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    Home » Indian Vegan Recipes

    Turmeric Lemon Rice Recipe – 10 Minutes

    Published: May 13, 2016 · Modified: Jan 9, 2019 by Richa 62 Comments

    Jump to Recipe   Print Recipe

    Turmeric Lemon Rice Recipe. 10 minute Golden Rice with turmeric, lemon and mustard seeds. Indian Lemon Rice. Use cooked brown rice, quinoa, millet or couscous or cauliflower rice for variation. Easy side. Vegan Gluten-free Soy-free Recipe. Pin this post. 

    Jump to Recipe   

    Turmeric Lemon Rice Recipe. Golden Rice with turmeric, lemon and mustard seeds. Use cooked brown rice, quinoa or millet or couscous for variation. Easy side. Vegan Gluten-free Soy-free Recipe | VeganRicha.com

    This super easy flavorful rice is a great side with simple dals, veggie curries or anything really. I posted a bowl with the Mango Dal, Bengali Veggies with the turmeric rice last week and got many requests for the turmeric lemon rice recipe. So here goes. 

    TGIF! Make this 10 minute lemony turmeric rice. Or use other cooked grains or cauliflower. I usually use Basmati Rice or a mix of white and brown basmati. Add veggies along the way or just make the plain rice and serve in a bowl of choice. Use up the left-over rice. Curry leaves are available in Indian Stores or online on amazon. The fresh leaves can be frozen for months in an airtight container. Use fresh or frozen right out of the freezer. 

    Heat the oil. Once the oil is hot, add mustard seeds and let them really start to pop. If the mustard seeds don’t pop, they don’t release their amazing flavor into the food. This is one of the reasons, people often want to add more spices and flavors to the food, esp Indian food, as it feels like there isn’t enough in the dish. If the recipes call for roasting the spices with or without oil, the spices need to be roasted well for the flavor to really bloom into the dish.  See video below and notice those popping mustard seeds!

    Easy Turmeric Lemon Rice.


    Served below with Mango Toor Dal, Easy Bengali Gobi Aloo, some Khakhra(Indian crackers).

    Bengali Mixed Veggies - Charchari Recipe. Cauliflower Potato Green Beans Peas with Bengali (Eastern Indian) Spices. Panch Phoron Phulkopi Recipe. Easy Veggie Side. Vegan Gluten-free Soy-free Recipe. | VeganRicha.com

    Turmeric Lemon Rice Recipe. Indian Golden Rice with turmeric, lemon and mustard seeds. Use cooked brown rice, quinoa or millet or couscous for variation. Easy Side. #Vegan #Glutenfree #Soyfree #Recipe | VeganRicha.com

    More Indian recipes from the blog

    • Festive Butternut Squash Pilaf with whole spices.
    • Carrot Veggie Turmeric Pilaf /Fried Rice with Indian spices
    • Mango Halwa Dessert
    • Easy 30 min Veggie Pakora / Fritters.

    Turmeric Lemon Rice Recipe. Golden Rice with turmeric, lemon and mustard seeds. Use cooked brown rice, quinoa or millet or couscous for variation. Easy side. Vegan Gluten-free Soy-free Recipe | VeganRicha.com

    Recipe Card

    Print Recipe
    4.93 from 14 votes

    Turmeric Lemon Rice Recipe

    Turmeric Lemon Rice Recipe. Golden Rice with turmeric, lemon and mustard seeds. Use cooked brown rice, quinoa, millet or couscous or cauliflower rice for variation. Easy side.Indian lemon turmeric rice. Vegan Gluten-free Soy-free Recipe
    Prep Time5 minutes mins
    Cook Time10 minutes mins
    Total Time15 minutes mins
    Course: Side
    Cuisine: Indian
    Servings: 2
    Calories: 240kcal
    Author: Vegan Richa

    Ingredients

    • 1.5 to 2 cups (237 g) cooked rice
    • 1 tsp oil high smoke point oils like organic safflower or organic canola
    • 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) mustard seeds preferably black mustard seeds
    • 8 to 10 curry leaves fresh or frozen, whole or chopped
    • 2-3 tbsp (2 tbsp) toasted cashews or peanuts optional
    • 1/2 to 3/4 tsp turmeric
    • 1/3 tsp (0.33 tsp) or more red pepper flakes or 2 broken red chilies
    • 2 tbsp or more lemon juice
    • cilantro for garnish

