Just as Puli Sadham is to Kongunad,Chitranna is a specialty in Karnataka.A tangy rice dish that is very simple to prepare and very very yummy.


First we have to prepare the CHITHRANNA GOJJU ,that can be mixed with steamed rice.This gojju also tastes best with curd rice / idli / dosa.

There are umpteen variations in this like adding a bit of jaggery if it is too sour / using roasted and powdered fenugreek seeds etc.This is the easiest recipe of the lot and keeps well for months in the freezer.

You need:

Tamarind extract- 1 cup,thick
Gram dhal-1 teaspoon
Urad dhal-1 teaspoon
Muatard-1/2 a teaspoon
Roasted groundnuts-3 teaspoons
Red chillies-10,broken into bits
Asafoetida powder-a pinch
Turmeric powder-a pinch
Curry leaves- a few
Sesame seed oil-2 tablespoons
Salt -To taste

  1. Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan.
  2. Put in mustard,gram dhal,urad dhal,asafoetida,red chillies.
  3. When they turn brown add groundnuts, curry leaves and after a few seconds add tamarind extract.
  4. Add turmeric powder,salt.Mix well
  5. Simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes or till the contents reduce to a thick paste.By this time you can see oil floating on the surface.Stir once in a while.
  6. Remove from heat and store in an air tight container once cooled.

When you are ready to serve,mix the required quantity of gojju with piping hot steamed rice and serve with a crispy of your choice.


This yummy rice is joining the Think spice-Think tamarind event held in my blog..

Bon Appetit…

12 thoughts on “Chithranna”

  1. Good one PJ! My favourite quick-fix meal for lazy days!

    Btw, just thought I'd let you know…I've lived in Karnataka all my life and Lemon rice is what the locals refer to as 'Chitranna' or 'Nimbe-hannu Chitranna' (nimbe-hannu is Kannada for lime). What you have here is called 'Gojju-Chitranna', or what we call 'Puliyogarai'.

  2. Thanks girls…

    Madhuri,u are rite,nimbehannu chitranna is lemon rice and we call this 'chitranna' and that's why I mentioned 'chitranna gojju' has to be prepared for this.Some dishes are known is different parts by different names.[I am from karnataka too but settled elsewhere :)].Thanks for sharing the info..

  3. Hi!
    Landed on your blog today. Just browsed a few recipes.. cant wait to try.. especially the kaara roti! Just one humble suggestion.. I happened to see the microwave magic category in your link! we have been trying to avoid using microwave at our home! Back in India, it was a luxury thingy! But looking at the hazards it can cause, we are trying to stay away from microwave! We have limited our use to just reheating few items. Check this out
    http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/05/18/microwave-hazards.aspx

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.