Lemon Rasam:

After all these festivities and indulgence, our digestive system surely needs some soothing, healing and a simple lunch. This lemon Rasam surely fits the bill and we can enjoy this Rasam with some hot rice, vegetable Subzi and little pickle. This time I had some huge lemons from my native. which we call as Dudle huli /Citrus medica. This Rasam is very good for treating sour throat as well. You can enjoy this as a soup and heal the throat pain.

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Ingredients-

Toor dal – 1 cup (cooked)

Green chillies – 4

Ginger – ½ inch

Hing – Toor dal size

Salt

Jaggery – 1 table spoon

Curry leaves – 1 spring

Lemon juice – ½ of big lemon or 1 small lemon

Seasoning:

Coconut oil – 1 tsp

Mustard – 1 tea spoon

Cumin – ½ tea spoon

Red chilli – 1

Curry leaves – 1 spring

Method:

-Chop green chillies, cut ginger julienne and keep.

-Take Four to five cups of water in a pot, put ginger, green chillies, curry leaves, salt, jaggery, hing and cook for a while.

Ribbet collage 1

-When ginger and green chillies are cooked, add cooked dal and adjust the consistency, check for salt and jaggery.

– Boil for 3 to 5 minutes and switch off. Now add lemon juice by removing the seeds if any.

-Do the seasoning by heating oil, add mustard and splutter. Next add cumin, broken red chilli and curry leaves and mix all these and add this over ready boiled Rasam.

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Close the lid and rest this for 10 minutes to absorb all the flavours and then serve.

 

Dudle huli Uppinakai/ Citrus medica Pickle:

Dudle huli is a big lemon and is known as Citrus medica. Citrus medica is much bigger than normal lemon with thick outer rind and less sour and sweeter than normal lemon, excellent for thin Rasam, juice, pickles or Chithranna. Last week I have already posted Chithranna recipe by using this lemon. When I got hold of so many huge lemons, I did try to make this much-loved pickle of Dudle huli. Due to its thick skin, it tastes divine with curd rice and this pickle can be relished within one week after its preparation. I never tried its pickle due to unavailability, hence asked my sister in law who is an expert in preparing this pickle. All thanks to her for this wonderful recipe.

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Ingredients:

Big lemon / Dudle huli – 3 to 4

Salt

Dried red chillies – 100 grams

Black pepper – 1tea spoon

Fenugreek seeds – ½ tea spoon

Cumin – 1 tea spoon

Mustard – 3 tea spoons

White Sesame seeds – 1 tea spoon

Turmeric powder – 1 tea spoon

Seasoning:

Sesame oil – 1 table spoon

Mustard – 1 tea spoon

Hing – ¼ tea spoon

Curry leaves – 2 springs

Method:

-Chop lemon into bite size pieces, after washing and wiping it dry.

-Take one tawa, do seasoning part, by heating sesame or any vegetable oil, splutter mustard seeds, add hing and curry leaves, fry until curry leaves wilts.

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-Next add chopped lemon and toss for a while and add 1 cup of salt and mix until water oozes out.

– Switch off the gas and leave this mixture to cool down to room temperature.

– In the meantime, prepare pickle masala.

-Take one thick bottomed kadai, dry roast fenugreek until it reaches dark, not burnt.

-Next proceed with sesame, mustard, cumin, black pepper one by one separately.

-Now take 1 teaspoon of oil and fry red chillies until crisp. Lastly add turmeric and fry after switching off the gas.

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-Cool this fried and roasted items and make powder by using dry mixer jar.

– Spread this powder on a plain paper, cool and mix with seasoned and cooled lemon mixture.

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-Mix everything nicely, check for a salt, if needed add more. store it in a dry glass jar.

-Once in two days, mix this pickle by using dry spoon until it sets.

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-After one week, you can start enjoying this fresh pickle and store this in a fridge for longer shelf life.

 

 

Citrus medica / Dudle huli Chithranna:

Dudle huli is a big lemon and is known as Citrus medica. Citrus medica is much bigger than normal lemon with thick outer rind and less sour and sweeter than normal lemon, excellent for thin Rasam, juice, pickles or Chithranna. This Chithranna is fragrant, rich in vitamin C and very tasty. We normally serve this in any festivals or weddings. It is a no onion no garlic recipe and we use mustard, dry red chilli and coconut for flavour. This is our traditional and much-loved recipe for Chithranna.

chithranna main

Ingredients:

Rice – 3 cups

Citrus medica – 1 (big citrus fruit)

Dried red chillies – 2 to 3

Mustard – 1 tsp

Coconut – ½ cup

Jaggery – 1 to 2 tsp

Salt

Oil – 1 tsp

Seasoning:

Coconut Oil – 3 tbl sp (any refined oil is ok)

Mustard – 1 tsp

Urad dal – 1 tsp

Cumin – 1 tsp

Hing – ¼ tsp

Curry leaves – 2 springs

Ground nuts – ¼ cup

Method:

-For cooking rice:

Boil water in a big vessel by putting 1 tsp of salt and oil. Add washed rice and cook for 7 to 8 minutes or until it is soft and firm and cooks. Drain cooked water and spread this rice in a colander.

– Grind masala by putting coconut, roasted red chillies, mustard, jaggery and dry run without adding any water.

-Seasoning:

-Take one thick bottomed kadai, add oil and heat. When it is hot, add mustard.

collage 1

-When it starts splutter, add urad dal and ground nut and fry until it becomes little dark. Next add cumin, hing and curry leaves.

-Now add ground masala and fry for 2 minutes. Add drained rice, juice of citrus medica and salt.

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-Mix well and switch off the gas. Check for the seasoning and adjust according to your taste.

– This is very ideal vitamin C rich option for tiffin box as well.