South Indian lemon rice is a beautiful, sunshine-yellow dish with anti-inflammatory turmeric and the crunch of roasted peanuts and lentils. This is a simple, one-pot meal ready in 25 minutes in the instant pot or stovetop pressure cooker. A delicious recipe that's also vegan and gluten-free!
Looking for more one-pot Indian rice recipes that are also vegan and gluten-free? Check out this chana pulao, this mushroom pulao and this vegetable pulao. They are all made in the instant pot for convenience.
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Why this recipe works
If you like easy rice recipes, try this Indian style lemon rice in your instant pot. I remember the pre-instant pot days when every other day I burnt the saucepan of rice simmering away on the stovetop. For the life of me, I couldn't remember to switch it off and cried tears of frustration when I had to clean the black mess at the bottom of the saucepan.
Now I can relax knowing that once I have added the ingredients and programmed the appliance, it will do its job without me having to babysit it. Honestly, what a relief! This instant pot lemon rice is one of those recipes that came back on the menu after I started using the instant pot. And it comes out PERFECT. EVERY. TIME.
I like it also because I'm a sucker for easy, one-pot recipes and comfort food. This turmeric and lemon rice recipe is nothing fancy, but it is a light and refreshing, dump-and-go kinda dish for hungry times. Kids love it (it is ideal for their lunch boxes), husband doesn't mind it (he's not a raving fan, admittedly). But that's more to do with how frequently I've started making it these days. Lemon rice overdose, I suspect. But all-in-all, it's a simple rice dish that doesn't disappoint.
Ingredients
- 1 cup white rice
- 2 tablespoon cooking oil
- 1 tablespoon chana dal (split chickpea lentils)
- 1 tablespoon urad dal (split skinless black gram lentils)
- ¼ cup peanuts
- ½ teaspoon black mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
- 10-12 fresh curry leaves
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1-2 green chilies
- Sea salt, to taste
Options and substitutions
- The chana dal and urad dal (lentils) are optional. If you're not into Indian cooking and don't have these lentils, leave them out. The lemon rice won't suffer much for lack of them.
- Lemon juice can be substituted with lime juice.
- Do not omit the the curry leaves and mustard seeds. Besides the lemon, these ingredients give this dish its distinctive tangy taste and aroma. These ingredients are available in any Indian grocery or on Amazon.
- If curry leaves are not an option, use some cilantro or coriander leaves instead. The rice won't taste the same, but it's better than nothing.
- I used canola oil in this recipe, but peanut oil or avocado oil would work too.
- You can also use cashew nuts instead of peanuts or in addition to them.
Frequently asked questions
You can make this recipe with any non-sticky variety of white rice, short-grained or long-grained. I like Basmati rice best of all, so that's what I've used.
Lemon rice is not traditionally made with brown rice as it takes a much longer time to cook and will not taste the same as white rice. That being said, if brown rice is all you eat, cook the rice first, then mix it in with the tempering.
For the instant pot, I keep a tried and tested ratio of one cup rice to one and a quarter cups water. This ratio works every time for me.
How to make Indian lemon rice in the instant pot
Preparation (5 minutes)
- Rinse the rice in a colander until the water runs clear. Drain and soak it in 1.25 cups water.
- Grate the ginger.
Cooking (20 minutes including pressure build up and release time)
- Press the saute function, normal (medium heat), and add the oil. Tip in the mustard seeds and let them crackle.
- Add peanuts, chana dal and urad dal and fry until they turn golden (about 30-40 seconds).
- Add grated ginger, green chillies, curry leaves, turmeric and half cup water. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the rice and the water in which it was soaked, lemon juice and salt. Mix everything with a spoon and cancel saute.
- Close the lid, turn the steam release handle to sealing and press the pressure cooking button (high pressure). Set the timer to 4 minutes. When the timer beeps, wait for 10 minutes, then release pressure and open the pot. Perfectly steamed easy lemon rice is ready to be served.
How to make this recipe with leftover rice or cooked rice
If you have some cooked rice, all you need to do is prepare the tempering and mix it with the rice. You don't need the pressure cooker in this case since the rice is already cooked. Here's what to do:
- Put a frypan on medium flame on the stovetop and add oil. Tip in the the mustard seeds.
- When the mustard seeds start crackling, add the peanuts, chana dal and urad dal and fry until they turn golden brown (about 30-40 seconds).
- Add the ginger, green chillies, curry leaves, turmeric and half cup water. Cook for 2 minutes. Sprinkle the salt and squeeze in the lemon juice.
