Jeera Rice (also known as Zeera Rice or Jeera Pulao)

Jeera Rice (also known as Zeera Rice or Jeera Pulao)

is a rice dish with the wonderful flavor of cumin seeds. I love to make this dish for parties because it goes along with any kind of side dish. It is a simple and elegant dish.

Ingredients

Basmati rice – 1.5 cups

Ghee/ Butter/ Oil – 2 tbsp

Cumin seeds (Jeera) – 1 tbsp

Whole garam masala – (1 bay leaf, 3 cloves, 1″ cinnamon stick, 1 star anise, 2 green cardamom, 1 black cardamom)

Cilantro – 1 tbsp (finely chopped for garnish)

Green Chili – 1 (optional)

Salt – to taste

Water – 2.5 cups

Method

1. Wash and soak the rice for at least half an hour. Drain the water and keep it aside.

2. Heat the ghee in a pan or pressure cooker. Add the whole garam masala and fry for few seconds.

3. Add the cumin seeds and crackle it.

4. Add the drained rice, stir-fry for couple of minutes till the ghee coats the rice and it looks glossy. (Note: If you plan to cook in an electric rice cooker, transfer the contents to the rice cooker at this stage.)

5. Measure exact amount of hot water and add to the rice. Adding hot water gives the best results. Also, add required salt.

6. Cover the pan and bring to a boil. If you are using a pressure cooker, close the cooker and bring to a boil.

7. Once it boils, reduce the flame to low, cover with a tight lid and cook for about 15 minutes till all the moisture is absorbed by the rice. The rice will be cooked soft and small holes appear on top. If using a pressure cooker, put the whistle and cook for 10 minutes on low flame.

8. Fluff it up with a fork to keep the rice grains separate.

Garnish with finely chopped cilantro or fried onions.