Instant Pot Jeera Rice

4.87 from 23 votes

Basmati rice tempered with whole cumin seeds! Jeera rice is a popular Indian rice dish which pairs beautifully with any curry or dal. It's so easy to make it in the Instant Pot! Vegan & gluten-free.

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Simple & flavorful Instant Pot Jeera Rice!

Basmati rice flavored with whole cumin seeds makes the perfect accompaniment to Indian meals.

If you love all the Instant Pot vegetarian/vegan recipes that I share on the blog, please join me on this Facebook Group – Instant Pot Vegetarian Recipes. The group shares/features vegetarian instant pot recipes and ideas from all around the web!

instant pot jeera rice served in a clay bowl

I always thought adding cumin to rice was a very natural thing. That’s because I always saw mom adding it all the time to pulao and biryani.

In fact whenever we had guests over, she would always make a simple jeera rice (cumin rice) to go along with the various dals and curries.

However when I grew up and started cooking myself, I realized that it is a very Indian thing to add cumin to rice and it’s not like a widely known/acceptable phenomenon.

I once made vegetable pulao for dinner for one of our American friends here and they were so surprised with the addition of cumin to rice. They had no idea it was even possible! And all my life I thought it was the most natural things to do!

Isn’t it amazing how our thoughts about certain things are so different? We just assume that what we grow up with to be absolutely normal!

Anyway if you have never added cumin to your rice, you really need to. Jeera Rice or Cumin Rice is a very popular rice side dish in India. You would almost always find it on the menu of your favorite Indian restaurants too.

How to Make Jeera Rice

For jeera rice, we add a tempering of cumin seeds to the basmati rice before cooking it. The toasted cumin seeds make the simple rice pop up and infuse it with so much flavor and aroma.

I also add some other whole spices like cloves, cardamom, and bay leaf to make it more fragrant.

Typically, onions are not used in jeera rice. But if you want, you can always add some chopped onion to the rice.

It’s extremely easy to make jeera rice in the Instant Pot. Simply saute the spices until fragrant, then add the rice, water and let it cook.

Yup that simple and makes such a great side dish.

overhead shot of jeera rice served in a clay bowl with a spoon on the side

This Instant Pot Jeera Rice

✓ super easy to make in the instant pot

✓ infused with flavors of cumin and other whole spices

✓ is vegan and gluten-free

✓ pairs well with any dal or curry

✓ is the perfect restaurant style jeera rice, where each grain of rice is well separated

I love jeera rice but the only time I do not like it is when it’s all mushy. To make sure all the grains of rice are nicely separated, it is important to use the right quantity of water.

For this Instant Pot Jeera Rice recipe, I have used rice to water ratio of 1:1.25 and it worked perfectly well. I have previously used 1:1.5 rice to water ratio as well and that works well too but for that perfectly separated grains, go with the quantity mentioned in the recipe.

Jeera Rice is the perfect accompaniment to any Indian meal. I like to serve it with chole or butter paneer. Yum!

Method

Wash the rice 4-5 times until the water turns clear. Drain and set it aside.

1- Press the saute button of the Instant Pot. Once it displays hot, add oil (or ghee) to it. Then add the bay leaf, sliced green chili, cloves, green cardamom and cumin seeds. Let the cumin seeds splutter.

2- Then add the rinsed basmati rice to the pot. Stir the rice with the spices for 30 seconds. Then add water, salt and stir.

3- Close the pot with its lid and press the manual/pressure cook button. Cook on high pressure for 5 minutes with the pressure valve in the sealing position.

4- Let the pressure release naturally for 2 minutes and then do a quick pressure release by manually moving the pressure valve from the sealing to the venting position.

Open the pot and fluff the rice with a fork.

step by step pictures of making jeera rice in the Instant Pot

Serve jeera rice with any curry of choice. It also goes very well with spinach dal!

jeera rice served in a clay bowl with a spoon on the side

If you’ve tried this Instant Pot Jeera Rice Recipe then don’t forget to rate the recipe! You can also follow me on Facebook and Instagram to see what’s latest in my kitchen!

