Lemon Rice

This is probably my favorite recipe that I make. It also has a nice little story to it:

The story-
In our ward in India, there was a family names the Katukas. They were from Andhra Pradesh, in the south, and sister Katuka made fantastically delicious south Indian food. The best was her lemon rice. It was bright yellow, just spicy enough, flavorful, fragrant, and AWESOME. I drooled over it for years and my last summer in India, I finally learned how to make it. The Katukas had us over for dinner and sister Katuka ushered me into her tiny kitchen and taught me the magic of lemon rice as I frantically took notes. So here it is!

Lemon Rice

what you need:
-3 or 4 cups of cooked Basmati/Jasmine rice. It's especially good if it is a day old. You can use other types of rice but it is best when the rice isn't sticky.
-1 tbs black mustard seeds
-1/2 tbs cumin seeds
-2 green chilies, slit in half or chopped. If they are halves, they are pretty easy to take out if that's what ya want (2 chilies or to taste. This can totally be omitted and spice lovers can add cayenne or chile flakes to their portion)
-4 or 5 sprigs of curry leaves, stems removed
-1 lemon, halved and with as many seeds as you can get at removed
-1/2 cup raw peanuts
-2" chunk of ginger, grated. (use a box grater, it's super fast and easy. Just don't grate your fingies)
-3 tbs cooking oil

Optional but encourages for added yumminess and effect:
-1/4 cup masoor dal (if you put this in a mug and then pour REALLY hot water over it and let it sit for about 5 min it will be the perfect tenderness for this. Just drain the water out)
-a generous pinch of ground turmeric

What to do:

1. Heat the oil over medium heat in a large enough frying pan to accomodate everything.
2. Add your cumin and mustard seeds and leave them alone until they start "sputtering," they will pop a little and start smelling delicious.
3. Add your peanuts, curry leaves, chilies, and ginger and cook until the peanuts start getting a little translucent. Mush them a little to break some of them in half. Keep a close eye on your chilies and your curry leaves to make sure they aren't burning. You can turn the heat down as needed. ***frying chilies can hurt your nose, lungs, eyes etc. this recipe has gotten me a few times.
4. Add the rice and masoor dal and mix all the ingrdients thoroughly over low heat. Add the turmeric at this point if you are going to. Turn of the heat and squeeze the lemon juice over the rice, mixing it thoroughly. Serve!