Jeera rice is a classic Indian rice recipe flavoured with cumin. This recipe has an exotic flavour of ghee too. Jeera rice is a versatile recipe that goes best with any Indian curries and dals. Don’t laugh at me for sharing a recipe that is ‘too simple’, as simple is sometimes tricky too.
Do you see the texture of the rice here? It’s not overly greasy or undercooked. I am talking about the perfect jeera rice, that is steamed and has a perfect texture.
Jeera Rice Basics
Jeera rice or Zeera rice is an Indian and Pakistani dish consisting of rice and cumin seeds. It is a popular dish in North India and Pakistan as an everyday rice dish.
It is believed that Jeera rice recipe is inveted by mughals. Mughals were fond of rice recipes, because of which cooks worked to invent new rice recipes as well as did experiments with tradition old recipes. Jeera rice recipe is one of those rice recipes. Later on, it was adopted in Indian cuisine and became so popular that the recipe is now cooked daily by almost every Indian family.
what do you need for jeera rice?
Jeera rice requires a few simple ingredients. Ghee, whole spices (bay leaf, cinnamon), jeera (or cumin seeds), basmati rice and freshly chopped coriander. These are the very basic ingredients you can get anywhere.
rice to water ratio for Jeera rice
The perfect rice to water ratio for jeera rice is 1:2. This means for every cup of rice, you need approx two cups of water. This rice to water ratio ensures that the rice is cooked just right – where every grain is fluffy and separate from each other.
For this recipe, I recommend using really good quality basmati rice. I used Daawat’s Basmati Rice which is aged for two years, and smells amazing!
Reasons to love this recipe,
- super easy to prepare
- Rich recipe (that is perfect for your parties)
- so flavorful
- super versatile recipe(that goes best with almost every indian curries and dals)
- made with 6(six) ingredients only
Let’s make jeera rice,
Wash the basmati rice and then soak it in enough water. Soak the rice for at least 30 minutes.
Drain all the water from the rice.
Heat ghee in a kadai. Also add a bit of oil along with ghee(Ghee burns quickly so oil will help to maintain the temperature).
Add cumin, bay leaf and cinnamon. Add curry leaves and saute for a while.
Add drained rice and Saute the rice in the pan for two minutes on a medium flame.
Add 1 + 1/4 water first. Add salt to the rice and mix well.
Bring the rice to a quick boil, and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for approximately seven to eight minutes, till all the water has evaporated.
Check the rice is cooked or not. if it requires a bit more time then add 1/2 cup of water and cook on high flame for 3 to 4 minutes.
Garnish with chopped coriander and serve hot.
Jeera rice recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup Basmati rice
- 1 cup water , to soak rice
- 1 tbsp ghee / clarified butter
- 1 tsp oil
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 5 to 6 curry leaves
- 1 inch cinnamon
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 + ¼ + ½ cup water, to cook rice
- fresh coriander, garnishing
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Wash the basmati rice and then soak it in enough water. Soak the rice for at least 30 minutes
- Drain all the water from the rice.
- Heat ghee in a kadai. Also add a bit of oil along with ghee(Ghee burns quickly so oil will help to maintain the temperature).
- Add cumin, bay leaf and cinnamon. Add curry leaves and saute for a while.
- Add drained rice and Saute the rice in the pan for two minutes on a medium flame.
- Add 1 + 1/4 water first. Add salt to the rice and mix well.
- Bring the rice to a quick boil, and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for approximately seven to eight minutes, till all the water has evaporated.
- Check the rice is cooked or not. if it requires a bit more time then add 1/2 cup of water and cook on high flame for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Garnish with chopped coriander and serve hot.
Video
have a great day!
I absolutely love jeera rice.. this look PERFECT Priya!!
Thanks a lot arpita 🙂
Simply delicious. We actually always have Jasmine rice and Japanese sushi rice and glutinous rice on hand but need to get basmati as it is so light and fluffy. Do you make your own ghee and how long will it keep? Super delicious recipe!
Thanks a lot bobbi 🙂
Priya, your Jeera rice cooking lesson is excellent. I love Jeera rice as the fragrance brings back fond food memories of eating it in Kolkata whit my dear friends. We have a lovely bag of Pakistan Basmati rice looking for a good recipe, so we’re set. Now I must put on a pot of dal to go with it.
Thanks a lot ron 🙂 let me know how it turns out..
I love how detailed you went with this basic yet tricky rice preparation. It’s beautifully written.
I love how detailed you went with this basic yet tricky rice preparation. It’s beautifully written.
Awww , Thank you so much kankana ..:)
Cooking perfect rice isn’t easy, and this does look perfect Priya! Rice is a favorite side dish for me so I’d love to try this.
Thank you marcie 🙂 do try and let me know ..
I totally know what you mean about mushy rice…it’s the worst! Great tips here about keeping each grain of rice separate. I love jeera rice whenever we go out to get Indian food, but I’ve never made it at home. I’ll have to save this recipe for sure!
I am so glad to know that you love jeera rice too:) incase of trying, let me know