Instant Pot Jeera Rice (Cumin Rice) is an easy one pot flavorful rice dish made with perfectly cooked Basmati Rice flavored with jeera and whole spices.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 5 minutes
  • Cook time: 10 minutes
  • Total time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: 2
  • Category: Main Course
  • Cuisine: Indian, North Indian

Ingredients

Whole Spices

  • 1 teaspoon cumin (jeera) Seeds
  • 1 inch cinnamon
  • 2-3 cloves
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 green cardamom

Other Ingredients

  • 1-2 tablespoons oil or ghee
  • 1 cup basmati rice (rinsed)
  • 2 green chilies (split lengthwise)
  • 1.5 cups water
  • salt (to taste)
  • 2 tablespoons coriander (cilantro)

Method

Instant Pot Method

  1. Press Saute on Instant Pot. Add ghee or oil and once it's hot add cumin/jeera seeds, bay leaf, cinnamon sticks, cardamom, and cloves. Saute for 30 secs (till aromatic).
  2. Then add green chilies. Saute for another 30 secs.
  3. Add Basmati Rice, water, salt, and give a stir.
  4. Close the Instant Pot with pressure valve to Sealing. Cook on High Pressure for 5 minutes.
  5. Once the pot beeps, Do a Quick Pressure Release (QR) Manually.
  6. Lastly, remove the lid away from you, garnish with fresh cilantro/coriander leaves.
  7. Jeera Rice is ready.

Indian Pressure Cooker Method

  1. Heat ghee in a pressure cooker on medium heat and once it's hot add bay leaf, cinnamon sticks, cardamom, cloves, cumin/Jeera. Saute for 30 seconds (till aromatic).
  2. Then add green chilies. Saute for another 30 secs.
  3. Add basmati rice, water, salt and stir well.
  4. Close the lid of the cooker, Pressure cook it for 2 whistles on medium heat.
  5. When rice is cooled, fluff the rice with a fork. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves.
  6. Jeera Rice is ready

Stovetop Pot Method:

  1. To make jeera rice recipe or pulao on a stovetop pot, follow the steps as above until adding water and then cook covered on a low heat until the water is absorbed and then turn off the heat. Allow it to rest for some time and then open the lid and fluff the rice.

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.