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Home » Recipes » Rice & Grains

Instant Pot Lemon Rice

Published August 4, 2018 Updated August 3, 2020 By Meeta Arora 29 Comments | This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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Instant Pot Lemon Rice

Flavorful, tangy and crunchy Lemon Rice from South India, made as a one-pot dish in Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker. Aromatic Basmati Rice flavored with lemon juice, mustard seeds, ginger and topped with roasted peanuts. It takes less than 30 minutes to make this delicious Instant Pot Lemon Rice.

Instant Pot Lemon Rice

These citrus flavored rice are like a bowl of sunshine right in your kitchen. You will always find Lemon Rice at any South Indian restaurant. With just a few ingredients, this rice is packed with flavor. It is great to pack for lunch with a side of veggies.

I had enjoyed Lemon Rice many times at my South Indian friend's place and in restaurants. When I saw that my daughter really enjoyed them, I had to make them myself. She is so picky and I am always looking for a more options for her lunch box.

Try them out, you will definitely enjoy Lemon Rice with yogurt/raita along with some pickle. Lemon Rice can also be served as a side along with some protein such as grilled chicken or fish or veggies. If you are bored of plain rice or quinoa, try this lemon rice with your favorite curry.

Lemon Rice is a popular greek dish as well, however it is flavored differently than this South Indian Lemon Rice. That is typically flavored with lemon and topped with parsley. The Mexican variation is to make Cilantro Lime Rice. Isn't it interesting to find similarities in many world cuisines?

Easy Recipe to make Lemon Rice in the Pressure Cooker

Firstly I always start with gathering the ingredients. If you have done any South Indian cooking, you will most likely have all the ingredients at home.

Instant Pot Lemon Rice Ingredients

We will start with the tempering. Heat ghee (or oil for vegan) in the instant pot, then add the lentils (chana & urad dal). These lentils are commonly used for tempering in many South Indian dishes. We add them first, as they take longer to cook. Then we will add the other tempering ingredients - mustard seeds, dry red chili, ginger and curry leaves.

Saute them for about 30 seconds, then add the rice, water and lemon juice. That is all for the active preparation for this Lemon Rice.

Pressure cook for 4 minutes, followed by a 10 minutes pressure release. Add roasted peanuts once you open the pot. Fluff the rice with a fork. We love the perfectly cooked and fluffy grains of rice.

Instant Pot Lemon Rice in the pot

If you don't have roasted peanuts, then you can roast them in the instant pot before starting the recipe. Add 1-2 tbsp of ghee and add roast the peanuts in it. Take them out and continue with the recipe below. You can also add roasted cashews if you like.

Instant Pot Lemon Rice

Check out these other rice recipes made in the Instant Pot

  • Black-eyed peas and Spinach Rice
  • Vegetable Rice Pulao
  • Mushroom & Brown Rice Pilaf
  • Spinach Rice Pilaf

Want to find other easy Instant Pot Recipes? Here are 29 Best Instant Pot Vegetarian Recipes for you to try!

Tried this recipe?Give a rating by clicking the ★ below
Instant Pot Lemon Rice

Lemon Rice Recipe - Instant Pot / Pressure Cooker

Meeta Arora
Flavorful, tangy and crunchy Instant Pot Lemon Rice from South India, made as a one-pot dish in Instant Pot. Aromatic Basmati Rice flavored with lemon juice, mustard seeds, ginger and topped with roasted peanuts. 
4.84 from 31 votes
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Servings: 6
Calories: 332
Course: Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine: Indian
Diet: Gluten-free, Vegan
Method: Instant Pot/Pressure Cooker
Prep Time: 5 mins
Cook Time: 25 mins
Total Time: 30 mins

Ingredients
 
 

  • 2 tablespoon Ghee or Oil
  • 1 tablespoon Split Chickpeas (Chana dal)
  • 1 tablespoon Split Skinned Black Gram Lentils (Urad dal)
  • 1 tablespoon Mustard Seeds (Rai)
  • 1 Dried Red Chili Whole broken (optional)
  • 10-12 Curry Leaves (Kadi Patta)
  • ¼ teaspoon Asafoetida (Hing) optional, skip for gluten-free
  • 1 tablespoon Ginger minced
  • 1 teaspoon Ground Turmeric (Haldi powder)
  • 1 teaspoon Salt adjust to taste
  • 2 cups Basmati Rice rinsed
  • 2 ¼ cups Water
  • ¼ cup Lemon juice
  • ¼ cup Peanuts roasted (and/or cashews)