    Instructions

    • Cook the rice, fluff and keep aside or let the rice or other cooked grains you plan to use, come to room temp.
    • Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add mustard seeds and let them start to pop. i usually check the oil by adding 2-3 seeds. If they start to sizzle immediately or pop, the oil is ready.
    • Add curry leaves and wait for a few seconds. Add turmeric and red pepper flakes and mix in. Reduce heat to medium low. At this point you can add roasted nuts(cashews or peanuts) or peas or both and mix in.
    • Add a splash of water to reduce the temperature of the pan. then add the lemon juice.
    • Add in the rice and mix in well. Add salt if the cooked rice was not salted. Cook for 2 mins. Taste and adjust salt and lemon. Cover and take off heat. Let it sit for 2 mins before serving. Garnish with cilantro.

    Video

    Notes

    If using cauliflower rice (grated cauliflower), cover and let the cauliflower cook & steam at the last step over medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes or until the cauliflower is cooked to preference.
    Nutritional values based on one serving

    Nutrition

    Nutrition Facts
    Turmeric Lemon Rice Recipe
    Amount Per Serving (1 g)
    Calories 240 Calories from Fat 63
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 7g11%
    Saturated Fat 1g6%
    Sodium 8mg0%
    Potassium 107mg3%
    Carbohydrates 38g13%
    Sugar 1g1%
    Protein 5g10%
    Vitamin A 250IU5%
    Vitamin C 85.8mg104%
    Calcium 28mg3%
    Iron 1.1mg6%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

    Turmeric Lemon Rice Recipe. Golden Rice with turmeric, lemon and mustard seeds. Use cooked brown rice, quinoa or millet or couscous for variation. Easy side. Vegan Gluten-free Soy-free Recipe | VeganRicha.com

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    ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ If you Love the Recipe, Please consider rating it using stars in comments! It helps readers and helps more people find the recipe online! I love hearing from you all! ⭐⭐⭐⭐

    Reader Interactions

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    1. Rebecca

      February 22, 2022 at 3:53 pm

      5 stars
      I used brown rice and it was delicious!

      Reply
      • Vegan Richa Support

        February 24, 2022 at 10:52 am

        super!

        Reply
    2. harry

      October 01, 2021 at 5:20 am

      I really liked the content which is very helpful for me. Thanks for sharing.

      Reply
      • Vegan Richa Support

        October 01, 2021 at 2:43 pm

        feel free to leave a rating if you wish, thanks

        Reply
    3. harry

      July 20, 2021 at 11:05 pm

      5 stars
      Very Informative and unique content. This the best blog post I’ve read . Thanks for sharing

      Reply
      • Vegan Richa Support

        July 22, 2021 at 11:14 am

        wow! thank you

        Reply
    4. teja aswani

      June 25, 2021 at 2:50 am

      4 stars
      “Wonderful contribution!” I’m blown away by the information you’ve shared. Thank you so much for everything. Continue to write your blog.

      Reply
      • Vegan Richa Support

        June 25, 2021 at 4:10 pm

        thanks for popping in

        Reply
    5. Hema Malini

      March 19, 2021 at 12:20 pm

      5 stars
      Hi Richa, I follow you on FB. Love all your recipes. Thank you!

      Reply
      • Vegan Richa Support

        March 25, 2021 at 11:11 am

        thanks Hema!

        Reply
    6. Merry Pearl

      May 21, 2020 at 11:23 am

      THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRECISE INSTRUCTIONS AND YOUR INSIGHT!
      I’m of Latin descent and I have never been able to cook rice perfectly to save my life. It was a bit of a downer, given my heritage – but your easy step by step guide helped me make my first perfect rice in 20 years!
      Thank you again!

      Reply
      • Vegan Richa Support

        May 21, 2020 at 11:34 am

        I’m so glad this worked for you! Thank you for stopping by!

