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Home » Recipes » Rice & Grains

Perfect Basmati Rice - Instant Pot Pressure Cooker

Published March 4, 2017 Updated April 30, 2022 By Meeta Arora 82 Comments | This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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Basmati Rice Instant Pot Pressure Cooker

One of the reasons to love the instant pot is perfectly cooked rice.  Being a north indian, I prefer white basmati rice over any other variety of rice.  You don't need to keep that extra rice cooker anymore and can free the counter space. Try this perfect Instant Pot Basmati Rice.

Basmati Rice Instant Pot Pressure Cooker

What is Basmati Rice?

Basmati is a variety of long, slender-grained aromatic rice from the Indian subcontinent.  This variety has gotten very popular all over the world, with India and Pakistan being the largest exporters of this rice.

How to cook perfect Instant Pot Basmati Rice?

Cooking rice needs perfection on the amount of water and time. With this recipe, you can make perfectly cooked basmati rice.  Just soak the rice, 4 minutes manual in the instant pot and 5 minutes natural pressure release.  Sounds easy...it actually is!

I like to have rice al dente, and separate.  I don't like sticky or mushy rice.  That said, everyone has different preferences for rice, so feel free to adjust the recipe to your taste.

I soaked the rice for about an hour and used a rice to water ratio of 1:1.  Soaking for 15-20 minutes or not soaking them works too.  Although researchers say that soaking rice overnight helps reduce toxins by 80%.  If you have the time, soak them and rinse before cooking. That said, there have been times when I have forgotten to soak the rice, they still come out great. If you end up not soaking the rice, then you can increase the rice to water ratio to 1:1.25 cup.

Traditionally cooked basmati rice in a saucepan needs double the water amount than the rice. However in the instant pot, less water is enough to get perfectly cooked rice.

Basmati Rice Instant Pot Pressure Cooker

Main things to remember for perfect Basmati Rice 

 
Option 1 (posted in recipe)
Option 2
Soaking Rice
1 hour
No soaking
Rice to water ratio
1:1
1:1.25
Pressure Cook / Manual
(High pressure, vent sealed) 
4 minutes
4 minutes
Pressure Release 
5 minute NPR
5 minute NPR

Enjoy this perfect basmati rice with any Indian curry such as Chole Masala, Chicken Curry and Dal Makhani. This recipe works perfectly if cooking rice in the main pot.

If you are doing pot-in-pot (PIP), then you need to cook for additional time.  Check out the pot-in-pot rice recipe.

Basmati Rice Instant Pot Pressure Cooker
Basmati Rice Instant Pot Pressure Cooker

Try out the basmati rice and let me know if this works for you.  A simple variation of basmati rice is Jeera or Cumin rice.

Want to make Brown Rice in the Instant Pot? Check out the recipe here.

Tried this recipe?Give a rating by clicking the ★ below
Basmati Rice Instant Pot Pressure Cooker

Basmati Rice - Instant Pot Pressure Cooker

Meeta Arora
Perfectly cooked Indian Basmati rice made in an instant pot or pressure cooker.
4.9 from 94 votes
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Servings: 2
Calories: 359
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Indian
Diet: Gluten-free, Vegan
Method: Instant Pot/Pressure Cooker
Prep Time: 5 mins
Cook Time: 15 mins
Soaking Time: 1 hr
Total Time: 20 mins

Ingredients
 
 

  • 1 cup Basmati Rice (180 grams)
  • 1 cup Water
  • 1 teaspoon Ghee or Oil (optional)
  • ½ teaspoon Salt (optional)

Instructions
 

  • Wash basmati rice until the water runs clear. If soaking, soak the rice in excess water for 1 hour. After the soaking time is done, rinse the rice.
  • Add the water and rice to the instant pot. If using, add the ghee and salt. Start the instant pot in manual or pressure cook mode for 4 minutes at high pressure with vent in sealing position.
  • When the instant pot beeps, do 5 minutes natural pressure release, which means release the pressure manually 5 minutes after the instant pot beeps.
  • Fluff the rice with a ladle or fork. Let them stand for 5 more minutes.
  • Rice is ready to be served with your favorite curry.

Video

Notes

  • I add 1:1 rice to water ratio in this recipe as I soaked the rice.  You could change the rice to water ratio to 1:1.25 if not soaking the rice.  
  • If you like very soft rice, then you can increase the water to 1.5 cups for 1 cup of rice. 
  • 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.

Nutrition

Calories: 359kcalCarbohydrates: 73gProtein: 6gFat: 3gSaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 6mgSodium: 592mgPotassium: 106mgFiber: 1gCalcium: 26mgIron: 0.7mg
Keyword instant pot, perfect, pressure cooker
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Aaron A says

    May 10, 2022 at 3:51 pm

    Timing and ratio made the only fluffy perfect basmati rice I have made in the IP. I am so glad to have found your site because the other variations in ratio/time were not quite right. My search is over!

    Reply
    • Piping Pot Curry says

      May 13, 2022 at 12:04 pm

      Hi - So happy to hear that. Thank you for sharing it back 🙂

      Reply
    • Piping Pot Curry says

      May 17, 2022 at 3:27 pm

      Hi Aaron - So good to hear that 🙂

      Reply
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