and mustard seeds in it.
• - Now add Hing, curry leaves, chillies, Chana dal and Urad dal in it and let it cook for a while.
• - Add onions and tomatoes in it. Let it cook until all the vegetables become mushy.
• - Add salt, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and cooked rice in it and let it cook for 5 minutes on medium flame.
• - When ready, serve hot with coconut chutney.

Lemon Rice:

Lemon rice or Chitranna is also one of the most popular rice dishes of south India. The reason for its popularity is its unique sourness which comes through the added lemon juice in the recipe. It is also very easy to cook at home using pure Indian spices and you can also use leftover cooked rice from your earlier meal to make this delicious and authentic south Indian meal.

Lemon rice recipe:

To prepare lemon rice, you’ll need the following:

• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• ½ tablespoon Vasant Cumin Seeds
• ¼ tablespoon Vasant Hing
• ½ tablespoon Vasant Mustard Seeds
• ½ tablespoon mushed ginger
• 1 tablespoon whole peanuts
• ½ tablespoon Chana dal
• ½ tablespoon Urad dal
• 3 dried red chillies
• Few curry leaves
• 1 chopped onion
• Salt (According to taste)
• ½ tablespoon Vasant Red Chilli Powder
• ½ tablespoon Vasant Turmeric Powder
• 2 cups boiled/ cooked rice
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Method to prepare Lemon rice:

• - Heat coconut oil in the pan.
• - Add cumin seeds and mustard seeds in it.
• - Now add Hing, mushed ginger, peanuts, curry leaves, chillies, Chana dal and Urad dal in it and let it cook for a while
• - Add onions and let it cook again.
• - Add salt, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and cooked rice in it and let is cook for 5-7 minutes on medium flame.
• - After everything is cooked properly, add lemon juice in it.
• - Serve hot with coconut chutney.

While cooking authentic south Indian rice, don’t forget to use 100% pure and authentic Indian Spices from Vasant Masala. Click on Shop Online to buy our spices online. Our spices are also available on Amazon, Flipkart and at your nearest Kirana store too.