This Indian Style Rice is a quick side dish that you can serve with any meal like curry or chicken tikka masala. The rice is perfectly cooked and flavored with aromatic spices. It's so fragrant and delicious!
Growing up in Asia made me appreciate how important spices are in cooking. Spices can make almost anything taste better.
This rice is quite similar to Jeera rice but contains more spices. You can cook this rice on the stove or in an instant pot.
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Spiced Rice
This Indian Style Rice is a simple side dish that is made from basmati rice and aromatic spices; cinnamon, turmeric, cumin, cardamom, and cloves.
You can find most of these ingredients at your local grocery store and they are pretty inexpensive.
Basmati Rice
Basmati rice is a variety of long-grained rice, which is traditionally grown in India and Pakistan.
It is high in carbs and micronutrients like thiamine, folate, and selenium. It's generally lower in arsenic than the other type of rice. You can read more here.
The Seasoning for Indian Rice:
In this recipe, I used a combination of these spices to add flavors to the rice.
- Cinnamon
- Cumin
- Turmeric
- Cardamon. It has a strong sweet and pungent aroma. You can find the whole or powder form at any grocery market. I highly recommend buying it from the bulk spice section so you only buy what you need and save money.
- Cloves
- (optional if you like spicy) Kashmiri chili pepper powder. You can find this at any Indian, Middle East grocers, or Amazon.com. Or feel free to substitute it with paprika or smoked paprika with a small pinch of cayenne pepper.
How to Make Indian Style Rice on the Stove or in an Instant Pot
Step 1. Prepare the basmati rice
Place rice into a large bowl and add enough water to cover. Soak for 20 minutes. Rinse the rice and drain well.
Step 2. Cook the rice on the stove or in an instant pot
Combine rice, water, cinnamon, turmeric, cumin, cloves, and chili powder in a regular pot or instant pot.
- On the stove
Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat then lower the heat to a simmer, cover the pot and cook for about 10 minutes or until water is absorbed and rice is done. Remove the pan from the heaat. Let the rice sits for 10 minutes, covered.
- In an Instant Pot
Cook for 3 minutes on manual at high pressure. Once the cooking cycle is completed, allow the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes.
Transfer the cooked rice to a baking sheet, and allow it to cool down at room temperature.
Step 3. Cook aromatic vegetables
Heat 2 tablespoon of oil, butter, or ghee in a skillet or an instant pot. Cook onion for about 4-5 minutes or until translucent. Add cardamon seeds and cumin. Continue cooking for about 3 minutes.
Add the cooked rice back into the pot. Cook and stir the rice for a few minutes, until lightly toasted.
FAQ and Cooking Tips:
Yes, you can. However, you need to increase the cooking time to 15 minutes at high pressure.
You can keep the leftover cooked rice in an airtight container. Properly stored, it will last up 4-5 days in the fridge or up to 3 months in the freezer.
Sprinkle about a teaspoon of water over the top of the rice. Reheat in the microwave for about 30 seconds or until the rice is hot.
Check Out More Rice Recipes:
- Saffron Rice
- Instant Pot White Rice
- Instant Pot Ground Beef and Rice
- Chicken and Chorizo Rice
- Cilantro Lime Rice
- Chinese Sausage Fried Rice
- Instant Pot Fried Rice
- Kimchi Fried Rice
- Nasi Goreng
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below! I'd appreciate it.
📖 Recipe
Indian Style Rice
Ingredients
- 1½ cups basmati rice (soak in water for 20 minutes, rinse, and drain well)
- 1½ cups water for Instant Pot (use 2¼ cups of water for stove top/regular pot)
- 1 cinnamon stick (or ½ teaspoon cinnamon powder)
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ⅛ teaspoon cumin powder
- ½ teaspoon salt (add more according to your liking)
- ⅛ teaspoon kashmiri pepper powder (OPTIONAL or skip or use a combination of paprika and a pinch of cayenne pepper)
- 2 whole cloves
- 1 (350 grams) onion (sliced)
- 6 cardamon pods
- ⅛ teaspoon cumin powder
- 2 tablespoons oil, butter, or ghee
Method
- Combine rice, water, cinnamon, turmeric, cumin, cloves, salt, and (optional) chili powder in a regular pot or instant pot. Stir to combine.#Option 1 - Cook on Stove: bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover the pot, and cook for 10 minutes or until the water is absorbed and the rice is fluffy. Turn off the heat then leave it for 10 minutes, covered. #Option 2- Instant Pot: cook for 3 minutes on manual at high pressure. Once the cooking cycle is completed, allow the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes.Transfer the cooked rice to a baking sheet, and allow it to cool down at room temperature.
- Heat the oil in a skillet or Instant Pot. Cook sliced onion for about 4-5 minutes or until translucent. Add the cardamom seeds and cumin. Continue cooking for about 3 minutes.Add the cooked rice back into the pot. Cook and stir the rice for a few minutes, until lightly toasted. Transfer the rice to a platter.
- Fluff the rice with a fork. Remove any of the spices that are still hard or tough to chew, such as the cardamom pods before serving.
Frances says
Easy and very tasty. I added golden raisins and peas. If I’d had almonds or cashews I would have added those.
Rika says
Hi Frances,
Thanks for taking the time to share your feedback. I am glad that you liked this recipe. I love how you added those yummy toppings.
Best,
Rika
S. Rose says
This recipe turned out great but the recipe write out needs some fixing. Nowhere in the ingredient list is clove listed so I had to eyeball how much to use. Also, the cardamom pods should be taken out of the dish before serving. My fiance and I were not happy when we bit into them while eating the rice.
Rika says
Hi S,
Thanks so much for taking the time to share your review and to pinpoint the missing ingredient list for cloves! So sorry about the cardamon pods. I just added an additional step to remind others about the cardamon pods. I truly appreciate your honest feedback, it will help other readers for sure.
Best,
Rika
Jacob says
I didn't have the cardamom pods so I used 3/4 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 tsp nutmeg as a substitute. Came out awesome. Will grab some pods if I come across them to try the original recipe since it turned out so good.
Rika says
Hi Jacob,
Thanks for trying and sharing what you did with the recipe. I am glad that you liked it 🙂 I think you chose the right substitutes for cardamon.
Best,
Rika
Garrett says
Love this recipe. I make it all of the time. Works better with ghee, but butter works fine too. I didn't let the rice cool down the last time I made this recipe and it came out just as delicious as letting the rice fully cool (IMO).
Rika says
Hi Garrett,
I'm glad you're loving the Indian rice recipe and it's become your go-to! Ghee or butter, both sound good. Skipping the cooling step and still having it turn out tasty is a neat discovery.
Best,
Rika
Sum says
Would this recipe work with quinoa?
Rika says
Hi Sum,
I haven't tried this recipe with quinoa yet, but I believe it should work well as long as you don't overcook the quinoa.
Best,
Rika
RDA says
Made exactly as instructed in ninja cooker. Came out amazing. Looked just like photo. Served with curry chicken and a garlic/mayo sauce. Loved it.
Rika says
Hi RDA,
I’m so glad to hear that! It’s great that it turned out just like the photo. Your meal with curry chicken and garlic mayo sauce sounds delicious! Thank you for sharing your experience—I really appreciate it!
Best,
Rika