        Reply
    7. Joyce

      March 02, 2020 at 1:54 pm

      Hi Richa
      When I was little I used to make something with leftover rice that included mustard, lemon juice and olive oil steamed.
      I will try this one thank you!!!

      Reply
    8. Kris

      February 19, 2020 at 7:11 pm

      5 stars
      Just made this for dinner tonight- it was so good everyone loved it. Reminds me of the first time I ever tried “yellow rice” and I’ve been trying to recreate it ever since (with help from many a recipe!). Thank you!!

      Reply
      • Richa

        February 19, 2020 at 9:27 pm

        awesome

        Reply
    9. Yukti Arora

      September 07, 2019 at 5:58 am

      5 stars
      so tasty rice recipe so keep posting.

      Reply
    10. Keren

      August 20, 2019 at 6:02 am

      Hi Richa,
      Is there a way to make it a complete meal by adding some beans or black lentils? If so, do I increase the spices and add more curry leaves?
      Thanks.

      Reply
      • Richa

        August 20, 2019 at 10:34 am

        yes you can toss in some cooked lentils, chickpeas or beans. Double up the spices and curry leaves and salt depending on if the lentils. beans are already salted.

        Reply
        • Keren

          August 20, 2019 at 11:19 pm

          5 stars
          Thanks, I’ll try to make it this weekend. I saw fresh curry leaves in the market and hope they’ll be there this week too. I love boldly spiced rich dishes and these days try to eat legumes every day hence my question.

          Reply
          • Richa

            August 20, 2019 at 11:37 pm

            you should get them and freeze them. the frozen curry leaves have fresh like flavor.

            Reply
            • Keren

              August 21, 2019 at 4:05 am

              Thanks

            • Keren

              September 24, 2019 at 3:57 am

              5 stars
              Delicious! I finally managed to find curry leaves again (last bag!) I did add black lentils and will probably make this recipe again with some sort of legume to make it a main dish. Just had it for lunch. I love using new ingredients which give a dish a whole new flavour. Added some roasted cashews and cilantro on top. Love it! Now I need to find other recipes of yours that use curry leaves.

            • Richa

              September 24, 2019 at 10:00 am

              yay!! tons of curry leaves recipes onthe blog
              https://www.veganricha.com/?s=%22curry+leaves%22
              https://www.veganricha.com/2015/11/curry-leaf-pepper-chickpeas.html

    11. Marie

      December 21, 2018 at 8:55 am

      5 stars
      I just saw a response that you made mentioning being able to use dry curry leaves instead of fresh or frozen. No need to respond to my comment if that is the case. Thank you

      Reply
      • Richa

        December 21, 2018 at 11:02 am

        yes you can use dry

        Reply
    12. Marie

      December 21, 2018 at 8:48 am

      5 stars
      Can I also use dry curry leaves for this meal?

      Reply
    13. Beebe

      December 17, 2017 at 11:43 am

      5 stars
      I made this last week and it was such a hit I’m making it again. It was very easy and sooo delicious. I couldn’t find curry leaves, so I just left them out. Would you recommend a substitute?

      Reply
      • Richa

        December 17, 2017 at 12:04 pm

        if you can find dried ones (on amazon), those will work too. No good substitute really, but for variation you can add 1 bay leaf or kaffir lime leaf.

        Reply
    14. Michele

      August 11, 2017 at 9:10 pm

      I LOVE this technique of frying the spices/seeds including the turmeric and then frying the already cooked rice into the flavored oil. So much different than the turmeric rice I usually make which is just adding the turmeric and any seeds to the rice as it cooks. I’m making this for the 2nd time in 3 days–and a double batch! Thank you so much for sharing!

      Reply
      • Richa

        August 11, 2017 at 9:50 pm

        Awesome!

        Reply
    15. Nicole

      April 16, 2017 at 12:47 am

      Will the rice be spicy?

      Reply
      • Richa

        April 16, 2017 at 9:50 pm

        Hi Nicole, Red pepper flakes/chilies add the heat. You can omit or adjust per your taste. 🙂

        Reply
    16. Lynn

      November 14, 2016 at 7:31 am

      Can you do this without oil?

