Jeera rice (restaurant style)

Jeera rice is a delicious accompaniment to dal and gravy based curries. Many Indians prefer to have this rice alongside their dishes.

Jeera is the Hindi for cumin. This is a fragrant rice dish, made from basmati rice flavoured with cumin seeds. You can also flavour the rice with other spices. I like to add some cloves, cinnamon and cardamom. There are two ways of making jeera rice and both of these give you delicious rice.

The first way of cooking jeera rice (and the method most commonly used in restuarants,) is to cook the rice first with a little salt. Then you top with a tadka of ghee in which cumin seeds have been sauteed. This is my personal favourite (over the second one as its more flavourful)! When cooking the rice you can also add other spices if you prefer.

The next method is to cook all the ingredients together in one pot, typically in a pressure cooker. This is my go to method for cooking jeera rice. I simply add 1 cup of rice to a pressure cooker, add 1 cup of water, 1 tsp cumin seeds and 1 tsp ghee. Then I pressure cook for 2-3 whistles and then my jeera rice is done.

This recipe is for the restuarant style version!

Some tips for making jeera rice

Make sure to wash the rice thoroughly beforehand, at least three times. This will ensure that any excess starch is removed and it will ensure that your rice is fluffy and that the grains are separate
Cook the rice in plenty of water. This will also ensure that the rice grains are separate.
It is also a good idea to soak the rice for around 10-15 minutes beforehand, but this is not essential. You will still get fluffy rice without soaking, it will just take longer to cook. I did not soak the rice beforehand in this recipe. Without soaking basmati rice takes around 15-20 minutes, with soaking around 7-10 minutes.
Do not use precooked rice or 'fast cooking rice'. You will get the fluffiest grains if you use a good quality long grain basmati.

Ingredients
For the rice

1 cup basmati rice

4-5 cups water

Salt to taste (I added 1/2 tsp)

1 tsp oil

You'll need these spices

2 cloves

3 cardamom pods, bruised

Small piece of cinnamon

1 heaped tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tbsp ghee for the tadka

Method

First, thoroughly wash the basmati rice. I did this at least three times. The rice is well washed when the water runs clear. Once rinsed, set the rice aside.
Take a large pot, and add the 4 cups of water. Also add the cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, 1 tsp oil and salt to taste. Bring to the boil.
Once the water is boiling, turn the flame to medium and add the rinsed rice.
Mix well and let the rice bubble for ~15 minutes until tender. The cooking time will vary depending on the quality of the basmati rice and how old it is. Older basmati rice will take longer to cook.
Test if the basmati rice is done by taking a grain and squeezing it between your fingers. It should break easily, but it should not be mushy.
Once the rice is cooked, drain the remaining water and then transfer to a large serving bowl. Fluff up the grains with a fork.

To prepare the tadka, heat the ghee in a small saucepan or tadka pan. Once hot, add the cumin seeds and let them sizzle on a low heat for a 30 seconds.