15 Delicious Basmati Rice Recipes You Can Try Today!

Times Now News has found that basmati rice assists in weight loss because of its low calorie content and glycemic index. In addition to these health benefits, it is also very aromatic and can be prepared in a variety of ways.

If you are looking for new dishes to try out from the comfort of your own home, at least one basmati rice recipe is an absolute must! This article gives you 15 of the best options to consider when looking for a basmati rice recipe.

Jeera Rice

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For most basmati rice recipes, the water ratio you should stick to is one cup of water for one cup of rice. If you are going for simple basmati cooking, jeera rice is a no-brainer!

• Heat a pressure cooker or instant pot and add oil or ghee.
• To this, add cumin seeds, bay leaf, star anise, cardamom, and cloves.
• Add rice, water and salt to this mixture. Close and pressure cook.
• Take off and serve with a gravy of your choice!

Herbed Basmati Rice

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This is a simple yet flavourful basmati rice recipe that you can prepare for any meal.

• Sauté the basmati rice and chopped garlic in a cooker or vessel for two minutes until slightly brown
• To this, add water and salt and pressure cook or boil until the rice is fully cooked
• Add fresh herbs like basil, thyme, and cilantro along with chopped onions and pepper
• You can garnish this with cheese and there, your mouth-watering dish is ready!

Basmati With Chicken

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Basmati with chicken is a recipe you can never go wrong with. You can pair the jeera rice or herbed rice mentioned in the recipes above with a spicy chicken gravy and serve with raita and papad on the side! You can also stir fry or grill chicken in the time that the basmati cooks and pair the two for a sumptuous meal!

Mutter Pulav

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For another simple basmati cooking recipe, you can choose to make mutter pulav!

• Sauté cashews until golden and set aside
• Then, sauté cumin, cardamom, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, bay leaf, and star anise
• Add onions and fry until golden followed by ginger garlic paste. You can also add pudina or mint at this point
• Once this is well fried, add peas and rice along with water and pressure cook for one whistle
• You can garnish this with nuts or simply serve with a gravy!

Basmati Rice Recipe With Turmeric and Coconut

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A dish with different flavours, this recipe is sure to delight your taste buds!

• Heat oil in a pan and sauté chopped onions, grated garlic and ginger, with salt
• Add turmeric powder and basmati rice to this mixture, mix well
• Add coconut milk and water to this and let the basmati cook for about 18 minutes
• Top off with some garnish before plating for a burst of colour!

Cooking Basmati Rice With Saffron

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This is a simple dish, but super healthy and easy to make!

• Add saffron threads to half a cup of boiling water
• In a separate vessel, add basmati rice, salt, and two tablespoons of butter or oil. Stir well until mixed
• Add the saffron water along with the water required in proportion to the rice. Cover the vessel and allow the rice to cook for 20 minutes
• Remove, plate, and you are ready to serve this aromatic dish!

Bisibele Bath with Basmati Rice

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• Before you start cooking, chop vegetables of your choice and soak tamarind in hot water. Keep both of these aside
• Take a pressure cooker – add oil, and sauté mustard seeds, cumin, curry leaves, and asafoetida
• Add the cut vegetables to this spice mix along with bisi bele bath powder, a tsp of red chilli powder, the tamarind extract, and salt. Stir this well and ensure the mixture does not stick to the sides of the vessel.
• Add washed toor dal, rice, jaggery, and adequate water. Pressure cook this for about eight minutes.
• Garnish your bisibele bath with coriander leaves, and add a little more water until you reach the preferred consistency
• For the best experience, eat this with a side of khara boondi or papad

Ven Pongal with Basmati Rice

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Pongal is a popular South Indian dish. It is a great basmati rice recipe to  prepare, especially for breakfast.

• Pressure cook basmati rice and moong dal with grated ginger and salt. Make sure to add more than the usual amount of water so that the end result is mushy
• In a pan, add a tablespoon of ghee, and add cumin seeds. When this is hot, add broken cashewnuts, curry leaves, asafoetida, chopped green chillies, and whole pepper
• Add this mixture to the cooked rice-lentils and mix well. Mix in some crushed pepper for an extra kick and relish this wholesome meal with a bowl of sambar or chutney!

