Indian Cumin Rice or Jeera Rice
Indian cumin rice or jeera rice is a fragrant basmati rice recipe that is incredibly easy to make with this stove-top method. Ready in 30 minutes, this simple yet elegant recipe perfumes each long-grained rice grain with the warm, earthy notes of toasted cumin. Instant pot instructions included!
Servings: 4
Calories: 193kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup Basmati Rice
- 2 teaspoon Ghee or olive oil/avocado oil
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 2 cups water
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Take the raw rice in a deep mixing bowl and rinse a couple of times. Soak the rice while you get other things going.
- Set a pan with a tight-fitting lid on medium-high heat. Add ghee and wait for it to melt and heat up. Once the ghee is melted and shiny, add cumin seeds. The cumin seeds will start to splutter and dance around in the hot ghee.
- Drain the soaked rice and add it to the pan. Stir the rice around to make sure it is coated with ghee. Keep stirring for 30 seconds or so until you can smell the toasted rice.
- Add water and salt and turn the heat to high.
- Cover the pan with a tight-fitting lid and let the water come to a boil. Once the water starts boiling, turn the heat to absolute low and set a timer for 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes, turn the heat off. Remove the lid and fluff the cooked jeera rice with a fork or the stem of a spoon. Your Indian cumin rice is ready.
Video
Notes
My recipe post has step by step instructions with photos which can help you visualize the making of this recipe.
Instant pot instructions:
- The quantities of the ingredients used do not change even if you cook the rice in Instant Pot.
- Wash and soak your rice. With your Instant Pot in saute mode, add the ghee to the stainless steel liner. Once the ghee is melted and hot, add the cumin seeds and wait for them to crackle. Drain the rice and add it to the Instant Pot. Mix so the rice is nicely coated with ghee and toasted for about a minute.
- Add the water and salt, covering the rice. Cancel saute mode and close the instant pot with its lid. Make sure the vent is in the"sealing" position. Set the instant pot to Manual pressure to cook for 5 minutes.
- After the five minutes are up, move the vent to pressure release position carefully and let the steam vent out. Open the lid carefully and gently fluff the rice with a fork.
- Wash the rice 2-3 times - before cooking. This helps to get rid of some extra starch that is on the grains so that they do not end up sticking to each other.
- Toast the cumin seeds and the rice - as it deepens the flavors and aroma of this rice dish.
- Keep an eye on the cumin seeds - with the heat on medium-high, the cumin seeds can go from toasted to burnt very quickly. So as soon as they start to splutter add the rice. Do not wait for too long!
- Use hot water - you can use hot water from a kettle or microwave it. That would cut down the cooking time even further.
- Soaking the rice - is not required but if you have extra time on your hands, soak it for 15-20 minutes.
Nutrition
Calories: 193kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 6mg | Sodium: 9mg | Potassium: 62mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 0.1g | Vitamin A: 6IU | Vitamin C: 0.04mg | Calcium: 21mg | Iron: 1mg
