Jeera Rice
Basmati with cumin bloomed in ghee. The absorption method, a fixed ratio, and a lid you do not lift.
- Prep
- 10m
- Cook
- 20m
- Waiting
- 10m
- Total
- 40m
- Serves
- 4
- Effort
- Easy
Scale
Units
Method
Tap a step number to mark it done. Tap an ingredient once for got it, twice for need it.
| 2 tbsp | Fry until the cumin darkens and smells toasted 2m | Toast the rice in the spiced ghee, 2 minutes 3m Coating each grain in fat helps keep them separate. | Add water and salt, boil, then cover and cook on the lowest heat 12m 12 minutes covered. Do not lift the lid — every peek costs you steam. | Rest 10 minutes off the heat, lid on, then fork through 10m The rest is when the grains firm up and separate. Fluffing hot rice breaks it. | |
| 2 tsp | |||||
| 1 | |||||
| 3 | |||||
| 1 1/2 cups | Rinse until the water runs clear, then soak 20 minutes 25m Rinsing removes loose surface starch, which is what makes rice sticky. | ||||
| 2 1/4 cups | |||||
| 1 tsp | |||||
| a handful | |||||
-
Fry until the cumin darkens and smells toasted
2m- ghee 2 tbsp
- cumin seeds 2 tsp
- bay leaf 1
- green cardamom (optional) 3
-
Rinse until the water runs clear, then soak 20 minutes
25m- basmati rice 1 1/2 cups
Rinsing removes loose surface starch, which is what makes rice sticky.
-
Toast the rice in the spiced ghee, 2 minutes
3m- from 1 Fry until the cumin darkens and smells toasted
- from 2 Rinse until the water runs clear, then soak 20 minutes
Coating each grain in fat helps keep them separate.
-
Add water and salt, boil, then cover and cook on the lowest heat
12m- from 3 Toast the rice in the spiced ghee, 2 minutes
- water 2 1/4 cups
- salt 1 tsp
12 minutes covered. Do not lift the lid — every peek costs you steam.
-
Rest 10 minutes off the heat, lid on, then fork through
10m- from 4 Add water and salt, boil, then cover and cook on the lowest heat
- coriander leaves (optional) a handful
The rest is when the grains firm up and separate. Fluffing hot rice breaks it.
The ratio, and why soaking changes it
Un-soaked basmati wants about 1 : 1.75 rice to water by volume. Soaked for twenty minutes, the grains have already taken up water, so 1 : 1.5 is right — which is what this recipe uses. Getting this wrong in either direction is the usual cause of either crunchy or claggy rice.
Notes
- Rinse until the water runs genuinely clear, usually four or five changes.
- Tight lid, lowest heat, no peeking. A glass lid solves the temptation.
- Rest for ten minutes before touching it. This matters more than anything else on the list.