Lemon: the cheapest useful thing in the kitchen
Lemon water in the morning, lemon on the food, lemon after a heavy meal. It costs almost nothing and earns its place daily.
Lemon is the cheapest genuinely useful thing in an Indian kitchen. It costs almost nothing, keeps for weeks, and improves both food and drink.
Lemon water in the morning
Half a lemon in a glass of water, first thing, is a habit worth keeping - mostly because it gets a glass of water into you before the day starts making demands. Most people are mildly dehydrated by morning, and this fixes it in a form that is pleasant to drink.
Vitamin C, and iron
Lemon is a solid source of vitamin C. It also does something quietly valuable: vitamin C substantially improves how much iron your body absorbs from plant foods. A squeeze of lemon over dal or a green vegetable makes that meal work harder. For anyone eating little or no meat, this is a real advantage and it costs one lemon.
After a heavy meal
Lemon is a traditional after-meal drink across much of India, and there is sense in it. It cuts richness, it encourages you to drink water, and it is a better close to a meal than a sweet.
The one real caution
Lemon juice is acidic and, taken neat and often, it erodes tooth enamel. Dilute it. Half a lemon in a full glass of water is safe and sufficient; two or three lemons in a small glass, daily, is not. Rinse your mouth with plain water afterwards, and do not brush immediately - enamel is softest right after acid.
