Jeera Rice (Cumin Rice)
Jeera rice is a flavored Indian rice dish made by cooking basmati rice with ghee, cumin & other fragrant spices. Super simple & quick recipes to make fluffy, non-sticky & flavorful jeera rice every time. Making jeera rice is one of the simplest & only needs a handful of ingredients that are mostly pantry staples.
We are using Pritine Golden Sella Rice, to get awesome flavorful taste.
| Prep Time | 10 Minutes |
| Cook Time | 15 Minutes |
| Servings | 3 |
Ingredients
- 1½ cups basmati rice
- 2 tablespoon ghee or oil or butter
- 1 green chili slit and deseeded (optional)
- 2½ cups water for pressure cooker or (1¾ cups + 2 tbsps for instant pot) or (3 cups for regular pot)
- ½ to ¾ teaspoon salt as needed
whole spices
- 2 teaspoons cumin seeds (jeera)
- 1 bay leaf (tej patta)
- 4 green cardamoms (elaichi)
- 2 inch cinnamon piece (dalchini)
- 4 cloves (laung)
- 1 strand mace (javitri) (optional)
Instructions
Preparation
- Wash rice a few times until water runs clear.
- Then soak it in lot of water for at least 30 mins. Drain it completely.
How to make jeera rice
- Heat ghee or oil in a pressure cooker or a pot.
- Saute bay leaf, cloves, cinnamon, cardamoms and mace until they begin to sizzle.
- Fry jeera on a low flame until a nice aroma comes out. Add green chilli.
- Transfer drained rice to the pot or cooker and fry for 2 to 3 mins. Do not stir vigorously as the rice grains will break.
- This frying step helps to bring out the aroma of the rice.
- Pour water and add salt. Stir well and taste the water. It must be slightly salty. Bring water to a boil on a high flame.
- Making Jeera rice in pot – Cover and cook on a low to medium heat until water is absorbed & rice is done. Once done, turn off the heat and let the rice rest in the pot for 15 mins. This helps the grains to expand and become fluffy.
- Making Jeera rice in pressure cooker – Cover the pressure cooker with a lid. Cook on a high heat for 1 whistle. For al dente rice, I release the pressure carefully after 2 mins with the help of a wooden spatula.
- When the pressure releases completely, open the lid and fluff up jeera rice with a fork. Serve with any curry.
Instant pot Jeera rice
- Press saute button and pour ghee to the inner pot of instant pot.
- Add all the spices & saute for 1 min until they turn fragrant. Add the drained rice and chilli. Saute for 2 mins stirring occasionally. Do not stir a lot, rice grains will break.
- Pour 1¾ cups plus 2 tbsps water and add salt. Stir and taste the water. If needed add more salt.
- Secure the lid & position the steam release handle to sealing.
- Press the pressure cook button, set to high pressure. Set the timer for 5 mins.
- When done the instant pot beeps, press cancel.
- Allow the pressure to release naturally for at least 5 mins. Manually release the rest of the pressure with the help of a wooden spoon.
- For aldente rice, release the pressure immediately. Fluff up the Jeera rice with a fork & add some coriander leaves.