Jeera Rice (Restaurant Style) / Indian Cumin Rice

Jeera Rice is a simple, comforting, aromatic, and delicious rice dish. This restaurant-style jeera rice has an earthy cumin flavor, and it is mildly spiced with whole spices. The recipe is beyond easy and goes well with any Dal or Curry.

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• About Jeera Rice
• Ingredients
• Step by Step Directions
• Serving Suggestions
• Helpful Tips
• More Rice Recipes
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About Jeera Rice

Jeera is an Indian name for cumin seeds. In this dish, cumin seeds are used generously, and that is why it is called Jeera Rice or Cumin Rice. 

Jeera Rice is one of the famous Indian rice dishes. It is often made at home with Dal or one of the most ordered dishes in the restaurant.

This recipe is straightforward to make and requires only a few ingredients. Jeera Rice is a flavorful, delicious, and kid-friendly dish. There are two forms of making Jeera Rice, one-pot method and the other way is to make it restaurant-style.

I have made this recipe restaurant-style. And with this style, we can get fluffy, non-sticky rice with each grain nicely separated.

Ingredients

1. Rice: Use the best quality and aged basmati rice to get the perfect Jeera Rice. If you do not have basmati rice, you can use other best-quality long grain rice. Whatever type of rice you choose, it should not be too starchy. 
2. Ghee: Ghee makes the rice very flavorful, but for the vegan option, you can use oil. You can also use butter instead of ghee if you prefer.
3. Whole Spices: I have added a bay leaf, cinnamon sticks, cardamoms, and cloves. They provide a beautiful and pleasant aroma to the rice. You can add fewer or more whole spices as per your taste.
4. Cumin Seeds: This is a cumin rice recipe, and so this whole spice is the recipe’s star ingredient. It is essential to let cumin seeds sizzle correctly and at the same time also make sure that they do not get burnt.
5. Green Chili: I have used only one green chili, making the rice very mildly spicy. However, you can skip it if you want.
6. Coriander Leaves: They add flavor and beautiful color contrast to this dish. After adding green chili and coriander leaves with other spices, do not cook them for longer. We do not want green chili and coriander leaves to be browned.

Step by Step Directions

Cooking Rice

• Take one cup of rice in a bowl and rinse it with water a few times or until water runs clear of starch.
• Soak the rice in three cups of cold or room-temperature water for 30 minutes.

• After 30 minutes, drain the water completely and set the rice aside.

• In a large pot or pan, bring 4 cups of water to a boil.
• Then add drained rice and salt to boiling water.

• Cook the rice on medium flame, uncovered, until they are cooked, but each grain remains separate.
• It may take about 8-10 minutes, depending on the type of rice. 
• So keep an eye on the rice after 5-6 minutes of cooking.
• Rice should not be overcooked.

• Drain the water, set the cooked rice aside, and let it cool down completely.
• To speed up the cooling, spread the rice into a big plate.

Making Jeera Rice

• Heat ghee or oil in a pan.
• Add bay leaf, cinnamon sticks, green cardamoms, and cloves.
• Saute for a few seconds until spices are aromatic.

• Add cumin seeds and allow them to sizzle.
• It is essential to let them sizzle enough for the flavor.
• However, make sure that cumin seeds do not get burnt.

• Then, turn the heat on low and add green chili and coriander leaves.

• Mix well and immediately add the cooked rice.
• Green chili and coriander leaves should not be browned.
• Stir everything well but very gently so that the rice grains do not break. 

• Add salt as required, mix well but gently, and turn off the heat.

• Serve hot Jeera Rice with your choice of Dal or Curry.

Serving Suggestions

Jeera Rice is great to have with Dal, Curry, Raita, or even with plain yogurt.

I like to enjoy Jeera Rice with the following dishes-

• Corn In Yogurt Sauce (Indian Style) / Corn Kadhi
• Mixed Dal Fry Tadka No Onion No Garlic
• Amritsari Chole No Onion No Garlic
• Rajasthani Panchmel Dal │Rajasthani Dal │Panchmel Dal
• Paneer Makhani No Onion No Garlic / Jain Paneer Makhani
• Dal Makhani No Onion No Garlic │ Jain Dal Makhani

Helpful Tips

• Use the best quality and aged basmati rice for this recipe. Alternatively, you can also use another variety of long grain rice that is not too starchy.
• Rinse the rice well with water a few times or until water runs clear. Rinsing the rice will help to remove excess starch, and rice will be fluffy and non-sticky.
• Soaking the rice in water is also essential. Soak it in cold or room temperature water, but do not soak in warm or hot water. Soak the rice for at least 20-30 minutes.
• Cook the rice in enough water, and cook until they are just done but not overcooked. For this recipe, the rice should not be sticky and mushy. So after 5-6 minutes of cooking, keep an eye on the rice and check frequently. 
• After cooking the rice, let them cool completely before making Jeera Rice. After draining the water, I always like to spread the rice into a large plate. That helps in faster cooling, as well as the rice grains will stay separate.
• Use more or fewer whole spices as you prefer. 
• After mixing rice into spices, do not stir too much to avoid the breaking of rice grains. Instead, mix gently only until everything is well combined.
• For the vegan option, use oil instead of ghee.
• After adding green chili and coriander leaves, do not cook them for longer to prevent them from browning.

More Rice Recipes

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