      Reply
      • Richa

        November 14, 2016 at 9:47 am

        you can dry toast the mustard seeds and use.

        Reply
    17. Nicki Escudero

      November 13, 2016 at 1:16 pm

      5 stars
      Hi, Richa,

      I loved this recipe — thank you so much for sharing! Nicki

      Reply
    18. Julea

      November 09, 2016 at 3:56 pm

      OMGosh!!! I used cauliflower rice with this recipe and I couldn’t be happier!! My hubby and I are doing low carb, low sugar and for the longest time didn’t eat the Indian food we LOVE! Thank you so much!!!

      Reply
    19. Emily Brooks

      October 04, 2016 at 2:58 pm

      Hello Richa! This was amazing! I did notice the spices turning dark before adding the splash of water–was that burnt or should I have stuck with it? (I started over–and it is now a fave!)

      Reply
      • Richa

        October 04, 2016 at 3:18 pm

        The mustard seeds are brown black mustard seeds. If the turmeric goes brown or black, then it is burnt. It depends on your pan and stove etc. You can cook it at slightly lower heat.

        Reply
    20. Michelle

      September 16, 2016 at 11:31 am

      5 stars
      OMG, you’re amazing! I just ordered your book, (X2) for both myself and my daughter. I added a bit of broccoli from my garden, (minus the big green worm that fell out__fed that to my pet chicken).
      Lots of flavor, thanks for the tip about roasting the herbs.

      Reply
      • Richa

        September 16, 2016 at 11:47 am

        lol, good that you noticed the worm. I remember my mom fed us some because she didnt see them (that is how we found out she needed glasses ):). I was like Mom, what are those floating worms, she said its cumin, and i said nope.

        Reply
        • Doris

          December 09, 2017 at 1:50 am

          Haha, my mother in law once ate ants, because she thought they were cake crumbs 😀 yes, she also needed glasses.

          Reply
        • Camille Coad-Williams

          January 19, 2020 at 4:41 pm

          OMG! 😂

          Reply
    21. Roz

      August 21, 2016 at 8:36 pm

      Just finished eating this great dish beside the fire. As a main (vegan version) I made it with brown rice, topped off with eggplant pickle and coconut yogurt, and a couple of papadams. Yummmm Well worth making. Thanks

      Reply
    22. Marie

      May 22, 2016 at 9:41 am

      Can curry powder replace the curry leaves? I’ve never seen curry leaves in any grocer. Thanks.

      Reply
      • Richa

        May 22, 2016 at 10:38 am

        Curry powder is a blend of spices while curry leaves are sweet neem leaves that are green and a vibrant flavor. very different flavors :). You can find curry leaves in Indian stores and freeze them for months and use directly from the freezer.
        You can omit the curry leaves. This is a simple rice side. so you can add other flavors if you like when you add turmeric like curry powder or garam masala.

        Reply
    23. Haley

      May 21, 2016 at 11:31 am

      What kind of oil do you suggest using?

      Reply
      • Richa

        May 21, 2016 at 11:44 am

        Any high smoke point oil like safflower or canola.

        Reply
    24. Cassie

      May 20, 2016 at 10:49 am

      This looks superb! Could you substitute the rice for brown rice or wild rice?

      Reply
    25. Lee @ Veggie Quest

      May 15, 2016 at 12:26 pm

      What a beautiful, nutritious, and easy side dish. Can’t wait to try it–and popping the mustard seeds. Thanks for the recipe and the tip!

      Reply
      • Richa

        May 15, 2016 at 12:49 pm

        Thanks!

        Reply
    26. Mae

      May 13, 2016 at 9:57 pm

      As usual, you photography is amazing 🙂

      Reply
      • Richa

        May 15, 2016 at 12:50 pm

        Thank you Mae!

        Reply
    27. Julie

      May 13, 2016 at 8:16 pm

      Yummy! Got to make the mango dal again to go with the rice! Thanks for the recipe. 🙂

      Reply
      • Richa

        May 15, 2016 at 12:51 pm

        any dal will do. Make some!

        Reply

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