Lemon Rice

I was never really fond of rice dishes...but during my stay in the US, I realised that no maid is going to come and cook chapatis for me everyday...i convinced myself..that rice is the way to go!
Making chapatis has been, is and will always be a boring task for me.
So I used to make them only once a day (well almost!).
The other meal used to be either something continental or some rice dishes.

In the process I did a lot of surfing for some different styles of rice. Learnt lemon rice, tamarind rice, tomato rice etc.

So heres my sis-in-law's favorite rice preparation...Lemon rice. This dish is a cool "packed picnic preparation" too..tastes best warm, but its ok to have it at room temparature too.

SIL is going with her friends to Belgaum today and she has chosen lemon rice for her group of friends in the train. Hence the large quantity. You could adjust the quantity as per your desired servings.

Level: Easy
Serves: 6 -7 people

Ingredients:
8 cups cooked rice (2 cups raw rice)
3 lemons, or as desired
Salt to taste
3 dry red chillies
2 tsp chana dal
2 tsp urad dal
3 tblsp raw peanuts
1 tsp mustard seeds
2 pinch asafoetida/hing
2 sprigs curry leaves
3 green chillies, roughly chopped
2 inch ginger, finely chopped
3 tblsp coriander, finely chopped

Method:
Step 1 - Separate the cooked rice on a large plate and let it cool down. When cool, apply salt and lemon juice as per your taste preference. It should be lemony and perfectly salted. Its difficult to adjust the salt at a later stage. Keep aside.

Step 2 - Take a large wok-like vessel. Pour in some oil and let it heat up. When hot, add dry red chillies and mustard seeds. When they splutter add in chana dal and peanuts. Stir on a medium low flame till they brown.

Step 3 - Add in urad dal. It quickly turns brown. Add in turmeric powder, asafoetida, ginger, green chillies and curry leaves together. Mix well for a minute or so.

Step 4 - Add rice and stir till all the masala quotes the rice well. Do not fry the rice in there. Once all is quoted turn off flame.

Serve warm with some pickle.

You could leave out the chana dal, if you think you dont like too much crunch.

Rack your brains!
Citrus fruits have more benefits than any other fruits.
Lemon juice is a good source of vitamin C.
It can protect your body against germs and bacteria.
Lemon juice is very high in citric acid, which helps the body fight off colds. 
It is also a liver stimulant and can control irritable bowel syndrome.
It can control conditions like constipation and diarrhea.
It can also help in helping heart burn, some bloating and even helping in subsiding gas pains.