Khichdi

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Khichdi is similar to pongal but is prepared more in North India, and contains vegetables.

• Choose your vegetables, chop them and keep them aside
• Heat oil in a pressure cooker, add cumin seeds. Once this sputters, add chopped onions and ginger and sauté for a few minutes
• Add chopped vegetables and whole spices according to taste
• To this, add split green moong dal and rice, along with adequate water
• Pressure cook for one whistle and open the lid of the cooker
• You can add more water and sauté until you reach suitable consistency!

Basmati Biryani

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Basmati biryani can be made in a number of ways, depending on what you prefer to eat. You can make basmati biryani with egg or chicken.

• Soak the basmati rice for about half an hour and drain
• Take a pressure cooker, add oil. Add whole spices such as star anise, bay leaves, cardamom, cloves, and cinnamon.
• To this, add onions and sauté until golden. Add ginger garlic paste and fry well.
• You can then add tomatoes, red chilli powder, turmetic powder, salt, few spoons of yogurt, and biryani masala.
• Add boiled eggs or marinated chicken and fry for a few minutes
• To this, add the drained rice and adequate water and pressure cook for one whistle.
• Let this cool, and serve hot with raita!

Basmati Pulav

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Basmati pulav is an aromatic dish you can cook in half an hour. It is perfect for when you are running short of time and still want a yummy meal!

• Follow the same first three steps as you would in the biryani recipe above
• Add vegetables and mint and sauté for three minutes
• Add water, salt, and rice to this mixture and pressure cook for one whistle
• You can pair this pulav with a raita or a gravy!

Coconut Rice

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Coconut rice is a popular basmati rice recipe that is made for the most part in South India.

• Heat ghee or oil in a vessel. Add mustard, cashews, ginger, curry leaves, and chopped green chillies
• Add grated coconut and salt, and sauté well
• Let the basmati cook and then add this to the mixture above
• Once this is well mixed, take it off the stove and serve hot with dal!

Lemon Rice

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Lemon rice is a zesty basmati rice recipe that will explode with flavour in your mouth!

• First, sauté chana dal and urad dal in oil. Follow this with the first step listed in the recipe above
• Add turmeric powder, salt, basmati rice, and water
• Mix this well before adding in the lemon juice
• Pressure cook for one whistle and take this off the stove
• You can add roasted peanuts to add more texture to your dish!

Zarda Rice

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Popularly known as “meethe chawal” up in North India, Zarda Rice is a sweet basmati rice recipe, often prepared on the festival of Lohri.

• Cook rice separately. In a separate pot, soak saffron in warm milk for 20 minutes, until the colour seeps into the milk
• Heat ghee in a pot, and sauté an array of nuts and raisins in it, and keep stirring until they turn slightly golden. Keep aside for cooling
• Add cardamon, cloves and cinnamon to oil and stir until they give off aroma, then, add cooked basmati rice and stir for a few minutes
• Add sugar and the saffron milk, and let the rice cook on low heat for 3-4 minutes until the milk soaks in the rice fully
• Add the roasted nuts and raisins on the top for garnish (shredded coconut, optional) and enjoy!

Kheer

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A common Indian dessert; kheer, or payasam, is a rice pudding that can be easily made using everyday ingredients that you can easily find in your Indian kitchen.

• Prepare 1/2 cup basmati rice separately in a pressure cooker for one whistle
• Take 5 cups of milk, the cooked rice, and half cup sugar. Mix them all in a closed pot over low heat
• You can also add roasted nuts and raisins (as mentioned in the recipe above), cardamom and saffron to your mix
• Let the kheer simmer on low heat until the milk has taken on a cream colour, and the rice has soaked some of the milk
• Take off the stove, pour in the bowl, garnish with some crushed almonds and enjoy!

Most of the recipes in this article can be cooked with just a pressure cooker and half an hour to forty-five minutes! Basmati rice is a great, nourishing alternative to normal white rice and can easily be incorporated in your daily meals.