How to make Ghee Rice

Ghee Rice pictured in the pot that it was made in topped with fried onions and fried cashews

Ghee Rice is a simple recipe that takes less than twenty minutes to make. Its flavorful, aromatic and a great way to elevate steamed rice if you want something extra on the table!

Course Side Dishes

Cuisine Indian, South Indian

Diet Vegetarian

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 10

Total Time 15

Servings people

Calories 321kcal

Author Richa

Ingredients

1 cup Jeera Samba Rice any short grained rice/ basmati rice
3 tablespoon Ghee
2 tablespoon Cashew Nuts
1 medium Onion sliced
1 teaspoon Fennel
4-5 Cloves
2 Cardamoms
1 inch piece Cinnamon
1 Bayleaf
2 Shallots finely chopped
½ teaspoon Salt
2 cups Water

Instructions

Wash the rice 3-4 times till the water runs almost clear. Soak the rice in enough water to cover it with an extra inch of water for 30 minutes to an hour.
Heat ghee in a pot and add cashews. Fry the cashews for 2-3 minutes till they turn golden brown and remove them from the pan.
In the same pan, add onions and fry them on medium heat till they become crisp and golden brown. Remove them and set aside.
In the remaining ghee, saute fennel, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon and bayleaf for a minute or so until fragrant.
Drain all the water from the rice and add the rice to the pan. Toast the rice on a medium flame for 3-4 minutes till it smells nutty and looks toasty. Add chopped shallots around the 2 minute mark and toast along with the rice.
Add salt and water and bring this to a quick boil. As soon as the water comes to a roaring boil, reduce the flame to low, cover and cook for 6 minutes. After 6 minutes, turn off the flame and let this rest covered for 10 minutes.
Top with cashews and fried onions. Fluff the rice with a fork and serve hot.

Video

Notes

Rice: Ghee rice is made with jeera samba rice (very short grained rice that's aromatic and flavourful). But you can easily use basmati or sona masoori rice as well. The cooking time and amount of water remains the same irrespective of the rice you use.
Ghee: If you are buying ghee, don't skimp and buy something thats organic, preferably A2 and has a beautiful aroma.
Toasting the rice ensures that once its cooked, the grains stay separate.
As with most of my recipes, I prefer a ratio of 2:1 water to rice, when cooking rice like this. A lot of rice cooks with residual steam. After 6 minutes of cooking, the rice has absorbed all the water, but letting it rest covered for 10 minutes lets it continue cooking in the residual steam and that gives you plump, perfectly cooked rice that's not mushy or over cooked.

Nutrition