Ghee Rice Recipe – Fragrant Pilaf With Spices & Ghee

Ghee Rice is a fragrant and mildly spiced rice dish from South Indian cuisine, consisting of long-grained basmati rice cooked with aromatic whole spices, cashews, raisins and onions, sautéed in ghee (clarified butter). Follow my easy instructions with step-by-step photos and video to make this one pot ghee rice recipe, and serve alongside all of your favorite Indian dishes. I also share making the recipe in an Instant Pot and stove-top pressure cooker.

About Ghee Rice Recipe

Ghee Rice is a rich, fragrant and flavorful dish that is often served with Vegetable Kurma, simple dal or raita. It is a popular dish made during festive meals and special occasions and is celebrated for its comforting taste and aroma.

This classic South Indian pilaf style dish is made without vegetables so it’s a great pairing for any lentil or vegetable curry.

Ghee is an Indian fat traditionally used in cooking a variety of dishes. It is made by gently simmering butter until the milk solids settle and water evaporates leaving behind pure, golden fat with a rich, nutty aroma.

It is this fragrant ghee that gives the rice its delicious taste and lovely flavor. The recipe has of course the ghee combined together with onions and a medley of whole spices that make for a simple and yet delicious preparation.

Typically Ghee Rice has Indian spices like cinnamon, green cardamoms, cloves, mace, black peppercorns and tej patta.

Besides these ingredients, you’ll also need some coriander leaves, salt to season, and if you like, a splash of lemon juice added just before cooking.

Caramelized onions, fried cashews and raisins add a beautiful texture and flavor -nutty, slightly sweet and deeply savory.

Whenever I make dal at home I pair it with a batch of Ghee Rice. The grains soak up the rich gravies so well and makes for a satisfying meal.

In this recipe I’m showing a step by step method to make Ghee Rice in a pan, stovetop pressure cooker and Instant Pot. The recipe is vegetarian, gluten free and can be made in under 50 minutes including the rice soaking time.

Right Ingredients & Cooking Method

I highly recommend using organic desi ghee or homemade Ghee – preferably made from organic, unsalted butter for the best results.

To get the classic fluffy and separate texture use aged basmati rice. If that’s not available South Indian seeraga samba rice also works well in this recipe.

The preparation is simple – fry the nuts, raisins, whole spices and onions in ghee. Then add soaked basmati rice, pour in the required water, add salt (and lemon juice if using) and cook in a covered pot until done.

Ghee Rice not only makes an appearance on festive or special occasions but also makes for a comforting dish in everyday dinners. Leftovers stay delicious and reheat well for the next day.

How to make Ghee Rice

Soak Rice

1. First, rinse 1 cup of basmati rice under cool running water, until the water runs clear. Then place the rice in a bowl and cover it with water. Soak the rice grains for 20 to 30 minutes.

Tip: Rinse the rice grains really well so that on cooking the rice grains become fluffy and separate. If the extra starch does not get rinsed from the rice, the dish may end up becoming sticky or lumpy.

2. After 20 to 30 minutes, drain the water and set the soaked rice aside.

Preparation

3. For the easiest recipe, I recommend that you gather all of your ingredients before making the dish. In the photo below are the whole spices that we will be adding to ghee rice.

4. Next, slice 1 medium sized onion and set aside. Gather 15 to 18 raw cashews and 1 tablespoon of raisins, and set aside as well.

Fry Cashews, Raisins

5. Heat 3 tablespoons of ghee in a thick bottomed pot or a thick bottomed pan. Keep the flame to a low so that you do not burn the clarified butter.

6. Once the ghee is melted and hot, add the cashews to the pot.

7. Fry until you see light brown specks on a few of the cashews, but do not burn.

8. Then add the raisins.

9. Fry until the raisins puff up a bit in the ghee. Be sure to continuously stir as the cashews and raisins cook so that they do not become too brown and bitter.

10. Remove the fried cashews and raisins with a slotted spoon, and set aside.

Sauté Onions & Rice

11. Now to the same melted ghee in the pot, add the whole spices and stir. Let them crackle for a few seconds and become fragrant, but do not burn the spices.

12. Immediately add the sliced onions, and stir.

13. Continue to stir as you saute the onions until they turn golden and caramelize.

14. Next add the soaked rice to the pot.

15. Gently stir the rice for a couple of minutes with the seasonings so that the ghee coats the rice well. Do not over-stir or the rice grains may break.

16. Now add 1.5 to 2 cups of water to the pot, depending on what brand of rice you are using. The rice should be completely covered by the water.

17. Season with salt to your preference: Taste the water as you add a little bit of salt at a time to get just how you like.

Generally, the water should taste a bit salty, but you can reduce the salt if you like. Sometimes, I also like to add ½ teaspoon of lemon juice, but this is optional.

