Vegan Instant Pot Lemon Rice

This Instant Pot recipe of cilantro lemon rice is made with white rice, lemon juice, and spices. It's a quick and easy, vegan South Indian snack!

This post is sponsored by the Get Florida Produce. The opinions and text are all mine.

Love flavored rice

In India, and especially in the South of India, we have a variety of flavored rice recipes that will make you drool!

We call it Kalanda Saadam. 'Kalanda' means mixed and 'Saadam' means rice. These dishes are an integral part of South Indian cuisine. Some regions also call it Chitranna.

These dishes are packed with delicious flavors and are super easy to make! Be it Mustard Rice, Tomato Rice, Coconut Rice, Tamarind Rice, Peanut Rice, or Curd Rice!

In many households, all these rice recipes are mostly made using leftover rice unless they're being made for a special occasion. In that case, fresh rice is used.

Indian-style lemon rice and coconut rice are mainly offered in temples as prasadam and the flavors are to die for!

Recipe Video

I have always felt that somehow the prasadam we get in temples tastes way better than when made at home!

There is a Vishnu temple in Trichy (South India) called Srirangam temple. Besides it being a huge ancient temple with beautiful architecture, the lemon rice that's served to all the devotees there is out of this world!

In fact, we never leave the temple without eating it! If you ever get a chance, do visit this temple. Not just for the prasadam, but it's a beautiful temple.

For those who can't visit this temple, let me show you how easy it is to make it at home.

One of my favorite childhood traveling memories includes this cilantro lemon rice. When my brother and I were children, we used to travel by train on an overnight journey to visit my grandparents in Trichy.

We would always carry homemade food with us for the train journey. It would always be the same dishes because they were travel friendly.

Masala Idli, Curd Rice, and Lemon Rice were staple train fare because they would keep overnight without spoiling.

When life gives you lemons...

Make lemon rice! That was the first thought that crossed my mind as I opened the box of vegetables and fruits from Get Florida Produce!

I was yet to feature the recipe of lemon rice on my blog and the first thing I saw when I opened this box was lemons! It was a sign.

BTW, the produce I received was of top quality, fresh, and free of packaging. They sent me a box filled with apples, mangoes, pears, onions, zucchini, carrots, tomatoes, mushrooms, oranges, lemons, and lots of greens!

I was also happy to see curry leaves because they are not available in the leading grocery stores here. I need to go to the Indian grocery store whenever I need them. This definitely saved me a trip!

Side note - It's a great idea to include curry leaves in your daily diet. They are packed with antioxidants and helps cleanse our bodies. You can add them to anything and everything!

I make Curry Leaves Fritters whenever I get them in bulk.

Why Get Florida Produce?

What I loved the most about Get Florida Produce is that they source the produce directly from the farmers.

Plus, it was so easy to place an order online and they delivered it to my doorstep with no additional charges.

They are focused on finding locally grown and freshly harvested produce that is harvested the day before the pickup! This is as fresh as it can get!

Each week they source over 20 different varieties of produce that's then included in the box.

You can let them know about the items you don't want/like or are allergic to and they do their best to customize/ substitute other items in place of the regular menu item. 

They also try to come up with a theme each week with complementary items for some of the featured recipes.

Their service is only available in Orlando as of now. So if you are a local, then I highly recommend you try Get Florida Produce. It's all about supporting local businesses!

I have shared an Instagram reel on how easy it is to order from Get Florida Produce. You can watch it here.

Why make this

We all know how good and beneficial it is to include lemons in our diet. It's rich in vitamin C, helps build immunity and prevents infection. The absorbic acid in it helps absorb iron from the food.

Using lemon juice to make this Indian lemon rice is a fabulous idea!

It is an extremely flavorful rice recipe! The strong lemony flavor gives this rice that extra zing and zest. It's the perfect mix of spice and tangy flavor.

While you can make this recipe of lemon rice on a stovetop or Instant Pot, I prefer to make it in the Instant Pot. It's convenient, easy, and makes a one-pot meal!

I love the way white rice cooks in the Instant Pot especially for such recipes. The grains are separate and they cook faster.

• A good way to use lemons
• Minimal prep required
• Very simple and easy recipe
• Cooking time is just 4 minutes in the Instant Pot
• Can also be made on the stovetop
• Has a mild sour and spicy taste
• It's travel-friendly
• Is vegan and gluten-free
• Is an aromatic and flavorful way to dress up rice
• Loved by all across ages

Did you know?

Add one teaspoon of lemon juice to the water for your rice, then cook as normal. It will help keep your rice beautifully white and make your food tastier.

Ingredients needed

I love that this lemon cilantro rice is a very basic recipe that calls for pantry staples. The lemon is the star ingredient of the recipe, but the curry leaves and carrots, and onions also impart additional flavor to the dish. Get Florida Produce delivered big time with some first-rate lemons, carrots, onions, and fresh curry leaves that really helped make this dish amazing!!

