Want to cook rice in the serving bowl or along with an entree? Pot-in-pot or PIP Rice made in the Pressure Cooker is the perfect solution for you. A step-by-step guide to PIP rice.
You might find it interesting that this is actually not a new thing for Indian cooking. We have been doing this for a long time with stovetop pressure cooker. Now with the instant pot, I like the convenience of a larger pot in which I can add the pots to do PIP cooking.
You can find the recipes to prepare rice in the main pot here - Basmati Rice, Cumin/Jeera Rice.
If you want to make pot-in-pot Brown Rice, check the recipe here.
Advantages of pot-in-pot method to cook rice
- You can cook less quantity of rice.
- You don't need to wash the large instant pot insert if just cooking rice.
- You can cook in the serving bowl itself.
- You can cook a complete meal at once and save precious time. With entree in the main insert and rice in a bowl on a trivet. eg. you can cook Dal Tadka or Paneer Butter Masala along with the rice.
How to cook Pot-in-Pot Rice in Pressure Cooker?
To cook pot-in-pot rice, you need a trivet and a pot you can place on the trivet. If I am preparing only rice, then I use the trivet that came with the instant pot. If you are cooking entree along with the rice, you would need a long legged trivet.
Here are the pots I have, which my mom got from India. But you can find similar one's on Amazon - Ekonova Stackable Stainless Steel Insert Pans. I have also done PIP for rice in a Pyrex glass bowl, but these need a 3-4 extra minutes to cook the rice.
I use basmati rice in this recipe, however you could use other varieties of white rice too. Wash the rice and add it to a bowl safe for cooking in the instant pot. Add equal amount of water as the rice added. If you like, add ghee/oil and salt to it.
Add 1 cup water to the main instant pot insert and place trivet in it. Now place the pot with rice and water on top of the trivet. Set the instant pot on manual mode for 6 minutes.
When the instant pot beeps, do 10 minute NPR or natural pressure release, which means release the pressure manually 10 minutes after the beep.
Enjoy this perfect basmati rice with any Indian curries such as Chole Masala, Green Moong Dal and Spinach Lentils.
Instant Pot Basmati Rice Pot-in-Pot Method (Pressure Cooker)
Ingredients
- 1 cup Basmati Rice washed
- 1 cup Water for cooking rice
- ½ teaspoon Salt (optional)
- 1 tablespoon Ghee or Oil (optional)
- 1 cup Water for main pot with trivet
Instructions
- Wash the rice and drain water. Put the rice in a bowl. Add 1 cup water for cooking rice in the bowl. Optionally, Add salt and ghee/oil if you prefer.
- Add 1 cup water to the main insert of the pressure cooker. Place trivet in the main insert.
- Place the bowl with rice and water on the trivet.
- Close the lid of the pressure cooker with vent in sealing position. Set in pressure cook or manual mode for 6 minutes at high pressure. (Note: if using a glass bowl, cook for 9 minutes at high pressure)
- When the pressure cooker beeps, do a 10 minute Natural Pressure Release, which means release the pressure 10 minutes after the beep.
- Fluff the rice and it is ready to be enjoyed.
Notes
- When cooking rice with an entree, consider the cooking time for the entree. If it is around the same range 5-15 minutes to cook the entree, then pot-in-pot rice with the entree in the main insert would work. If the entree needs 30 minutes to cook, while the rice needs only 6 minutes, I do not recommend doing pot-in-pot rice with the entree.
- This recipe was created in a 6qt Instant Pot DUO60 Multi-use Programmable Pressure Cooker.
Note: Nutrition values are my best estimates. If you rely on them for your diet, use your preferred nutrition calculator.
I just made this. I used 2 cups of Basmati rice & 2 cups of water in a stainless steel pan. I cooked as directed & it was perfect. Thanks
Hi Amy - Glad to hear the rice turned out perfect. Thanks for sharing back!
Thanks for all your posts about coking rice. I tried this recipe last week. I used coconut oil and added turmeric. I think this PIP method will be my go-to method for now on. I had this rice with a lentil and sweet potato soup and it was delicious. Looking forward to trying more of your recipes.
Hi Kim - Glad that you enjoyed it! Thank you for sharing back. Pot-in-pot is definitely my favorite way of cooking rice.
Hi Meeta.. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong but the top layer of my rice is always dryish and not as fluffed up as the bottom layers. I tried with 1.25 water but still same results. Any idea what could be the issue?
Hey Ayesha - I would say try a little more water. Also add a tbsp of oil or ghee, if you like. For any leftover rice, when I reheat rice in the microwave, I cover it with a wet paper towel to make them more moist.
I’m new to instant pot and just tried my first PIP recipe (not from your site). Am I reading correctly that you don’t put the lid on the rice pot?
Hey Tricia - yes, that is correct. When doing pip for rice, I don't cover the pip bowl with a lid.
Trying this now and it didn't work in my 6qt IP Lux. Followed directions exactly. Ugh! Put it back on for another 6 min and will see what happens.
Hello Susan - Sorry to hear. Did you use a glass bowl for the pot-in-pot? As typically glass bowls need 3-4 extra minutes compared to steel bowls. Did the extra 6 minutes cook the rice?
Will this 6 min PIP cooking method work for BROWN BASMATI rice too? Thx in advance for the help.
Hey Linda - Brown Basmati rice needs more cooking time. If I am only doing PIP brown rice, then I do 22 mins on high pressure with 10 mins NPR. If making with a curry or lentils that cooks in anywhere between 22-30 mins, that works too. I do that in the Red Kidney Beans Curry and Madras Lentils recipe.
Do you presoak the rice? Or is it better if you do for the pot in pot method?
Hello Kiran - I don't presoak the rice for this recipe and it works perfectly. If you like softer texture of rice, you can add more water 1.25 cup.
Why not use the "rice" button?
Rice button can work too. 6 minutes at high pressure has worked consistently for me and also it is quicker, so I prefer it ????
In the rice mode, do you do NPR or QR? Also if I were to increase or reduce the quantity of rice would the cooking time change, rice mode or manually? Thanks!
Hey Nikita - After cooking in rice mode, NPR or 10 minute NPR (release pressure 10 mins after beep) would work. I have not tried Rice mode with PIP, and have seen comments that it has not worked perfectly for some on Instant Pot groups. I usually prefer the manual/pressure cook mode for rice. The cooking time does not change even if you increase the quantity of rice.
Thank you so much. I've been cooking too much rice at a time and it's been a struggle for me to eat it all within a few days. PIP for me from now on.
That’s great. I love pip option, saves time and perfectly cooked rice!
When doubling or tripling how much water in bowl and how much in IP
Hi Sue - If you double or triple the rice, proportionally increase the amount of water for cooking. In the instant pot steel insert, the same amount of water works. The pressure cooking time will remain the same even if you increase the quantity of rice.