Make Ghee Rice

18. Increase the temperature if needed to bring the water to a simmer, then reduce back to low heat. Cover the pot with a tight fitting lid.

19. Simmer for about 8 to 9 minutes, until the rice is cooked and all the water is absorbed.

Check once or twice while the rice cooks: if the water has been absorbed and the rice grains are undercooked, you can add a tablespoon or so of more hot water and continue cooking.

20. Once the rice is cooked, remove from the stovetop and allow to rest while covered for another 5 to 6 minutes. Then remove the lid and gently fluff the rice with a fork.

21. Garnish Ghee Rice with the fried cashews and raisins, and serve hot. For an extra pop of freshness, you can also top it with some chopped coriander or mint leaves.

Serving & Storage Suggestions

Enjoy ghee rice plain on its own or as a delicious side dish. It is perfect to pair with gravy based dishes like rich Curry Recipes, with lentils, or korma varieties like Mushroom Kurma or Potato Kurma.

Keep any leftovers of this Ghee Rice Recipe in your refrigerator for 1 day. Reheat by steaming in the Instant Pot or in a pan for 5 minutes.

How to make Instant Pot Ghee Rice

• Frying cashews and raisins – Firstly press the sauté button on your Instant Pot. Set the sauté mode to ‘less’ mode. Let the display show “hot”. Add the cashews first. When they begin to get light golden, add raisins and fry until the raisins become plump. Remove them and set aside.
• Frying spices and onions – Add the spices and let them crackle. Tip in the sliced onions. Now set the sauté mode to ‘normal’. Sauté onions until golden. Stir often so that the onions cook evenly.
• Adding rice – Next add the soaked and drained rice. Mix the rice grains very well.
• Adding water – Pour 1.25 cups water and salt as needed. Mix well and deglaze.
• Pressure cooking – Seal IP with its lid. Position the pressure valve to the sealing position. Pressure cook on high for 5 minutes.
• Waiting time – When you hear the IP beep after the pressure cooking is complete, wait for 10 minutes before doing a quick pressure release.
• Serving – Carefully lift the valve to remove the extra pressure and steam. Remove the lid. Gently fluff the rice and serve hot garnished with the fried cashews, raisins and coriander leaves.

Stove-top Pressure Cooker Method

• Frying dry fruits – For making ghee rice in a stove-top pressure cooker, follow the steps of frying the cashews, raisins in the ghee in a 2-litre pressure cooker.
• Sautéing onions, rice – Fry the whole spices, sauté onions until golden in the remaining ghee inside the cooker. Add the rice and mix well. Pour 1.5 to 1.75 cups water and season with salt.
• Cooking – Pressure cook for 7 to 8 minutes on medium to medium-high heat or for 2 whistles. Let the pressure fall naturally in the cooker. Open and fluff the rice. Serve hot or warm.

Ghee Rice vs Nei Choru

There is a variation to this rice dish called as Nei Choru from the Kerala cuisine that is made with Kaima rice and has a different flavor profile than this recipe.

The reason being Nei choru has a different combination of whole spices, is made with a unique variety of South Indian short grained rice known as kaima rice or seeraga samba rice. It also features fried onions as a garnish that brings some crispy sweet caramelized texture to the dish.

Expert Tips

1. Rice: I personally love to make this ghee rice recipe with basmati rice or seeraga samba rice. However, feel free to use any variety of rice you prefer. Just make sure it is a rice that has separate grains that will not stick together when cooked.
2. Soaking: I do recommend to soak rice for a minimum of 20 minutes. Soaking rice makes them more fluffier while cooking. They also take less time to cook.
3. Ghee: Make the dish with desi ghee or a good brand or homemade ghee for the best taste, flavor and aroma in the dish.
4. Spices: Use fresh spices which are in their shelf life. Do not use spices which have become rancid or stale.
5. Nuts and raisins: For more crunch and protein you can add more cashews. To make a sweeter version, add more raisins to the ghee rice recipe. You can also include almonds and pistachios for a non-traditional version.
6. Added protein: Though not the norm, but some pan fried tofu or paneer can be added to the rice as a garnish or topping. Boiled chickpeas or canned chickpeas, simple and plain or which have been lightly sautéed in some ghee or oil with a bit of salt, red chili powder or black pepper can be mixed with ghee rice. I sometimes do add some leftover cooked chickpeas and they taste delicious with the rice. Mix the chickpeas gently once the rice is cooked or you can adding them as topping on the rice.
7. Veggies: Though veggies are never included in ghee rice, but for fussy eaters who do not eat vegetables, this recipe is a great way to sneak in some veggies.
8. Scaling: As-is this recipe serves 2. It can easily be doubled to serve 4, or serve half for dinner now and save the other half to enjoy as leftovers. Cooled leftover ghee rice will keep well in a sealed container for up to 1 day in the refrigerator.

FAQs

 Ghee Rice recipe from the blog archives was first published on July 2016.