Lemon rice

Lemon rice is a tangy everyday rice of South Indian homes. In Karnataka it turns up in temple meals and lunchboxes, and in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh it is a common way to turn yesterday's cooked rice into a fresh, sharp lunch. The seasoning is a classic one: lemon juice, turmeric and salt over a tempering that starts with mustard seeds and curry leaves.

This version boils fresh basmati rather than reaching for leftovers, because the rice you start with decides the texture: basmati boiled and cooled flat stays in long, separate grains, which is the whole point of lemon rice. The tempering and dressing are measured so the result is even: two tablespoons of oil, a tablespoon of dry curry leaves and three tablespoons of lemon juice for 300 g of rice, bright yellow without turning sharp or oily.

The curry leaves carry the dish's aroma: dropped into hot oil for a few seconds, they release the curry leaf fragrance that marks the dish. For swaps, sona masoori usually gives softer grains, roasted cashews replace the groundnuts, and about four cups of cooled leftover rice stand in for the freshly boiled batch. Leave out the green chilli for children, and add more lemon only if you like the rice properly sharp.