Jerra Rice

jeera rice recipe with step by step photos – a mildly spiced and flavorful indian rice dish flavored with cumin.

jeera rice is one of the most popular rice dish in restaurants. many people prefer to have jeera rice instead of plain basmati rice to go along with dals or curry dishes. the tempering with cumin and fragrant whole spices, takes the simple rice dish a level notch up.

making jeera rice is very easy and even bachelors can make it. you can make jeera rice for guests or special occasions or also for every day food when you want to add more flavors to rice.

jeera rice goes very well with some north indian curries like punjabi dum aloo, punjabi kadhi pakora, chole masala, rajma masala or dals like dal fry, dal tadka, dal makhani, dhaba dal. apart from the dals, our suggestion would also be to serve palak paneer, malai kofta, paneer pasanda, paneer butter masala, kadai paneer and shahi paneer with jeera rice.     there are two methods of making the jeera rice or cumin rice:

1: in the first method, the whole spices are sauteed first in oil and the rice is cooked along with the spices. this method is similar to that making of pilaf/pulao. i have already posted this method in this jeera rice recipe.
2. this jeera rice recipe is the second method, where the rice grains are cooked first. then the tempering with cumin is added to the cooked rice. this technique is mostly used in restaurants.

if you are looking for more rice recipes then do check saffron rice, biryani rice, garam masala rice, kuska biryani and ghee rice recipe.

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jeera rice recipe

jeera rice recipe - an easy version of cumin flavored rice.

 COURSE main

 CUISINE north indian

 PREP TIME 30 minutes

 COOK TIME 25 minutes

 TOTAL TIME 55 minutes

 SERVINGS 4

 CALORIES 324 kcal

 AUTHOR dassana

INGREDIENTS (1 cup = 250 ml)

for cooking rice:

• 1.5 cup basmati rice
• 5 cups water
• 1 tej patta (indian bay leaf)
• 2 green cardamom (hari elaichi or choti elaichi)
• 1 black cardamom (badi elaichi)
• ½ inch cinnamon (dalchini)
• 2 cloves (lavang)
• 1 to 2 strands of mace (javitri)
• 1 teaspoon salt or as required

for tempering jeera rice:

• 2 tablespoon oil or 1.5 tablespoon ghee
• 2 teaspoon cumin seeds(jeera)
• 1 green chilli (hari mirch) - chopped, optional
• 1 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves (dhania patta)

HOW TO MAKE RECIPE

cooking rice:

1. rinse basmati rice till the water runs clear of starch. soak the rice for 30 mins and then drain them. keep aside.
2. heat 5 cups water. add all the whole spices. add rice and salt. simmer the rice on a low flame uncovered.
3. the rice grains should be cooked till tender and yet separate. drain the water and keep the cooked rice aside.
4. if you want you can rinse also the rice with water at room temperature. this stops the cooking of the rice and keeps the grains separate.

making jeera rice recipe:

1. heat oil in a small pan. add cumin/jeera.
2. let them crackle. they have to be fried well otherwise you will taste uncooked cumin in the rice.
3. add the green chilies. stir for a few seconds. no need to brown the chilies.
4. add the tempering to the hot or warm rice.
5. with a fork, gently mix the tempering with the rice grains. even if some rice grains break, its alright. do gently taking care so as not to break the rice grains.
6. add coriander and gently mix or garnish jeera rice with coriander at the time of serving.
7. serve jeera rice hot or warm with a dal or vegetable/paneer curry of your choice.

RECIPE NOTES

this approximate nutrition info is per serving:

Nutrition Facts

jeera rice recipe

Amount Per Serving

Calories 324 Calories from Fat 63

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 7g 11%

Saturated Fat 0g 0%

Cholesterol 0mg 0%

Sodium 640mg 27%

Potassium 97mg 3%

Total Carbohydrates 57g 19%

Dietary Fiber 1g 4%

Sugars 0g

Protein 5g 10%

Vitamin A 0.3%

Vitamin C 1.6%

Calcium 3.8%

Iron 7.2%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.                                      

step by step cumin rice or jeera rice recipe:

1. rinse 1.5 cup basmati rice till the water runs clear of starch. soak the rice for 30 mins and then drain them. keep aside.

2. heat 5 cups water. add all the whole spices – 1 indian bay leaf, 2 green cardamom, 1 black cardamom, ½ inch cinnamon, 2 cloves and 1 to 2 strands of mace.

3. add rice and 1 tsp salt. simmer the rice on a low flame uncovered.

4. the rice grains should be cooked till tender and yet separate.

5. the texture of the cooked rice grains is shown in the below pic. i usually cook rice grains a bit more softer than what is served in restaurants. the reason being that if the rice grains have even a small bite in them, then they cause indigestion problems.

6. drain the water and keep the cooked rice aside. if you want, you can rinse also the rice with water at room temperature. this stops the cooking of the rice and keeps the grains separate.

7. heat 2 tbsp oil or 1.5 tbsp ghee in a small pan. add 2 tsp cumin/jeera.

8. let them crackle. they have to be fried well otherwise you will taste uncooked cumin in the rice.

9. add 1 chopped green chili. stir for a few seconds. no need to brown the chilies.

10. add the tempering to the hot or warm rice.

11. with a fork, gently mix the tempering with the rice grains. even if some rice grains break, its alright. do gently taking care so as not to break the rice grains.

12. add 1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves and gently mix or garnish jeera rice with coriander at the time of serving.

serve jeera rice with gravy dishes like paneer butter masala, paneer korma, rajma masala, chana masala, kadai mushroom or even any dal like chana dal fry or palak dal.