Chitranna

It is lemon rather than tamarind, and the seasoning has its own name.

Vegan.

Ingredients

• 300 g rice, cooked and cooled
• juice of 2 lemons
• 1 tablespoon mustard seeds
• 2 tablespoons chana dal
• 2 tablespoons urad dal
• 60 g peanuts
• 20 curry leaves
• 4 green chillies, slit
• 2 dried red chillies
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/4 teaspoon asafoetida
• 4 tablespoons groundnut oil
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt

Method

1. IT IS LEMON RATHER THAN TAMARIND, AND THE SEASONING HAS ITS OWN NAME. Its article and the tamarind rice on these pages point at each other in their See-also lines, one labelled "(lemon rice)" and the other "(tamarind rice)", which is the whole distinction stated by the sources rather than by me. And the seasoning here is called OGGARANE or GOJJU: mustard seeds, fried lentils, peanuts, curry leaves, chillies and lemon juice. Pulihora, as on its own page, cooks its paste down for twenty minutes and keeps it for months; this one is made and used.
2. THE LEMON JUICE GOES IN OFF THE HEAT, AT THE END. Cooked, it turns bitter and loses its edge. The whole point of the dish is raw sourness against warm fat.
3. THE TURMERIC IS WHAT MAKES IT YELLOW AND ITS ARTICLE SAYS SO. ADDED TURMERIC POWDER GIVES CHITRANNA ITS YELLOW COLOR. A teaspoon, bloomed in the oil.
4. GARLIC AND ONION ARE A DEPARTURE AND ITS ARTICLE IS CAREFUL ABOUT IT. It notes both are used in the seasoning by some, although they do not form part of the recipe as it stands. Left out here.
5. THE RICE IS COOLED AND THE GRAINS KEPT SEPARATE. As with every seasoned rice here. Warm rice and a stir give mush.
6. THE LENTILS GO IN BEFORE THE PEANUTS. Chana and urad need a minute longer to colour, and peanuts burn.
7. THE MUSTARD SEEDS MUST POP BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE GOES IN. Lidded, in hot oil. Unpopped mustard is raw and bitter.
8. IT IS FOLDED, NOT STIRRED, AND SERVED WARM. The seasoning poured over the rice and turned through with the fingers or a flat spoon.
9. ITS ARTICLE NAMES FIVE VERSIONS AND EACH IS A DIFFERENT DISH. Lemon; onion, with fried onion and split chickpeas; raw mango ground to a paste; grated coconut with mustard ground together; and one made with citron lime.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under India · All recipes