Nimmakaya Pulihora – The Authentic Andhra Lemon Rice

Nimmakaya pulihora Andhra recipe aka lemon rice is quick and tasty flavoured rice in every Indian household. It’s the easiest one-pot meal to prepare. Learn how to make nimmakaya pulihora in a super-simple way.

Diwali – The Festival of Lights!

The festive season is here. Diwali, the festival of lights and diyas is the much-awaited festival of the year. Sweets and other yummy delicacies, lights and the crackers make this festival unique and pompous.

Meeting friends and relatives and having loads of fun in the evening while busting crackers along with friends are some fond memories of my childhood.

Diwali can also be considered as the food festival with the amount of food that will be served in every household on this auspicious day.

Traditional sweets like payasam, poornalu, bobbatlu, chakkera pongali are fondly prepared along with some garelu, pulihora and other dry snacks like murukulu and distributed to family and friends.

Wish you all a happy and safe Diwali!!!

Nimmakaya Pulihora – Lemon Rice Recipe Andhra:

So here is a simple pulihora recipe in this festive season!!

Nimmakaya pulihora or lemon rice is a yummy one-pot meal. A very common rice item that is preferred during festivals in every Andhra household.

Nimmakaya pulihora, sour and spicy flavoured rice is a one-pot meal. But some prefer to have it along with coconut chutney. My husband prefers to eat it along with mango pickle, his favourite. It also can best be accompanied with curd.

Step by step nimmakaya pulihora or lemon rice andhra recipe below:

Nimmakaya Pulihora Andhra Recipe:

Recipe Type: Main
Cuisine: Indian
Author: Cherie
Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 20 mins
Total time: 25 mins
Serves: 3

Ingredients:

• Rice – 1 cup
• Lemon juice – ¼ cup
• Salt as per taste
• Turmeric – ½ tsp

For Tempering:

• Oil – 2 tbsps
• Green chillies – 4
• Red chillies – 4
• Urad dal – ½ tbsp
• Split chana dal – ½ tbsp
• Peanuts – ¼ cup
• Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
• Curry leaves – few sprigs
• Asafoetida – pinch

Instructions:

• Wash the rice and soak for 30 mins.
• Add 1 ½ cups of water and pressure cook. Add a pinch of turmeric to the rice before pressure cooking.
• If you don’t want to pressure cook. You can follow this. Boil 5 cups of water in a large vessel. Add the soaked rice to it and bring it to a boil. Keep checking the rice by pressing a grain every 5 mins.
• Once you think, the rice is cooked till the required softness as per your taste, turn off the flame. Drain the water by tying a muslin cloth to the neck of the vessel. This helps to drain all the water from the rice.
• Transfer to a large mixing bowl or a vessel that will help you mix evenly and let it cool down.
• I generally pressure cook the rice.
• But this also tastes equally good. Elders in my family prefer making the rice for lemon rice this way.
• Try the method whichever is convenient for you.
• Keep the lemon juice ready. I had to take 4 large lemons to get ¼ cup of lemon juice. The number of lemons varies based on the juice that they contain. So just squeeze as many lemons that will give you ¼ cup of lemon juice.
• In a Kadai, heat the oil.
• Once the oil is hot, add the peanuts and fry till half done.
• Then add split chana dal and urad dal and fry.
• Once they start turning colour, add mustard seeds, green chillies, red chillies and sauté.
• Add the curry leaves and fry till crisp.
• Add asafoetida and turn off the flame.
• Also add the remaining turmeric and mix well.
• Now quickly transfer this tempering on to the cooled down rice.
• Let it cool.

Just Mix & Serve:

• After cooling, sprinkle salt on the rice as per your taste.
• Gently mix using hands. Do not crush the rice. Be careful while doing this.
• After the tempering and salt are evenly mixed with the rice, add lemon juice.
• Gently mix again. Make sure you mix it thoroughly but gently.
• Once you mix it evenly, our lemon rice is ready to serve.

Notes

* As far tempering is considered, you can always add or delete the ingredients you like or dislike. Cashews, roasted almonds can be added to give this the kids.

** You also can add cumin to the tempering but I do not add cumin in lemon rice. I prefer to add cumin for tamarind rice.

*** The amount of lemon juice and chillies can be adjusted according to your taste.

Lemon Rice Nimmakaya Pulihora

Cherie

Nimmakaya pulihora Andhra recipe lemon rice is tasty flavoured rice.

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine andhra, Indian

Servings 3 People

Calories 360 kcal

Equipment

• Pressure cooker

Ingredients

  

• 1 cup Rice
  
  
• 1/4 cup Lemon juice
  
  
• Salt as per taste
• 1/2 tsp Turmeric 
  
  

For Tempering:

• 2 tbsp Oil
• 4 Green chillies
• 4 Red chillies
• 1/2 tbsp Urad dal 
• 1/2 tbsp Split chana dal
• 1/4 cup Peanuts
• 1 tsp Mustard seeds
• Few sprigs Curry leaves
• 1 pinch Asafoetida

Instructions

 

• Wash the rice and soak for 30 mins.
• Add 1 ½ cups of water and pressure cook. Add a pinch of turmeric to the rice before pressure cooking.
• If you don’t want to pressure cook. You can follow this. Boil 5 cups of water in a large vessel. Add the soaked rice to it and bring it to a boil. Keep checking the rice by pressing a grain every 5 mins.
• Once you think, the rice is cooked till the required softness as per your taste, turn off the flame.
• Drain the water by tying a muslin cloth to the neck of the vessel. This helps to drain all the water from the rice.
• Transfer to a large mixing bowl or a vessel that will help you mix evenly and let it cool down.
  
  
• I generally pressure cook the rice.
• But this also tastes equally good. Elders in my family prefer making the rice for lemon rice this way.
• Try the method whichever is convenient for you.
• Keep the lemon juice ready. I had to take 4 large lemons to get ¼ cup of lemon juice. The number of lemons varies based on the juice that they contain. So just squeeze as many lemons that will give you ¼ cup of lemon juice.
• In a Kadai, heat the oil.
• Once the oil is hot, add the peanuts and fry till half done.
• Then add split chana dal and urad dal and fry.
• Once they start turning colour, add mustard seeds, green chillies, red chillies and sauté.
• Add the curry leaves and fry till crisp.
• Add asafoetida and turn off the flame.
• Also add the remaining turmeric and mix well.
• Now quickly transfer this tempering on to the cooled down rice.
• Let it cool.
• After cooling, sprinkle salt on the rice as per your taste.
• Gently mix using hands. Do not crush the rice. Be careful while doing this.
• After the tempering and salt are evenly mixed with the rice, add lemon juice.
• Gently mix again. Make sure you mix it thoroughly but gently.
• Once you mix it evenly, our lemon rice is ready to serve.

Notes

* As far tempering is considered, you can always add or delete the ingredients you like or dislike. Cashews, roasted almonds can be added to give this the kids.

** You also can add cumin to the tempering but I do not add cumin in lemon rice. I prefer to add cumin for tamarind rice.

*** The amount of lemon juice and chillies can be adjusted according to your taste.

Keyword lemon rice, lunch box recipes, one pot recipe, rice recipes

Take a Look at Few Festive Recipes:

There are few more yummy festive recipes – Andhra minapa garelu recipe and Rava kesari recipe.