Perfectly cooked Basmati Rice flavored with cumin and whole spices made in the Instant Pot. Enjoy these aromatic Instant Pot Jeera Rice (Cumin Rice) with any curry or lentil.
One of the reasons to love the instant pot is perfectly cooked rice. You don’t need to keep that extra rice cooker anymore and can free up the counter space.
I have shared Basmati Rice recipe in the instant pot before, however I actually prefer a little more flavor to my rice. One of the regulars in our house is this Jeera or Cumin Rice. Cumin Rice is very commonly made in North India with any curry. My mom would always made Jeera Rice at home, so I always prefer this rice over plain rice.
Jeera Rice is so much more flavorful that plain rice, just like my peas pulao. I highly recommend trying it out. Oh..and add a tablespoon of ghee while making this Jeera Rice and you will love the aroma of ghee in this rice. And you can very well call this Jeera Ghee Rice! Replace ghee with a plant based oil to make this recipe vegan. This Jeera Rice recipe is naturally gluten-free.
Cumin Rice Pilaf goes well with curries and lentils such as Chole Masala, Paneer Butter Masala, Chicken Curry or Dal Makhani.
If you love cooking rice in your instant pot, check out this collection of 23+ Instant Pot Rice Recipes!
Benefits of Cumin Seeds
Cumin is very commonly used in Indian cooking. Cumin is Carminative, which means that it relieves you from gas troubles and thereby improves digestion and appetite. You can check out detailed health benefits of cumin here.
How to make Jeera Rice in the Instant Pot?
In this recipe, I add whole spices along with cumin. The whole spices add a wonderful aroma to the rice. I usually add the whole spices when preparing rice for a gathering. For everyday rice, I just add cumin seeds.
I used Basmati Rice in this recipe. If using another variety of rice, adjust the rice to water ratio accordingly. I like to have rice al dente, and separate. I don’t like sticky or mushy rice. The ghee/oil in this recipe certainly helps to get well done separate grains. That said, everyone has different preferences for rice, so feel free to adjust the recipe to your taste.
- To start preparing, wash and drain the rice. This is a no soak recipe, but if you prefer you can soak the rice. If you soak the rice, you can use rice to water ratio of 1:1.
- Heat the instant pot in sauté mode (normal) and add ghee or oil. Then add the whole spices and cumin seeds. When the cumin seeds start to splutter add the rice and stir well. Be careful when adding the rice as there might be some splutters. Add the water and salt. I use a rice to water ratio of 1:1.25 for this recipe.
- Change the instant pot setting to manual / pressure cook mode for 4 minutes, at high pressure with vent in sealing position. When the instant pot beeps, do a 5 minute natural pressure release, which means manually release the pressure 5 minutes after the instant pot beeps.
- Fluff the rice and let them rest for another 5 minutes. Restaurant-style Jeera rice are ready to be enjoyed with your favorite curry.
Main things to remember for Perfect Jeera Rice
- No soaking of rice
- Rice to water ratio – 1:1.25
- Pressure Cook / Manual for 4 minutes (high pressure, vent sealed)
- 5 minute NPR – Manually release the pressure 5 minutes after the instant pot beeps
Pro-tips for perfect Jeera Rice
- Choose good quality Basmati Rice. I use Royal Basmati Rice or Tilda Extra Long Grain Basmati rice for my cooking.
- Wash the rice well. You can wash in a strainer until the water runs clear or in a bowl by changing the water a few times until the water is clear.
- We love to add ghee while making jeera rice. Ghee enhances the flavor a lot. If you are vegan, use your favorite plant based oil.
- Don’t forget to add the aromatic spices. I just add a few black peppercorns, bay leaf, cloves, cinnamon and green cardamom. It is totally fine to skip in case you don’t have these in your pantry.
- Do not overcook the rice. I like to take the steel insert in which I cooked the rice out of the instant pot after opening, so the lower layer is not overcooking.
What to pair with Jeera Rice?
