I’m leaving you today with this ridiculously simple and not to mention delicious Jeera Rice Recipe Restaurant Style!!….Also known as Zeera Rice, it’s one of the easiest seasoned rice dishes that anyone can cook and make it in a jiffy. It’s so versatile that you can serve it to accompany anything really….any curry of your choice, or just some Raita if you’re pressed for time. However, you can also eat it by itself without any side dish as it’s rich in cumin and ghee flavour.
According to wikipedia, Jeera Rice was introduced to Indian cuisine by Moghlai cuisine. Later on, this flavourful Rice was adopted predominantly in the North Indian cuisine….it has one of the most popular dish tags and is available in many restaurants all over the world.
I’ve kept my Jeera Rice Recipe Restaurant Style simple. But, by all means you can experiment with spices & other ingredients to see what you prefer. You can also take this simple dish to the next level by including some onions and adding in a handful of mixed veggies/chicken/prawns/eggs at the stage where you fry the onions before adding in the rice. This will definitely add more colour and flavour to the rice. As I always say, throw in your favourite spices, there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to cooking; Star Anise, Mace, Kalpasi, Whole Black Peppercorns, Curry Leaves, Mint, Coriander etc….It will give a new dimension to this otherwise simple recipe!!
Off to Jeera Rice Recipe Restaurant Style!!
Easy Steps to follow for Jeera Rice Recipe Restaurant Style:
- Clean the rice thoroughly and wash.
- Soak in water for half an hour. After half an hour, drain to remove the excess water.
- Heat ghee in a pan or a deep vessel over medium heat.
- When ghee is hot enough, add a few dry spices (2-3 bay leaves, 1 black cardamom & 4-5 cloves) and 1 Tablespoon cumin seeds.
- Sauté for a minute till you get a nice aroma (make sure you don’t burn the cumin seeds).
- Now, add in the drained rice and sauté for 2 minutes while stirring constantly.
- Now add 1.5 cups of water, some salt and lemon juice to the rice. Mix well.
NOTE:
- Increase water by half a cup if you want your rice grains to be softer.
- Adding lemon juice is optional. It enhances the colour and flavour of rice and also prevents the rice grains from sticking.
- Cover and cook rice on low heat for 5 minutes. Open the lid and check the rice. Gently stir the rice.
- Cover again and cook for 5 more minutes or until done.
- Check the rice now. There should be no water left in the rice, the rice grains puff up nicely and turn soft.
- Jeera Rice is now ready, turn off the heat.
- Cover the rice and let it rest for 10 minutes.
- Open the lid after 10 minutes, gently stir with a fork or a ladle.
- Garnish with some coriander/mint and serve.
- Pair it up with any creamy curry like Butter Chicken, Dum Aloo or just a simple Onion Raita or Boondi Raita.
- You can also serve Jeera Rice with any daal or even Chole will taste good!!
WATCH VIDEO
A Quick Summary:
Jeera Rice Recipe Restaurant Style | How to make Jeera Pulao - Jeera Rice Video
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Basmati rice
- 1-2 Tablespoons Ghee or oil
- 1 Tablespoon Cumin Seeds
- Whole Spices 1 black cardamom , 4-5 cloves & 2-3 bay leaves
- 11/2 Cups Water to cook rice
- 1 teaspoon Lemon juice Optional
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Clean the rice thoroughly and wash.
- Soak in water for half an hour. After half an hour, drain to remove the excess water.
- Heat ghee in a pan or a deep vessel over medium heat.
- When ghee is hot enough cumin seeds and whole spices.
- Sauté for a while (make sure you don't burn the cumin seeds).
- Now, add in the drained rice and sauté for 2 minutes while stirring constantly.
- Now add 1.5 cups of water, some salt and lemon juice to the rice. Mix well.
- Cover and cook rice on low heat for 5 minutes. Open the lid and check the rice. Gently stir the rice.
- Cover again and cook for 5 more minutes or until done.
- Check the rice now. There should be no water left in the rice, the rice grains puff up and turn soft.
- Jeera Rice is now ready, turn off the heat.
- Cover the rice and let it rest for 10 minutes.
- Open the lid after 10 minutes, gently stir with a fork or a ladle.
- Garnish with some coriander/mint and serve.
My Notes:
- If you cook rice on high heat, then water evaporates and rice does not cook well. So, cook rice on medium low heat only.
- Adding lemon juice is optional. It enhances the colour and flavour of rice and also prevents the rice grains from sticking.
- If you want rice to be softer, increase water by half a cup while cooking.
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Check out How to Cook Perfect Plain Rice and How to Cook Basmati Rice for Biryani with all the tips and tricks for beginners!!
Check out other RICE RECIPES and ONE POT MEALS from blog.
Many more to come!!…..STAY TUNED!!
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Happy Cooking 🙂
Cheers!!
Padma.
Preethi's Cuisine
I love jeera rice and it is so easy to make. Loved your detailed explanation.
Jayashree
Jeera rice is one of the simplest and tastiest meals that we can prepare. Yours looks so good, would love to pair with some curry.
Sasmita
Rearlly this jeera rice is a comforting as well as an easy to make rice dish and i think this is everyone’s fav 🙂
Dhwani
It looks perfect. Love jeera rice specially with paneer dishes.
Mayuri Patel
I’ve always wondered why I don’t get that light brown colour when I make jeera rice. Reading your recipe I realized that I don’t use enough jeera. Beautiful clicks.
Lathiya
I love restaurant style jeera rice..rice are cooked to perfect..each grains stand separate which is so goo to see
Jagruti
We are addictive to Jeera rice, perfect with any type of exotic curry or daal. Lovely pictures and styling.
Maria
Cumin is the most used spice from my spice cabinet which means I love adding cumin to my food. I love the generous use of my favourite spice in your recipe. ???? And I agree, simple but very versatile dish and so delicious too!
Uma
My family favorite rice! I cook slightly different. I love the way you captured and nice video. ????
Seema Doraiswamy Sriram
Love the way you have explained the perfectness with such detail. It indeed makes a lot of difference to make it now.
Drashti Dholakia
Rice looks just the way they serve at restaurants..perfectly done. Beautiful presentation
Freda @ Aromatic essence
Your jeera rice looks perfect! I like it just like that, each rice grain separate and fluffy. Looks perfect 🙂
Priya Suresh
Serve me this jeera rice with some rajma, i can sit and have happily without any fuss, my favourite dish.
Nayna Kanabar
This rice is a regular in our household we love it. Yours looks great and I love the presentation and the photos .
Sujata Roy
Jeera rice is all time favourite. And you made it so perfectly. Perfect accompany for some spicy veg or non veg dishes.
Jolly
Love jeera rice and best going with all curries and lentils. Perfect recipe.
Aruna
There is something about simple Jeera rice that makes it a comfort food!
Renu
The rice looks so so delicious, and this is definitely a must in parties.
Shobha Keshwani
Best rice dish to serve in parties.. goes well with anything.
Soma Mukherjee
Love jeera rice with some piping hot dal tadka, and this one looks super tempting, perfect recipe.