Zarda Sweet Rice (Meethe Chawal)

Meethe Chawal, or Zarda Rice, is a sweet, rich saffron rice adorned with nuts and raisins. This aromatic, sweet, saffron-flavored rice is a royal dessert made on special occasions and festivals. This easy recipe can be made with a few ingredients in one pot in less than 30 minutes!

This sweet rice is popularly known in North India as Meethe Chawal. Meethe Chawal translates to “sweet rice”. In Pakistan as Zarda rice or Zafrani pulao. The name Zarda comes from the Persian word ‘zard’, which‬ means ‘yellow’. Hence, this sweet saffron rice is yellow colored. This recipe is gluten-free and can easily be made vegan.

In North India, this sweet rice is prepared at the festival of Lohri and served at weddings. My mom recently suggested I make this easy recipe; my readers will love it. So, I am sharing her recipe for the stovetop, which has also been adapted to the instant pot.

Some other desserts I have learned from my mom that are always a hit on any occasion are Rice Kheer, carrot halwa, or this Thandai (saffron-flavored milk) for the Holi festival.

We make this Zarda Sweet Saffron Rice with aromatic whole spices sautéed in ghee, saffron soaked in warm milk, which gives the rice its bright yellow color, and lots of crunchy nuts and raisins. Typically, when making Zarda rice, food color is added. However, I prefer to use the natural color of saffron, so I have skipped food coloring in this recipe.

If you want to make a savory version of this rice, check out my Saffron Rice with nuts and raisins recipe.

Watch How to Make Zarda Sweet Rice

Zarda Ingredients

Let’s start with getting the ingredients ready. You might have most of the ingredients in your pantry.

This recipe uses cashews, almonds, and raisins, but you can substitute any nuts you have on hand.

Sella basmati rice is the best to use when making meethe chawal. However, regular long-grain basmati rice works excellently in this recipe, too. I used regular basmati rice, as I did not want to buy a specific variety of rice just for one dish, and I am sure you all will prefer the same 🙂

How to make Zarda Rice on the stovetop?

There are two ways to make this Zarda Rice on the stovetop. The first is in a stovetop pressure cooker, which you can follow the same steps as the Instant Pot method. Pressure cook for 1-2 whistles and let the pressure release naturally. I suggest increasing the water to 1.25 cups when cooking in the stovetop pressure cooker.

To make this sweet rice in a pot, use a heavy bottom pot and heat it on medium-high heat. The initial step to sauté nuts will be the same. Then add the whole spices and rice. Then add 1.5  cups water along with the other ingredients. Change the heat to medium-low and cover the pot with a lid. Stir in between at regular intervals. The rice will take about 15-20 minutes to cook and soak all the liquids. Fluff the rice and add the sautéed golden nuts and raisins.

How to make Meethe Chawal in the Instant Pot?

We will start by soaking saffron in warm milk. We want to soak the saffron for at least 20 minutes before making the rice so that it releases its color into the milk. This will give our rice the perfect yellow hue.

First, heat ghee in the instant pot and sauté the nuts and raisins. Keep stirring until they turn slightly golden, then remove them and set them aside for later.

Then, add the remaining ghee to the instant pot, add the whole spices, and sauté them for 30 seconds until their aroma is released. Then add the washed basmati rice and sauté for 2 minutes.

Now add the sugar, saffron milk, and water. Close the lid and pressure cook the rice.

I pressure-cooked the rice for 4 minutes and released the pressure manually 5 minutes after the beep. If you are using Sella basmati rice, pressure-cook it for 6 minutes, as it takes longer to cook. We want to be sure not to overcook the rice, as we want each grain to be separate.

After opening the instant pot, fluff the rice with a fork. Then add the sautéed nuts we had kept aside. You can also add desiccated coconut. Adding coconut is not typical in North India. However, it is common in Maharashtra in Western India, where this same dish is called Sweet Coconut Rice.

Check out these 20 delicious Indian Desserts made in the Instant Pot.

Serve warm and enjoy the aroma and delicious taste of this fragrant Zarda Sweet Rice!

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