Jeera rice pairs well with any curry or lentils. We love it with the below North Indian dishes:
- Chicken Tikka Masala
- Black Chickpeas or Kala Chana Curry
- Rajma Masala (Red Kidney Beans Curry)
- Mutton Masala (Goat Curry)
Instant Pot Jeera Rice
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup Basmati Rice
- 1 1/4 cup Water
- 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds (Jeera)
- 1 teaspoon Salt, adjust to taste
- 1 tablespoon Ghee or Oil
Whole Spices
Instructions
- Wash and drain the rice until the water runs clear.
- Heat the instant pot in sauté mode and add ghee or oil to it. Then add the whole spices and cumin seeds.
- When the cumin seeds start to splutter, add rice and stir them with the whole spices for about 30 seconds. Then add water, salt and stir again. Press cancel and close lid with vent in sealing position.
- Change the instant pot setting to manual / pressure cook mode for 4 minutes, at high pressure with vent in sealing position.
- When the instant pot beeps, do a 5 minute natural pressure release, which means manually release the pressure 5 minutes after the instant pot beeps.
- Fluff the rice with a fork and let it rest for another 5 minutes. You can take the steel insert out of the instant pot, so the bottom layer of rice does not overcook.
- Cumin Rice is ready to be enjoyed with any curry or lentil.
Notes
- To simplify this recipe, you can skip the whole spices.
- You can double or triple the recipe, without any change in the cooking time.
- Be careful when adding the rice as there might be some splutters.
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You can garnish jeera rice with roasted nuts such as cashews.
- Choose good quality Basmati Rice. I use Royal Basmati Rice or Tilda Extra Long Grain Basmati rice for my cooking.
Looks great! Can we use the same method to make plain rice ( without the jeera tarka) ?
Also can this method be used in the 3 quart instant pot with the same amount of rice to water ratio and same time ?
Hi Sonia – Yes, the same recipe should work well in a 3qt instant pot. Here is my plain basmati rice recipe – https://pipingpotcurry.com/instant-pot-basmati-rice/
Hi how much water should I use for 3 cups of basmati rice when making jeers rice
Hi Grace – You can increase the water proportionally with the amount of rice. For 3 cups of basmati rice, use 3 and 3/4 cup of water.
Aloha! Such a simple recipe! Thank you for sharing it! Was wondering if you can use ground cumin if you cannot find whole cumin? I live in Hawaii and sometimes things like spices are hard to find in the grocery store.
Hello, in this recipe I would not recommend ground cumin as a substitute for cumin seeds. I hope you can find them and try this recipe 🙂
The cook time is off, my rice was still hard.
Hi Gina – Can you give a little more details. What kind of rice did you use? I have always cooked white basmati rice in this time, and it works well. I hope to hear more details, so we can figure out the issue.
This turned out really well, thank you! I did add one chopped onion and cooked it up a little after adding the spices. After sauteeing for about 5 minutes, I added in the rice, water, salt. It might even add a few peas next time for some colour. So good!
Hi Sandy – So happy to hear that. Thank you for sharing your experience 🙂
Can u ise the jeera part with brown rice? I mean saute for jeera and oil, and then follow the basmati brown rice recipe u have?
Hi Vandana – Sure, I think it would still work well to make Jeera Rice with brown rice. Hope you enjoy it!
Mine is totally watery and uncooked. I don’t understand what I did wrong. I followed the instructions perfectly.
Hi Rebekah – I wonder if the pot did not come to pressure. That could be the only reason for the rice to be watery. Please check the sealing ring and make sure no steam is releasing once the pot has come to pressure (the pin is up). Hope that helps!
Simple and easy recipe.
This was sooo good… I added as per a previous reviewer some onion with the spices and I only had bay leaves and cloves to throw in with the cumin seeds but it came out delicious. My ten year old said it was the best rice I’ve ever made! Thanks for posting.
Delicious! I didn’t have cardamom pods so I used 1/4 tsp of ground. I will only make this from now on.
Hi – So good to hear that. Thank you for sharing back 🙂
Comes out great. I made this in a huge qty for a party . I dumped it in a serving tray immediately after opening the IP . I fluffed it up and it was a beauty…❤
Hi Nita – So glad to hear you enjoyed the jeera rice!