Lemon is a quirky fruit that has never been used as a fruit in our cuisine. You would never see someone bite into a lemon as you'd bite in a peach or a mango, it is because lemon is a sour and tangy fruit that is full of juice. Its pulp is too sour and it is difficult to use in cooking or eating raw. We mostly use lemon as a garnish, one would always see lemons being served on the side of chicken tikka, poha or with some juicy kebabs. Rarely do we see lemon as the star of the show as its sourness is too strong to work with. But that doesn't mean that it just can not be the centre of the show. We have five lip-smacking lemon recipes that remove your misconception that lemons are too sour to use for cooking.
Easy Lemon Recipes: Here are 5 Lemon-based recipes:
Lemon Pickle
Also known as Nimbu Aachar, this tangy pickle is an amazing use of the sourness of the fruit. Making pickles is a time-consuming process, but the result is juicy and delicious. Lemon pickles might be a side dish but when complimented with plain rice or parantha, then all the eyes are on this flavourful aachar.
Sprinkle some roasted peanuts to add a crunchy twist to your lemon rice
Lemon Rice
This is one of the Indian household classic meals. Many associate lemon rice as a comfort food. This rustic meal is prepared with leftover rice. The dish is prepared at home when we need a quick fix meal that would need no dal or sabzi. Lemon is the focus of this dish as it is the lemon juice that refreshes the plain rice into a tangy and spicy meal.
Lemon Curd
Some might find the combination of lemon and curd a bit odd as very rarely do we combine a dairy product with sour food, but this lemon curd recipe will change your mind. The secret of this dish is that no curd is even used to prepare it! The creaminess comes from the use of egg yolks that give a curd-like texture.
Add some croutons to your soup.
Lemon and Coriander Soup
This soup recipe is one of the simplest soup recipes to prepare at home. You don't even need a lot of ingredients to make this soup. Lemon and coriander soup will result in tangy spicy flavours that will warm your body with a flavourful kick.
Lemon Cheesecake
People might not associate the sourness of a lemon with a dessert but that doesn't mean it is not possible to have lemon-based desserts. Lemon cheesecake is one of the classic flavours of cheesecakes in the world as the sourness of the lemon compliment the saltiness of the cream cheese and result in a creaminess and sweet goodness.
Try out these recipes and let us know!