About Mane Adige

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"Mane Adige" means "Home Food" in kannada and this blog is all about recipes that I cook. Most of the recipes I post here will be from "Mangalooru" and "Bengalooru " regions of Karnataka,India. Rest of them are the one's which I try out by improvising the recipes got from different sources.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Nimbekai Chitranna/Lemon Rice

         

Lemon rice, known as Nimbekai Chitranna in Kannada,  is one of the most commonly made mixed rice varieties in Karnataka. Chitranna ( meaning "mixed rice" in Kannada) is a speciality of Bangalore-Mysore regions of Karnataka. It is usually made during festivities and certain special occasions..... You usually get to hear people saying 

"Ivattu, nanna magalu hostel inda manege bandidaale. Adikke, Chitranna-payasa maadidde!!"  meaning, my daughter is back from the hostel today, So I made Chitranna-Payasam.... Or

" Ivattu habba alwa, adikke chitranna maadidde" meaning, I made chitranna for the festival today.... :)

What I am trying to say is this - mixed rice varieties, called chitranna or bhaat, is synonymous with festivities and celebrations in Karnataka. Lemon rice is the most famous among them all. There are different ways of making it. While all versions taste great, here's the one that I like most. It also makes for a splendid one pot meal!  Off this goes to FIC-Yellow event happening at Tongue Ticklers...

This one is also going over to Harvest: Festival of Rice event hosted by Sudheshna at Here I Cook. Thanx for hosting, both of you!! Enjoy being the host :)

 

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked white rice

1/4 cup Grated coconut, fresh/frozen

1/2 a medium sized Onion, finely chopped (optional)

1 tbsp Lemon juice

2-3 Green Chilies

1/4 tsp Mustard seeds

1/2 tsp Turmeric

1/2 tsp Sugar

Salt as per taste

Cilantro for garnishing

For tempering:

2 tsp Oil/Ghee

1/4 tsp Mustard seeds

3-4 Curry leaves

2 tsp Peanuts

1 tsp Urad-Chana dal mixture

A generous pinch of Hing

Method:

  1. Grind coconut, green chilies, mustard seeds and turmeric to a coarse mixture; ; DO NOT add any water while grinding; Keep aside.
  2. Heat oil in a pan; temper with all the ingredients mentioned above; Add finely chopped onions and saute until they turn translucent.
  3. Add the coconut-green chili masala and stir-fry for a minute; Saute continuously and keep in mind not to burn the masalas.
  4. Add cooked rice, salt, sugar and mix well.
  5. Switch off the stove; Add lemon juice and toss until it mixes evenly.
  6. Adjust ingredients according to taste; Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve.

Prep Time: About 20-25 mins;

Serves: 2-3 people;

 

A reminder and an update on the Chutney/Dip Mania....

 

                                                 

Just 2 weeks left for you to send in your entries for the "Chutney/Dip Mania" event, people!!!! After all the wonderful entries that you guys have been sending, I have decided to give away a PRIZE to the best entry!!!! I will put up a poll after the event closes and all you Mane Adige readers can vote and pick the winner.... This is just a rough idea, and the exact plans on short listing the entries are yet to be finalized. Sounds okay, so far??!?

So, rush in your entries on or before Feb 15th 2009.... :)


30 comments:

lubnakarim06 said...

Wow looks tandy, spicy and yummy. Gr8 entry.

Rekha said...

Chitranna is my all time favorite, can have it 3x/day on all days without feeling bored.

FH said...

Just looking at it makes me drool! :D

Looks so good, I have to make some chitranna gojju and freeze it for emergencies!!!

Finla said...

Beautiful colour and it looks so delicous.
I have been wanting to make this, till now notyet done.

Shama Nagarajan said...

wow..lovely easy comfort food...

Mangala Bhat said...

wow! nimbekayi chitranna looks soo yummy ...Thnaks for the wonderful recipe.:).

Mangala Bhat said...

wow! sounds great!! PRiZE!!!!!;)

notyet100 said...

lovely click,..looks pleasent,..:-)

Kannada Cuisine said...

Love Chitranna...Looks so good in the picture..me a big chitranna fan especially the one without onions ...any variety is welcome for me! adu Avarekalu Hakidre innu ista!

Ramya Kiran said...

hey ramya.ita been ages since i had it gottha?completely forgotten abt it.i havent tried ur version(grinding stuff).will try that for tonight's dinner.thanks.

Anonymous said...

Such a comfort food.....pass on a hot plate of this yummy rice to me plsssssss

Raks said...

Thats tha most gorgeous,rich lemon rice I have ever seen! Great ramya!

Ramya's Mane Adige said...

@ Everyone,

thanx people!! Glad y'all liked it... :)

Laavanya said...

That looks awesome.. am craving some right away - It's been ages since I made this and I love the addition of onions.. must make it extra yummy.

Nithya Praveen said...

Looks yummy,the pic makes so much of a difference:)

Anonymous said...

Nice presentation Ramya....

Btw, the idea of the event sounds great! Looking forward to the round-up!

-Priya

vidhas said...

lovely lemon rice. great click. My hubby's favourite. I used to add peanuts or green peas for variation.

Cynthia said...

So fluffy and I can bet that it is bursting with flavour.

Usha said...

Looks awesome, one of my favorites...loved your idea of adding coconut to this, must have really enhanced the taste :-)

Dori said...

I love lemon rice, looks delicious!

Vani said...

Chitraanna looks moist and yum, Ramya! The ginger chutney from Nirupama sounds delicious. Looking forward to the round-up.

Rajee said...

wow! sounds great with sugar and coconut as I never add it to the lemon rice.

Anonymous said...

Ramya

Looks mouthwatering, mavinakayi Chitranna is my all time favorite.
I recently wanted to try this but had no mavinakayi/mango, My friend had suggested me to use Smithgranny green apple which will be very sour inplace of mango for chutney, kosabari, chitranna & i did try that it was awesome couldn't tell it is apple, Give a try you really like it

Shoba

Ramya's Mane Adige said...

@Anonymous,

Thats a wonderful tip!! Will surely try using green apples some time.... Do you peel the skin or retain them??

Anonymous said...

Ramya

I did retain the skin, as you know it will not be thick & bitter like in mavianakayi/mango, , try to chose one which looks really darker green & hard or firm

broca's area said...

we never make this for brk fast:(....[appa nige agalla!!]

nimi said...

After longing to make that perfect karnataka chitranna, finally I made it. Thank you so much for the recipe. Chitranna tasted perfect and just love it!

J-Me said...

I have never put sugar in Chitranna. But has any of you tried garlic? I usually put it in before frying the onions. Adds a whole new flavor and dimension to the chitranna. Trust me ... try it.

Anonymous said...

loveee chitranna. my fav college food along with puma from semiya.

Dimple Manoj said...

One of our friend's mother used to send it for us when we used to stay in a PG. It was so yummy, so I started looking for it and finally found it here. I tried this recipe of yours and it turned out very well. Thank you for this wonderful recipe.