Last Minute Lemon Rice

It's Tuesday night and my husband informs me about a potluck at his office -- ideas? quick ones? Out pops Lemon Rice - Truthfully, I am not a big fan of it, or wasn't until recently - People often think just yellow-rice= lemon rice - NOT. Although everyone makes it and thinks of it as a cinchy dish, it can be a really tricky one - too Dodh if not zesty, too turmericky, and blah bland - I've tasted them all - Let me tell you for some reason, lemon rice never quite made the cut in my home, growing up - On moonlit nights, we'd have kalanda saadhams and we hankered eagerly for Sambar Saadham, Pulikachal saadham or puliyodarai, thenga saadham or thayir saadham - in other words rice with sambar, tamarind, coconut or yogurt....
However, since moving to North America, this seems to be a big favorite of the Indians here, just like Satyanarayana poojai, which was never too popular in India, but is the poojai here...But over the years, we have adapted to all of it.

Lemon rice, my way.
Ingredients

To serve 8 people

2 cups of basmati rice cooked on stove top or in a rice cooker
The juice of 2 medium-sized lemons
2 carrots, peeled and grated
4-5 green chillies
Salt to taste
Thadka with
1 tsp of Turnemric
1 tsp of Urad Dal
1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
A pinch of Hing (asafoetida)
Green Curry leaves
oil 2 tbs
Garnish - Cilantro and nuts

Preparation
Get the oil fired up
Pop the thadka, cumin, hing, curry leaves, urad dal and chillies and turmeric.
Add the rice and mix in well
Then filter the lemon juice of any seeds and pour 4 tsp of lemon juice
Mix in and transfer into a serving dish
Then take the grated carrots and turn it in the same pan that you thadkad for a couple of minutes to semi-cook it - NO oil reqd.
Mix into the rice
Garnizh with fresh chopped cilantro and nuts of your choice

Can be served at room temp .
Tip: Do NOT heat up

Last Word - Stir a goodly amount of love into the lime juice before adding it to the rice :) Enjoy.