Little Millet Lemon Rice (Samai Lemon Rice) is a South Indian-style lemon rice recipe made with little millets. Little millets or Samai are cooked and tossed in a tempering of mustard seeds, lentils, curry leaves, and turmeric.

Fresh Lemon juice makes it slightly tangy, which further enhances its taste and gives it a distinctive flavor. The lemon millet recipe is perfect for office lunch boxes and picnics.

Little Millet Lemon Rice served in a bowl garnished with cilantro

Millets are an excellent substitute for rice — they have a similar taste and texture. They are just smaller in size, more like broken rice. They get digested slowly, giving sustained energy. Millets are ideal for diabetics looking for an alternative grain to rice.

Today, I am sharing millet lemon rice inspired by classic South Indian lemon rice. It is delicious, tangy, and packed with flavor. I used little millet in this recipe. It's perfect for lunch or dinner. Also, check out my lemon quinoa.

Other Indian Millet Recipes

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How to Make Little Millet Lemon Rice
Serving Suggestions
Tips to Make Lemon Millet Recipe
More Lemon Recipes
Little Millet Lemon Rice (Samai Lemon Rice)

How to Make Little Millet Lemon Rice

Cooking Millets

Pressure Cooker Method: Rinse little millet thoroughly 2-3 times and add 1 cup of water for ½ cup of little millet and pressure cook for 1 whistle. Let the pressure/steam release naturally. Once cooled, fluff it up nicely with a fork, so there are no lumps, and the grains stay separate.

Here is the detailed recipe, How to cook Millet in the Instant Pot.

Method

In a Kadai, add oil once it's hot, add raw peanuts, and saute until they turn slightly golden brown.
Then, add mustard seeds, and cumin seeds and let them splutter. Add urad dal, and saute till they turn light golden brown.
Add green chilies, curry leaves, asafoetida, and saute for a few seconds.
Then, add finely chopped onions. Saute for a minute or two till the onion turns slightly brown.
Turn off the gas and then add turmeric powder. Stir quickly.
Add the cooked millet, lemon juice, and salt to taste. Mix well. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve immediately.

samai lemon rice served in a bowl garnished with cilantro

Serving Suggestions

Serve millet lemon rice with plain yogurt, onion tomato raita, and kachumber salad on the side.

Tips to Make Lemon Millet Recipe

You can make this samai lemon rice recipe without onions too.
If you don't have a pressure cooker, then in an open pot, add 1.5 cups of water, bring water to a boil, and add ½ cup of little millet. Close the lid and cook on medium flame till all water is absorbed. It should be slightly soggy. Once cooled, fluff it up nicely with a fork, so there are no lumps and the grains stay separate.

More Lemon Recipes

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Little Millet Lemon Rice (Samai Lemon Rice)

Bhavana Patil

South Indian style lemon rice made with little millets. Little millets or Samai are cooked and tossed in a tempering of mustard seeds, lentils, curry leaves, turmeric.

4.80 from 5 votes

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Servings:

Calories : 205

Course: Breakfast, Main Course

Cuisine: Indian, South Indian

Diet: Vegan, Vegetarian

Method: Stovetop

Prep Time : 5

Cook Time : 20

Total Time : 25

Ingredients

To Cook Millets

½ cup little millet (samai)
1 cup water

For Millet Lemon Rice

2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons peanuts
½ teaspoon mustard seeds
¼ teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon urad dal
2 green chilies finely chopped
1 stalk curry leaves
1 pinch hing (asafoetida)
1 medium onion finely chopped
½ teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon coriander leaves finely chopped
juice of half lemon
salt to taste