You'll love the aroma of freshly cooked Indian Rice filling the kitchen. Perfectly flavored Yellow Rice is enjoyed as a side dish or with a curry. Infused with fried onions, and Indian spices, it's a delicious way to spice up your dinner plate.
What is Indian Rice?
Indian Rice is a tasty spiced rice from Southern India and it's know by several names. Often it's called Indian Pilau Rice or Indian Yellow Rice. It's rice that is cooked in a broth with spices, giving it amazing flavor and yellow coloring.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Flavorful - packed with spices and aromatics to elevate plain white rice
- Easy - it only takes a few extra minutes to your normal rice cooking time
- Adaptable - can be made stove top or with a rice cooker
Key Ingredients
- Rice - traditionally made with basmati long grain rice
- Butter - butter adds a richer flavour compared to oil
- Spices - cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, cumin, turmeric, chilli flakes
- Aromatics - onion and garlic
- Chicken Stock - adds a richer savory flavor
How to Make Indian Rice
Stove Top Method
- Sautรฉ - fry the onions and garlic in butter, mix in spices
- Prepare Rice - wash rice until water runs clear, and add to the saucepan
- Cook - mix onions through rice, add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to lowest setting, cover with lid, and simmer for 20 minutes
- Serve- fluff rice using a fork, garnish with cilantro
Rice Cooker Method
- Sautรฉ - fry the onions and garlic in butter, mix in spices
- Prepare Rice - wash rice until water runs clear, and add to the rice cooker
- Cook - mix onions through rice, add chicken stock, close the lid and set rice cooker to BOIL or COOK
- Serve - fluff rice using a fork, garnish with cilantro
Spices for Indian Rice
There are many variations of spices you can use in Indian Rice. This spice blend is the perfect blend, packed with flavor.
- Turmeric - adds the vibrant yellow colour famous in Indian cooking
- Cinnamon - gives a woody warmth to the dish
- Cloves - strong and punchy
- Whole Cardamom - complex piney flavor
- Cumin Seeds - rich and hearty citrus tones
- Chilli Flakes - gives subtle heat (optional)
Rice Options
- Basmati - fragrant nutty rice traditionally used in Indian recipes
- Jasmine - perfumed long grain rice, a popular alternative
- White Rice - medium or long grain, a staple in most kitchens
What to Serve with Indian Rice
Yellow Rice is versatile and can be enjoyed as a side dish, can be eaten on its own or with your favorite Indian curry. Here are some suggestions.
- Korma
- Butter Chicken
- Vindaloo
- Jalfrezi
- Tikka Masala
- Rogan Josh
Recipe Tips and FAQs
- Soak Rice - for extra fluffy rice, rinse and let it soak for 30 minutes before cooking
- Add Peas - while sautรฉing mix in peas
- Ghee - for an authentic taste, substitute butter with Ghee (traditionally used in Indian cooking)
- A Little Sweetness - add raisins when cooking the rice
- Garnish - sprinkle slivered toasted almonds when serving the rice
- Vegan - substitute with vegetable oil and vegetable stock
Storage
- Fridge - cooked rice can be stored in an airtight container for 3-4 days. Don't leave rice out at room temperature to avoid bacteria growth
- Freezer - Once cooled, store in an airtight container or Ziploc bag for up to 3 months. Reheat in microwave
Rice Recipes You'll Love
- Thai Pineapple Fried Rice
- Kimchi Fried Rice
- Apricot Chicken
- Teriyaki Chicken
- Thai Cauliflower Rice
- Tuna Rice Salad
A vibrant and flavorful rice recipe, cooked to perfection with aromatic spices. Bon Appetit! ะัะธััะฝะพะณะพ ะฐะฟะฟะตัะธัะฐ!
Ingredients
- 2 cups uncooked Basmati rice washed
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 2 medium onions chopped
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 cinnamon quill
- 2 whole cloves
- 2 cardamom pods
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon whole cumin
- ยฝ teaspoon chilli flakes
- 1 tablespoon butter to fry or ghee
Instructions
- Saute the onion and garlic in butter until translucent and slightly golden.
- Add the cinnamon quill, whole cloves, cumin seeds, turmeric, cardamom and chilli flakes. Stir until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Wash the rice and add to the pot with onions and spices mixing all together until the rice is coated.ย Pour in the chicken stockย and bring to a boil.
- Turn the heat down to the lowest setting allowing it to gently bubble without a full simmer. Place the lid on and allow the rice to steam for 20 minutes.
- Once rice is cooked, fluff with a fork. Garnish with fresh cilantro and serve.
ยฉPetersFoodAdventures.com *originally posted January 2016, updated April 2023
V
Did you mean to figure water to rice you lay your finger on top of the rice horizontally and fill with water to just above your finger, one inch above your finger or level with your finger top? Your recipes look delicious! As time permits I plan to try some. Thank You for posting.
PetersFoodAdventures
Thanks for checking it out! Great question, what I meant is that the water is to be filled level with your finger top, when on top of the rice horizontally. Kinda a strange way, but easy to eyeball it when filling it up. ????
Neethu
Wow awesome. .????????
PetersFoodAdventures
Thanks Neethu! You are always so kind! ๐
ChgoJohn
Great dish! I'm pinning it for later. Thanks.
PetersFoodAdventures
Thanks! One of my faves! Thanks for checking it out! ????
Cooking For The Time Challenged
Looks amazing! I love it!
PetersFoodAdventures
Thanks very much! It just makes rice a bit more interesting! ????
Cooking For The Time Challenged
Yes! But when I make rice with broth, it always comes out mushy. Is there a trick to prevent that?
PetersFoodAdventures
Hmmm, it sounds like there is too much water. Next time, try a little less broth. When I make it in the pot on the stove, I always bring the water to a full boil, give it a final stir, then cover the lid and set timer for 20. Maybe while it boils, the water reduced a bit? Just a suggestion. ????
Cooking For The Time Challenged
It's worth a shot!
PetersFoodAdventures
I always had trouble making rice. What I learnt is that when I have the rice in the pot, I fill it up with water, so that the water line is filled to the thickness of my finger. Hard to explain, but my index finger, held horizontally on top of the rice, the water line would come up to the top of my finger, the thickness. It usually works perfect, give it a try. No measuring cup! ????
Cooking For The Time Challenged
The thickness? Do you mean the length?
PetersFoodAdventures
No, the width of my finger. Basically it just covers the rice with water, about 1 inch or so... Lol I'm having a hard time explaining the method! ????
Cooking For The Time Challenged
Do a post on it with pictures! I have always wanted to make rice like that but I could never figure it out, for this reason.
PetersFoodAdventures
haha! ok, will have to add it to the list of things I want to blog! ๐
Cooking For The Time Challenged
Please do!
White House Red Door
Love the spice combination you used! Will definitely be making this...
PetersFoodAdventures
Thanks! They really work well together, and aren't overpowering the dish. ๐
Smiling Notes
Lovely!! ๐
PetersFoodAdventures
Thanks! ????
Satabdi
Looks delicious
PetersFoodAdventures
Thanks! I double the recipe, as I was feeding a few extras, worked like a charm ๐
Satabdi
Whole spices creates magic to any dish where it is used. I am crazy about spices and you can find all my recipes have whole spices
PetersFoodAdventures
yes, whole spices have so much flavour! thanks, I'll check them out! ๐