Ghee rice is a one pot rice dish made with ghee, rice, spices & nuts. It is one of the most basic flavored rice recipe served with kurma or any curry. Instructions for stovetop & Instant pot.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 5 minutes
  • Cook time: 15 minutes
  • Total time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: 2
  • Category: Main Course
  • Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

  • 1 cups basmati rice
  • 2 tablespoons ghee (or clarified butter)
  • 1 medium onion (thinly sliced (optional))
  • 1¾ cups water for Indian cooker ((1¼ cup Instant pot, 2 cups for normal pot))
  • 1 green chilies ((slit or chopped))
  • ½ teaspoon Salt ((adjust to taste))
  • 14 cashewnuts ((kaju, 28 split))
  • 14 raisins
  • 2 inch cinnamon ((dalchini))
  • 4 cloves ((laung))
  • 3 to 4 green cardamoms ((elaichi))
  • 1 strand mace ((javitri))
  • 1 star anise ((chakri phool))
  • 1 bay leaf ((tej patta))

Method

Preparation

  1. Add rice to a bowl and rinse well at least thrice. Soak it for at least 20 to 30 minutes. Drain and set aside. While the rice soaks, slice onion thinly & slit green chilies.
  2. Heat a pressure cooker or a pot with ghee. Fry cashews till lightly golden, add raisins and stir up. When they turn plump set them aside in a plate.
  3. To the same pan, add onions. You can also skip onions from the recipe. Fry them till golden, about to caramelize but not burnt. Remove them to a plate and keep aside to garnish. (These are the fried onions / barista.)

How to Make Ghee Rice

  1. Add all the whole spices to the pan & fry for a min until aromatic.
  2. Add green chilies, drained rice & fry on a medium flame for about 3 to 4 minutes. Stir to prevent burning.
  3. Pour water and salt as needed. You may need to add more or less water depending on the rice (read my notes below).
  4. Taste the water and check the salt. If needed add more. Ideally the water has to be slightly salty.
  5. If making in a pressure cooker, cook on a medium heat until you hear 1 whistle. If making in pot, cover and cook on a very low flame until the rice is cooked fully but not mushy.
  6. When the pressure releases, Open the lid and gently fluff up the rice with a fork.
  7. Transfer ghee rice to a serving bowl or plate. Garnish with raisins, cashews, fried onions and coriander leaves.
  8. Serve ghee rice with any gravy like kurma, curry or even with egg roast. You can also eat it plain.

Instant Pot Ghee Rice

  1. Press the SAUTE button & add ghee to the inner steel pot of the Instant pot.
  2. When the ghee melts, add the cashews & saute until they turn light golden.
  3. Then add in the raisins and stir until they plum up. Remove the cashews and raisins to a small plate.
  4. Stir in the onion slices to the ghee and spread them in a single layer.
  5. Next stir them every now and then until they turn golden to light brown & aromatic. If the pot is too hot, you can switch the saute to low by pressing (saute button again). Drain the ghee well and remove the fried onions to the same plate.
  6. Now add in all the whole spices, followed by the green chilli and drained rice.
  7. Saute for 30 to 60 seconds & press CANCEL button.
  8. Pour water and add salt. Deglaze by scrubbing the bottom of the steel pot with a spatula. Taste the water and add more salt if needed.
  9. Secure the instant pot with the lid. Position the steam release handle/ vent to sealing.
  10. Press the PRESSURE COOK button (or manual on older IPs) and set the timer to 5 mins.
  11. When the IP beeps, wait for natural pressure release for 2 to 3 mins. For softer rice, you can wait upto 5 mins. Then release the rest manually by moving the steam release handle from sealing to venting.
  12. Cool down a bit and then garnish ghee rice with fried onions, raisins and cashews.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.