How to cook Basmati Rice

Cooked basmati rice in a blue bowl with more rice on a plate

This recipe for the perfect basmati rice makes fluffy, soft and perfectly tender rice, every time you make it, just like at your favorite Indian restaurant.

Course Main

Cuisine Indian

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 6

Time for Instant Pot to come to pressure and time for pressure release 20

Total Time 41

Servings servings

Calories 338kcal

Author Manju

Equipment

Instant Pot
Dutch Oven

Ingredients

1 cup basmati rice
1 ¼ cups water ( 2 cups water for the stove top method)

Instructions

Instant Pot Instructions

For the instant pot, I use a rice to water ratio of 1 : 1 ¼ , with 1 cup rice and 1 ¼ cup room temperature water.
If soaking rice, soak it and then rinse it. If not just rinse it. Either way rinsing the rice well a few times is absolutely necessary.
Place the rinsed rice in the steel insert of the Instant Pot. Add the water over it. There is no need to mix the water.
Close the lid and move the sealing knob to SEALING. Select MANUAL / PRESSURE COOK option. Adjust time to 6 minutes.
It takes about 10 mins for the Instant Pot to come to pressure and start cooking the rice. This is when it counts down from 6 mins. Once the 6 mins are done, the Instant Pot will beep.
Wait for 10 mins after the beep, for most of the pressure to release naturally. Then, carefully move the sealing knob to VENT.
Once all the pressure has gone, open the lid. Wait for a couple of minutes before you touch the rice. Then slowly fluff with a fork or a silicone spatula. Move this to a serving bowl at this point and close and keep.

Stove Top Instructions

For making basmati rice on the stovetop, I use a rice to water ratio of 1 : 2, with 1 cup rice and 2 cups room temperature water.
If soaking rice, soak it and then rinse it. If not just rinse it. Either way rinsing the rice well a few times is absolutely necessary.
Place the rinsed rice in a heavy bottom pan (use a pan with a lid or make sure you have something else that you can use as a lid to cover the pan). Pour the water over it. Again, there is no need to mix the water and rice.
Let the water come to a boil. Let it boil with the rice for two minutes.
After this bring the heat down to the lowest setting. Close the pot with the lid and let the rice cook. (about 10 mins)
Once all the water has evaporated, turn off the heat and keep the pot closed for some more time. You will know this as the rice will get fluffier and there will be little depressions on the surface of the rice in the pot, where water tried to escape as bubbles, as it evaporated and got absorbed into the rice.
Fluff the rice gently with a fork or a silicone spatula and move it to a serving bowl.

Notes

The prep and cooking time given at the top of the recipe card is for the Instant Pot Method. For making basmati rice on the Stove top, it will take about 30 mins of cook time, with 15 min soaking time.

To get the perfect fluff,

Be gentle with the rice - if the grains break, then the chances of them sticking together as they cook is more. Rinse carefully, especially if you are rinsing after a soak. Once you add water to the rice to cook, leave it undisturbed. Even after it is cooked, wait for 5-10 minutes before you do anything to the rice. Even then, gently fluff with a fork or use a soft bendable spatula like a silicone one to gently move the rice around.

To reheat, microwave is the best option. Cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel or paper towel when reheating, so that the top surface of the rice does not get dried up.

Nutrition