• Rice - Use any variety of rice. Basmati rice will give you nice separate grains if that's what you want. No need to pre-soak the rice.
• Lemons - You can use fresh and ripe green or yellow lemons. Preferably use freshly squeezed lemon juice in this recipe. You may also use limes.
• Veggies - carrots, and onions.
• Spices and herbs - Mustard seeds, green chilies, dried red chilies, curry leaves, cilantro, and turmeric powder.
• Lentils - Urad dal and chana dal are used here. They give the dish the required crunch and lend a nutty flavor. There is no need to soak/cook them. Use them raw.

Here's how to make it

Instant Pot

First rinse the rice well. There is no need to soak the white rice before cooking it in the Instant Pot.

1. Turn on the Instant Pot in saute mode. Add oil and once it's hot add mustard seeds, urad dal, chana dal. Cook till the lentils turn light golden.
2. Add curry leaves and dried red chilies. Saute for 10 seconds.
3. Then add the chopped green chilies and onions. Saute till the onions turn translucent.
4. Next, add the grated carrots and cook for 40 seconds.
5. Add rinsed rice.
6. Then add water, turmeric powder, and salt.
7. Turn off the saute mode, close the lid, keep the valve in sealing position and cook in pressure/manual mode for 4 minutes. You can also select the rice mode in the Instant pot to cook this white rice.
8. While it's cooking, squeeze the juice from the lemons.
9. When the pot beeps, release the pressure after 10 minutes. Then add the freshly squeezed lemon juice and cilantro. Mix it with the rice.

Stovetop

There are 2 ways to make this Cilantro Lemon Rice on the stovetop. You can either use precooked rice/leftover rice or cook the rice with all the ingredients in a pressure cooker just like you would do in the Instant Pot.

I will show you how to make it using precooked rice. Just ensure that the rice is not sticky or mushy but grainy.

You can precook the white rice in an Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker a couple of hours before.

• Heat oil in a skillet and once it's hot add mustard seeds, urad dal, and chana dal. Saute till the lentils turn light golden.
• Add curry leaves and dried red chilies. Saute for 30 seconds.
• Then add the chopped green chilies and onions. Saute till the onions turn translucent.
• Next, add the grated carrots and cook for 2 minutes or until the carrots turn soft.
• Add turmeric powder, the cooked rice, and salt. Mix it all together.
• When all the rice is well combined, take it off the flame. Garnish with chopped cilantro and lemon juice.

Serving Suggestions

If you want, you can also add another tadka to vegan stew by frying some onions with chilly powder and green chilies.

Serve Shahjahani dal with any Indian flatbread like roti, naan, chapati, or any bread. It also pairs very well with steamed rice.

This Indian chickpea curry, coconut milk flavored is loaded with rich flavors. Serve them for weekend brunches, get-togethers, potlucks, etc.

Serve this rice warm. I like to enjoy this South Indian lemony rice by itself along with some roasted papad.

However, you can serve this Cilantro Lemon Rice with a side of coconut chutney, sambhar, rasam, yogurt, korma, or pickle.

On festive occasions, its served with Dal Vada along with Coconut Rice.

It's normally served as a side dish but it makes a great breakfast or snack. We sometimes even have it for lunch or dinner.

You can also serve this at parties, pack in lunchboxes, and pack it for travel.

For this lemon rice recipe, preferably use freshly squeezed lemon juice. But if that's unavailable to you, then you may use packaged lemon juice. But the taste will not be the same.

Always remember to add the lemon juice last. Do not cook lemon juice for long. It alters the taste. Adjust the quantity of lemon juice based on your preferance.

The traditional South Indian recipe of lemon rice is made without onions or shallots. But adding them lends to a nice flavor. Feel free to add or skip adding veggies.

Add some cooked chickpeas, or any other beans to up the nutrition value of the dish. You can also garnish it with some lemon zest to make the rice even more aromatic and extra zingy!

I have made it gluten-free. But if you want, you can add asafoetida or hing. Fry some peanuts/cashews/pine nuts and add them to the rice. It gives it a nice flavor and crunch.

You can also add half a tablespoon of ginger paste when sauteeing other ingredients. Actually, this recipe is very flexible. You can easily skip some of the ingredients if you don't have them.

Soak chana dal 10 minutes before adding it to the pot. This ensures it's soft and not hard to chew when cooked.

How to store it?

Leftover Cilantro Lemon rice stays well in the fridge for 2-3 days. It can also be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge. You can also freeze it.

Alternates to white rice

It's not necessary to use Basmati rice. you can use any rice. Even leftover rice works great!

However, if using leftover rice, then no need to cook it in the Instant Pot. Just saute all the ingredients in a skillet and add the cooked rice.

If looking for low-carb options, you can prepare the same recipe with quinoa, cauliflower rice, or any other alternate grain in place of rice.

You can also use rice noodles, vermicelli, or brown rice. Just adjust the cooking time in the Instant pot accordingly.

More Instant Pot Rice recipes

• Jeera Rice
• Potato Mint Pulao
• Spinach Garlic Rice
• Beetroot Rasam Rice
• Carrot Beets Khichdi
• Vegetable Pulao

Again, if you are in Orlando, don't forget to check out Get Florida Produce and order your box of farm-fresh produce! It's totally worth it!