Jeera (Cumin) Rice is a North Indian Classic. It so flavorful and easy to cook! This is my go-to side dish with curries and dals. It’s amazing how simple ingredients can make a dish so flavorful.
Basmati Rice
As a rule, white basmati rice is the main ingredient in this recipe. I love white basmati for its fragrance! Just one whiff of steamed basmati rice and my mouth starts watering. While I have been completely off regular white rice over the last several years, I enjoy basmati rice occasionally. Unfortunately, there’s very little nutrition in white rice. This forced me to transition a few of my favorite recipes to brown rice.
Sona Masuri
I had my parents visit me last year. They are die-hard white rice fans, especially a variety called sona masuri. It doesn’t have the fragrance of basmati but turns out fluffy when cooked right. My dad refuses to eat any other rice. I ended up buying a lot of sona masuri rice at our local Indian grocery for them. It’s about 18 months since they left, and I still have a 10-pound bag of this rice left untouched. I guess I did not plan it right!
Brown Rice
Unlike white basmati, brown rice is somewhat thick and devoid of fragrance. Even brown basmati falls short of the original fragrance. Over the years however I have developed a taste for brown rice and don’t really miss white rice. The best way to cook brown rice is to soak for at least 2 hours before cooking. Soaking longer gives better results.
Jeera (Cumin) Rice
Clearly, cumin is the main source of flavor in this dish. In addition to cumin, other spices may be used, as it is often the case with Indian recipes. Some use cardamom and cinnamon. Restaurants also garnish the dish with cilantro, making it look more colorful. I typically use cumin, onion, and a small piece of dry chili pepper. That’s it. One other thing – while I cook it all together, you can also use cooked rice and mix it with sautéed cumin, onion and chili pepper. Or go all out and add cardamom, cinnamon and cilantro. Depends on how fancy you want it.
The hull and bran in brown rice provide “natural wholeness” to the grain and are rich in proteins, thiamine, calcium, magnesium, fiber, and potassium, making this recipe healthier than the traditional one which uses white Basmati rice
While you’re here, check out some of our delicious brown rice recipes:
- Brown Rice Vegetable Pulao
- Brown Rice Khichdi
- Egg Tomato Spicy Rice
- Vegetable Multigrain Khichdi
- Mexican Rice
- Brown Jeera Rice
- Bisi Bele Baath
- Savory Brown Rice Pongal
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Brown Jeera (Cumin) Rice
Ingredients
- 1/2 Cup Brown Rice
- 1 Teaspoon Cumin Seeds
- 1/2 Chili Dry Red Chili - Small
- 1/8 Cup Onion - Fine Cut
- 1/4 Teaspoon Sea Salt - Or To Taste
- 1 Teaspoon Coconut Oil - Extra Virgin
Instructions
- Soak brown rice for 2 hours to soften the hull. Wash and drain rice. Chop onions.
- Set IP on 'Sauté' mode, add oil and wait for the 'hot' sign to show up. Add cumin, chili pepper, onions and sauté for 2 minutes. Add brown rice and stir contents gently so as to not break the rice grains.
- Add 3/4th cup of water, salt and mix well. Set IP on 'Manual' mode, put the lid on and set it on high pressure for 30 minutes.
- Once it's done open the lid and fluff with a fork, add about a 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil if you like, to make it less sticky.
- Serve hot with any curry or dal.
Excellent recipe! Like you, I have tried to eschew all white rices and pastas, so this brown jeera rice dish you propose fits the bill perfectly. Thank you for sharing!
Hello Mario, thanks for your feedback. You are welcome.
This is far too much jeera for that amount of rice. I don’t usually use a recipe for jeera rice but this time I was using brown basmati, and I made it in the instant pot. I think one teaspoon would have been much better. I wish that I had used my judgment. The directions are good, the amount of water was fine, and the time worked but the excess jeera has almost spoiled it. Normally I make more but since I was trying something new I used only 1/2 cup of rice and was really glad I had done that. I think I’ll end up blending this with some steamed white rice.
Hello Toby, thanks for your feedback. We have fixed the measurement error now. It is readers like you and comments like yours that keep us on our toes. Thanks again!
I’m new to using instant pot. After the brown rice has cooked for 30 minutes, do we release pressure by quick release or wait for pressure to drop naturally? Thanks
Hi Chitra, a lot depends on how soft you want your rice to be. When I cook for my elderly parents (dentures!), I let the pressure drop naturally (I also add more water to the rice). If I want the rice to be slightly firmer, I will let the IP natural release for 5 minutes, then quick release. Play around and decide what works best for your tastebuds. Let us know too. All the very best!
I made a big batch with 2 cups of brown rice, 2 1/2 cups of water, one small onion, clove of garlic and I use a little crushed chili flake. I also added butter and olive oil.
Sounds like a sure winner to me!! Thanks for sharing.