Jeera Rice

Jeera rice is a flavourful Indian cumin rice in which cooked rice is tempered with jeera or cumin. This is a very easy Indian jeera pulao recipe which can be cooked under 10 minutes. Jeera rice is an Indian and Pakistani dish. The dish is also popular in North India. This can also be called as Zeera rice. Long grain Basmati rice is cooked. Cumin seeds are tempered in hot oil or ghee and cooked rice is added to this. This is garnished with chopped coriander leaves.

Unlike biryani or pulao, cumin rice is very easy to cook. This rice recipe with cumin seeds was an experiment from the Mughals cooks which is now found in almost every Indian kitchen.

Ingredients to make Indian cumin pulao:

1. Rice: Use long grain Basmati rice in this recipe. This makes the zeera pulao more flavourful and appealing.
2. Spices: Main spice to be used in this recipe is cumin. This is the star ingredient and the entire recipe is based around this. Apart from cumin, we have used bay leaf and cloves which are added while boiling rice. Cardamom and cinnamon stick can also be added while boiling rice.
3. Ghee: Ghee is used for tempering the cumin seeds. Ghee makes this jeera pulao more fragrant. If ghee is not available, oil can be used.
4. Green chili: Just one green chili is perfect for adding the right amount of spice in this recipe.
5. Coriander leaves: Coriander leaves are added while garnishing.

Related posts: Broccoli rice, Soya chunk pulao, Chicken fried rice

How to make jeera rice – cooking method:

1. Prepare jeera rice in cooker or in electric cooker, the taste will remain the same. You can even make it by cooking rice separately, like how I did in my recipe. I also added cumin powder made from roasted cumin. This is how my mom prepares restaurant style jeera rice at home.
2. Wash basmati times, 3 times and keep it aside for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, heat 4 cups water and cook rice. Spread it on a colander to dry.
3. If you have left-over rice or day-old rice, then even that can be used to make this recipe. In this case, the rice will be ready, and tempering can be done soon. This is how we can make zeera rice in less than 10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile dry roast cumin seeds in another pan. After cooling, crush them using a rolling pin or mortar pestle.
5. Heat a kadai or wok and add ghee. Add cumin seeds and after they flutter, add chopped green chilies and little roasted cumin powder.
6. Mix rice. Add remaining cumin powder, salt to taste and mix well.
7. Garnish with chopped coriander seeds.

How to serve this cumin rice?

Serve this rice recipe with cumin with chicken curry. Remember to serve it hot.

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5 from 2 votes

Jeera Rice

Jeera rice is a flavourful Indian cumin rice in which cooked rice is tempered with jeera or cumin. This is a very easy Indian jeera pulao recipe which can be cooked under 10 minutes.

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Cook Time10 minutes mins

Course: Main Course, Main Dish

Cuisine: Indian, North Indian

Servings: 4 People

Author: Raksha Kamat

Equipment

• Kadai / wok
• Mortar-pestle
• Tadka pan

Ingredients

• 1 cup Basmati rice
• 1 bay leaf
• 5 cloves
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds whole
• 3 teaspoon cumin seeds to be used to make cumin powder
• 3 tablespoon ghee/oil
• 1 green chili finely chopped
• 4 tablespoon coriander leaves finely chopped
• ½ teaspoon salt or as per taste

Instructions

• Wash basmati rice three times and keep it aside for 30 minutes.
• Heat 4 cups water in a deep bottom utensil and add rice, bayleaf and cloves. Let rice get cooked aldente.
• Drain extra water and spread rice on a colander.

To make cumin powder:

• Take a small tadka pan or a small wok and dry roast 2 teaspoon cumin seeds.

  Spread the cumin seeds on a flat surface and crush them using a roller pin. You can even use mortar-pestle for doing this. Keep the cumin powder aside.
• Heat a big kadai/wok, add ghee or oil. After ghee (clarified butter) gets heated, add whole cumin seeds.
• After cumin seeds flutter, little roasted cumin powder and finely chopped green chillies.
• Let green chillies fry for 1 minute.

Adding rice:

• Immediately add cooked rice, remaining jeera powder, salt to taste and mix well.
• Garnish with chopped coriander leaves

Video

Notes

1. Adding cumin powder made from roasted cumin adds more flavour to the dish.
2. Ghee should be used instead of oil to make it more flavourful.
3. If you have left-over rice or day-old rice, then even that can be used to make this recipe. In this case, the rice will be ready, and tempering can be done soon. This is how we can make zeera rice in less than 10 minutes.

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Note: This post was published on 26 Nov 2011. It is republished with new images and step by step instructions.