Instant Pot Jeera Rice

4.87 from 23 votes
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Total: 20 minutes
Servings: 2
Basmati rice tempered with whole cumin seeds! Jeera rice is a popular Indian rice dish which pairs beautifully with any curry or dal. It's so easy to make it in the Instant Pot! Vegan & gluten-free.

Ingredients 

  • 1 tablespoon oil or ghee , 15 ml
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 green chili sliced
  • 3 cloves
  • 3 whole green cardamom
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1 cup basmati rice 200 grams/7.05 oz
  • 1.25 cups water 300 ml/10 oz
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt or to tase
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Instructions 

  • Wash the rice 4 to 5 times until the water turns clear. Drain and set it aside.
  • Press the saute button of the Instant Pot. Once it displays hot, add oil (or ghee) to it. Then add the bay leaf, sliced green chili, cloves, green cardamom and cumin seeds. Let the cumin seeds splutter.
  • Then add the rinsed basmati rice to the pot. Stir the rice with the spices for 30 seconds. Then add water, salt and stir.
  • Close the pot with its lid and press the manual/pressure cook button. Cook on high pressure for 5 minutes with the pressure valve in the sealing position.
  • Let the pressure release naturally for 2 minutes and then do a quick pressure release by manually moving the pressure valve from the sealing to the venting position.
  • Open the pot and fluff the rice with a fork.
  • Serve jeera rice with any curry or dal of choice. 

Nutrition

Calories: 414kcal, Carbohydrates: 77g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 7g, Sodium: 671mg, Potassium: 124mg, Fiber: 2g, Vitamin C: 2.7mg, Calcium: 41mg, Iron: 1.6mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Indian
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Hi, I’m Manali!

Bringing you easy, delicious vegetarian & vegan recipes! Eating veggies can be fun, you just need to get creative in the kitchen with the right set of ingredients!


4.87 from 23 votes (3 ratings without comment)

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Recipe Rating




69 Comments

  1. Question here: Can you make this with golden sella basmati rice? I use it because of the extra vitamins, but it is parboiled. What changes should I make?

  2. 5 stars
    Hi Manali :). Will this recipe turn out the same if I just use the automatic “Rice” button on the Instant Pot instead of manually setting pressure and time or do you recommend manual?

    1. time remains same since pressure cooking depends on size not the amount. Just triple the ingredients.

  3. 5 stars
    As always, your recipe measurements and method are easy to follow. I made the jeera rice today and it was perfectly fluffy. Also, love the convenience of making it in the instant pot.

  4. 5 stars
    our local Indian food restaurant serves rice just like this and I wondered how they do it. Thanks so much for explaining it! Perfect!!!!!!

  5. 4 stars
    Loved the flavor will definitely make again. I tripled the Recipe used the basmati rice rinsed well. Rice was very sticky. I will adjust water. I may try in rice maker.

    1. hmm with this rice to water ratio, I am not sure how it was sticky. Did you rinse it well? Which brand of rice did you use? Thanks for trying

  6. 5 stars
    This is great thanks so much. I make my own ghee so used that. I may use 1.5 cup water but no problems with 1.25. Really nutty and tasty. Im gonna have it with a tangy paneer masala (make paneer too).
    Really glad to find your site.

    1. I would not recommend, the texture of rice will change. Jeera rice isn’t supposed to be sticky which it will be with jasmine rice.

  7. Hi – i have been following this recipe for a year now, and jeera rice is a staple in our house these days. My family love it!

    1. hmm not sure what went wrong, I make this recipe all the time and rice comes out perfect 🙂 did you rinse the rice well? it could be the variety of rice that you used

    1. sure, follow the instructions on your rice cooker. To make in a pan, follow same steps, add 1.5 cups water, cover with a lid and cook around 10 minutes on medium heat until rice is cooked through

      1. Thank you for the quick response. Also, in couldn’t find “green chile”… would it be ok to use Serrano peppers? It’s more on the spicy side, so it’s probably best to not split in half? Please advise.