Instructions
 

  • Start the instant pot in sauté mode and heat oil in it. Add chana dal and urad dal. Sauté them for about a minute until they are slightly browned. 
  • Add mustard seeds, dry red chili, curry leaves, asafoetida and ginger. Stir and saute for 30 seconds while the mustard seeds splutter. 
  • Add turmeric powder and salt. Stir well. 
  • Add rice and water. Stir in the lemon juice. Press Cancel and close lid with vent in sealing position. 
  • Start the instant pot in Manual or Pressure Cook for 4 minutes at high pressure. When the instant pot beeps, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes. Then quick release the pressure manually. 
  • Add roasted peanuts. Gently fluff the rice with a fork while mixing the peanuts in the rice.  
  • Lemon Rice is ready to be enjoyed! 

Video

Notes

Roasted Peanuts: If you don’t have roasted peanuts, then you can roast them in the instant pot before starting the recipe. Add 1-2 tbsp of ghee and add roast the peanuts in it. Take them out and continue with the recipe below. You can also add roasted cashews if you like.
Lime: You can use lime or lemons to make this dish. Lime's are usually a bit more tart than lemons, so adjust the quantity if juice to your taste. 
Rice: You can use other varieties of white rice in this recipe. However do adjust the water quantity and cooking time accordingly. eg, for sona masoori rice use 1:2 rice to water ratio, and the same cooking time. 
Created: This recipe was created in a 6qt Instant Pot DUO60 Multi-use Programmable Pressure Cooker.

Note: Nutrition values are my best estimates. If you rely on them for your diet, use your preferred nutrition calculator.

Nutrition

Calories: 332kcalCarbohydrates: 55gProtein: 7gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 12mgSodium: 423mgPotassium: 188mgFiber: 2gVitamin A: 135IUVitamin C: 48mgCalcium: 36mgIron: 1.3mg
Keyword easy, instant pot, instant pot rice
Tried this recipe?Share your photo and tag @PipingPotCurry or #pipingpotcurry

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Essbee says

    January 05, 2022 at 1:39 pm

    Pretty good but needs more flavor. Needed to add more lemon for sure. And cut down turmeric. It was too much. I also soaked the rice and pressure cooked for 6 min.

    Reply
  2. Ines says

    November 15, 2020 at 11:22 am

    Tried it for dinner this evening and I love this fresh taste. Reminds me to my travels to India. Tank you for this tasty recipe

    Reply
    • Piping Pot Curry says

      November 16, 2020 at 11:13 am

      Hi Ines - So happy to hear that. Thank you for sharing it 🙂

      Reply
  3. Julia says

    October 12, 2020 at 10:00 am

    I have whole Urad . Would like still work in this recipe ?

    I typed in the wrong email in my previous comment.

    Reply
    • Meeta Arora says

      October 19, 2020 at 4:28 am

      Hi Julia - I have not used whole urad dal in this recipe as it might not cook well in the suggested time. That said, this recipe will work without urad dal too. I hope you enjoy it!

      Reply
  4. Upstairs Woman says

    August 02, 2020 at 11:35 am

    Nice flavors! I followed the recipe to the letter, and the result was definitely on the al dente end of the rice spectrum. Not a criticism of the recipe, since rice texture preferences are personal and regional, but an FYI in case other readers also prefer the grains a little more soft than chewy. Next time I make lemon rice I think I'll try soaking the rice first for half an hour, or alternatively upping the liquid just a tad and cooking another minute or two. The taste and the appearance of the rice is really nice!

    Reply
    • Meeta Arora says

      August 03, 2020 at 7:01 am

      Thank for sharing your feedback. It will definitely be useful for other readers. Thank you!

      Reply
  5. joe says

    July 31, 2020 at 1:51 pm

    Didn't work for me. Rice over-cooked & stuck to the bottom / stuck together.

    Reply
    • Meeta Arora says

      August 03, 2020 at 7:06 am

      Hi Joe - Sorry to hear. If possible, can you share the variety of rice you used?

      Reply
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