- Pour this tempering into the rice and mix well. Your rice is ready to be served.
Note: If your cooked rice is straight out of the fridge, do warm it first in the microwave or bring it to room temperature on the countertop before adding the tempering.
What to serve with lemon rice
Lemon rice tastes good on its own, but you can serve it with papad or papadum (thin, dry and very crispy flatbread), or coconut chutney. If you don't mind a little extra heat, you can also have it with some Indian pickle or achar.
More easy instant pot rice recipes you will like
- Prawns Pulao - A delicate and flavorful prawns and rice dish fit for a feast!
- Palak Pulao - An easy, light and fresh pulao that's bursting with the goodness of spinach and cottage cheese.
- Chicken Pulao - A delicious one-pot pulao with boneless chicken breast and rice.
- Jeera Rice - Steamed aromatic Basmati rice flavored with cumin and other whole spices.
- Kashmiri Pulao - A fruit pulao made with ghee, saffron, and milk.
📖 Recipe
South Indian Lemon Rice
Equipment
- 6-quart Instant Pot Duo
Ingredients
- 1 cup white Basmati rice
- 2 tablespoon cooking oil
- 1 tablespoon chana dal split chickpea lentils
- 1 tablespoon urad dal split skinless black gram lentils
- ¼ cup peanuts
- ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
- 10-12 curry leaves
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1-2 green chillies
- Salt to taste
Instructions
Preparation (5 minutes)
- Rinse the rice in a colander until the water runs clear. Drain and soak it in 1.25 cups water.
- Grate the ginger.
Cooking (20 minutes including pressure release time)
- Turn the instant pot to saute (normal) and when the display shows HOT, add the oil. Tip in the mustard seeds and allow them to crackle.
- Add the peanuts, chana dal and urad dal and fry until they turn golden.
- After 30 seconds, add grated ginger, green chillies, curry leaves, turmeric and half cup water. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the rice and the water in which it was soaked, lemon juice and salt. Mix everything with a spoon and cancel saute.
- Close the lid, turn the steam release handle to sealing and press the pressure cooking button (high). Set the timer to 4 minutes. When the timer beeps, wait for 10 minutes, then release pressure and open the pot. Perfectly steamed lemon rice is ready to be served.
Notes
- All ingredients can be found in Indian grocery stores or Amazon.
- The chana dal and urad dal (lentils) are optional. The lemon rice won't suffer much for lack of them.
- Lemon juice can be substituted with lime juice.
- Do not omit the the curry leaves and mustard seeds. Besides the lemon, these ingredients give this dish its distinctive tangy taste and aroma.
- If curry leaves are not an option, use some cilantro or coriander leaves instead. The rice won't taste the same, but it's better than nothing.
- I used canola oil in this recipe, but peanut oil or avocado oil would work too.
- You can also use cashew nuts instead of peanuts or in addition to them.
- Basmati rice was used in this recipe but you can use any short-grain, non-sticky rice too.
Galit says
I have made this before the traditional way and decided it was too complicated even though it's a favorite dish of mine. This version made it so easy!
Saima says
Thank you Galit! Much appreciated! I'm glad you found making this easier in the instant pot with my recipe.
Kanchan says
This turned out great! Next time I’ll add more ginger, less oil and more lemon juice after cooking (it’s easy to mix in most of the lemon juice before cooking but the tartness of uncooked juice adds brightness to the dish).
Sowmya says
Will peanuts, chand and urad dal stay crunchy if you cook along with rice? My daughter doesn’t like boiled peanuts in lemon rice.
Saima says
Sowmya, they will not stay as crunchy if you cook along with rice. If you like the crunch, add peanuts after cooking. I wouldn't recommend this with the dal, however, because it needs to to be cooked.
Jemma says
Thank you for this recipe. Looking forward to trying it out. One question: If you were to double the recipe, how would the cooking time be adjusted?
Saima says
Thanks Jemma:) You don't need to double the cooking time if doubling the quantity. The rice will still get done in 4 minutes of pressure cooking.
ANUSUYA JEYAKUMAR says
Hi
Please let me know how long to soak the rice
Saima says
Hi Anusuya, 10 minutes is enough to soak the rice.
McNini says
I don't have curry leaves or fresh ginger. What do you think the measurements would be for curry powder and ginger powder? This looks so delicious. I also like your reply above about adding the peanuts after cooking for crunch.
Saima says
Oh, McNini, curry leaves are really quite essential to lemon rice! However, if you can't get hold of them, substitute them with cilantro leaves not curry powder. Curry powder would totally change the taste. Ginger powder would still work, I guess.