      2. green chili in Indian cooking refers to Thai green chili. If you can’t find it use serrano or jalapeno.

  8. 5 stars
    Is there not an option to change the servings size? One cup of rice is usually not enough for a large family.

    1. yes there’s a button on the side with 2x, 3x. Press on that, ingredients quantity will change. You can easily double or triple this recipe. Cook time should remain same.

  9. 5 stars
    I made this last night and it turned out AMAZING! This is easily the best tasting rice I have ever made. I am looking forward to trying out many more of your recipes! I’m so glad I found your website – even a white guy like me can make authentic Indian recipes!

  10. 5 stars
    My husband doesn’t like his rice sticky. This was the perfect ratio of rice to water. Thanks for sharing!

  11. Hi Manali,
    How would you make plain white rice (sona masoori) in an IP? What ratio of rice:water do you follow, how many minutes do you cook & how do you release the pressure?

    Thanks!

    1. I haven’t actually tried it. I do jasmine rice 1:1 and basmati 1: 1.25 or 1.5 for 4-5 minutes high pressure. Let me try and get back.

  12. 5 stars
    Thanks Manali for this super easy, foolproof IP recipe. I wanted to make use of my IP to cook rice(I usually only make soups in it) and i found your site. I tweaked the recipe to add some shelled edamame and used vegan ghee for the tempering. And the dish came out so good! Can’t wait to try out your other vegan recipes.
    Cheers!

  13. 5 stars
    I made this last night and it turned out AMAZING! This is easily the best tasting rice I have ever made. I am looking forward to trying out many more of your recipes! I’m so glad I found your website

  14. I cannot find cardamom locally. I do have some ground cardamom. Can it be substituted in this recipe? If so, when do you suggest adding, and how much? Thanks!

  15. Hi Manali,

    I tried this recipe last night, followed it to the letter but got a ‘burn’ message while trying to get under pressure. Even without starting the timer under pressure the rice was still cooked, but half of it was burned and stuck to the pot, I will have a fun time cleaning that tonight ahah. Any idea why this could happen ? I put 1.25 cups of water for 1 cup rice. Based on the comments it seems I was the only one with this problem !

    1. Hi Manon, hmm the newer IP models are prone to the burn message. Do you have a 8 qt? Make sure that there’s nothing stuck at the bottom of the pot after you add the water. If there’s anything stuck at the bottom, the pot won’t come to pressure and you will get a burn message. And if you have a 8qt, try with 1.5 cups water next time. hope that helps!

  16. I have a vegetarian family and finding your book was a blessing! I tried the Jeera rice, I doubled it at first. Probably a bad move because it was my first go at using an Instant Pot as well. My rice didn’t turn out fluffy. I tried 2x now. I will keep trying to get it right.

    1. 5 stars
      I love your vegetarian cookbook. Indian food is one of my favorites and making food this delicious at home is just amazing. I made the rice 4x now doubled. I buy my basmati rice bulk at local store, whatever type it is, i had to reduce water to 1:1 ratio before getting the results everybody else did…
      Thank you for sharing your wonderful talents!

      1. good to know that it works for you and thank you for your kinds words about my cookbook! 🙂

  17. hi Manali hope you’re doing great!! I am big fan of yr cooking. Trying to make jeera rice in the instapot lets see how it will be. Thanks ?? ❤️

  18. Have you ever tried this with brown basmati rice? And I wasn’t able to find green cardamom, could I use ground cardamom (how much?) and just put it in right before I sent the rice to cook?

  19. 5 stars
    I’ve made this as is and it is delicious! Can this recipe be doubled? Will the liquid to rice ratio remain the same? Looking to make it for a large group – Thank you!

  20. 5 stars
    This is an amazing recipe! I’ve made Jeera Rice on the stove and rice cooker first time in an instant pot and never changing that! Super fluffy and delicious! Thank you so much for sharing!!