Jeera rice is the side dish that holds a North Indian meal together. It should be quiet enough to let a dal makhani or a paneer curry take the spotlight, but still fragrant enough that you would happily eat a bowl of it with just a little raita. It takes very few ingredients. It does take attention.
Ingredients
- 1 cup aged basmati rice
- 2 tbsp ghee
- 1½ tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 green cardamom pods
- 3 black peppercorns
- 1 small green chilli, slit (optional)
- 1¾ cups water
- ¾ tsp salt
- A few drops of lemon juice
- Chopped coriander to finish
Method
- Rinse and soak. Rinse the rice gently in several changes of water until the water is nearly clear. Soak for 30 minutes. Drain in a sieve for 10 minutes. Aged basmati is fragile once soaked, so handle it lightly.
- Boil the water separately. Bring the water to a boil with the salt and lemon juice in a kettle or small pan. Adding boiling water, rather than cold, keeps the grains from breaking.
- Temper. In a heavy-bottomed pan, heat the ghee on medium. Add the cumin seeds. Let them sizzle and darken to a deep brown, about 30 to 40 seconds. They should smell toasty, not burnt. Add the bay leaf, cardamom, peppercorns and green chilli for 10 seconds.
- Coat the rice. Add the drained rice. Stir very gently with a flat spatula for 1 to 2 minutes, until every grain is glossy with ghee.
- Cook. Pour in the boiling water. Let it return to a boil, then cover tightly, turn the heat to the lowest setting and cook for 12 minutes. Do not lift the lid.
- Rest. Turn off the heat and leave covered for 10 minutes. The steam finishes the cooking and firms up the grains.
- Fluff. Fluff with a fork, lifting from the bottom. Scatter coriander.
Why this works
The soak. Soaked basmati cooks more evenly and elongates rather than breaking. Skip it and the outside of each grain turns mushy before the centre is done.
The lemon. A few drops of acid in the water help keep the grains white and separate. You will not taste it.
The cumin colour. Pale cumin tastes grassy. Properly toasted cumin is nutty and warm, and it is the entire flavour of the dish. Watch it closely, because the line between deep brown and burnt is about ten seconds.
The ghee. Ghee carries the cumin aroma into every grain. Oil works, but the rice tastes flatter. With a bilona ghee you get an extra roasted note that sits well with the cumin.
Pressure cooker version
Temper and coat the rice in the cooker base as above. Add 1½ cups boiling water, close, and cook for one whistle on medium. Turn off the heat and let the pressure release on its own.
What to serve with it
Dal fry, dal makhani, rajma, chole, kadhi, or any paneer curry. A cucumber or boondi raita alongside is all you need.
For rice dishes where ghee is doing most of the flavouring, our A2 Gir Cow Ghee is worth using. For large everyday batches, the Desi Cow A2 Ghee does very well.