How to cook basmati rice in a pot or pan – perfectly cooked basmati rice on the stove top.
This post on cooking basmati rice has been long overdue. I prepare rice almost every day. By now I have got a good experience of cooking rice in both the pan, pressure cooker and electric cooker. On some days I cook rice in pressure cooker to reduce my time and workload. And when we have our relatives or guests at our place, I cook the rice in an electric cooker. The rice cooked in the pressure cooker is on the sticky side and may not be preferred by some.
On days when I make dal tadka or dal fry or a vegetable or paneer curry or rich gravies, we prefer separate grains. On these days, I cook basmati rice on stove top. With sambar and rasam, I cook other varieties of rice.
There are 2 ways of cooking basmati rice in a pot
- Boiling method – rice is cooked is ample amount of water. Once the rice grains are cooked, the water is discarded.
- Absorption method – rice is cooked in a precise amount of water.
I use both methods. In this post, I am sharing the Absorption method of cooking basmati rice. here, I have cooked the rice till the grains are soft and fluffy. There is no slight bite in the rice nor are they al dente. I always cook rice properly. Even a slight uncooked bit in the grains can give stomach problems.
For most regular rice and basmati rice, the ratio of rice:water Is usually 1:2. this is the ratio I follow when cooking rice in a pot. If using brown rice basmati rice or parboiled basmati rice (sella basmati rice) the ratio changes as both these rice take a longer time to cook.
Rice:water raito for cooking pre soaked rice in a pan:
- Regular basmati rice – 1:2
- Organic basmati rice – 1:2½
- Brown basmati rice – 1:3
- Parboiled basmati rice or sella basmati rice – 1:2½ to 3
If you make Biryani at times then you can also check this post sharing How to cook basmati rice for biryani.
basmati rice recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup heaped basmati rice or 200 grams basmati rice
- 2 cups water or 500 ml water or add as required depending on the quality of rice
- ½ teaspoon oil (optional)
- ¼ teaspoon salt or add as per taste
Instructions
prepping and soaking basmati rice
- Take 1 cup heaped basmati rice in a bowl.
- Begin to rinse the rice grains in running water. Rinse the rice with a gentle swirling of your fingers in the bowl.
- The rice has to be rinsed till the water becomes clear, transparent and without starch.
- Then soak the rice in 3/4 to 1 cup water for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, strain the rice very well and keep aside.
cooking basmati rice
- In a deep bottomed pan, add 2 cups water (500 ml). Use a wide deep pan so that the water does not spill out while cooking.
- Add 1/2 tsp oil. You can also use butter or ghee. This step is optional and you can just skip it too. Also add 1/4 tsp salt or as per your taste.
- On a medium flame, let the water come to a boil. Then add the rice.
- Once all the rice grains are added, you can gently shake the pan, so that the rice grains settle down. Or alternatively, you can also give a gentle stir with a fork.
- Cover the pan with its lid. If the grains do not look cooked and the water has got over, then add 2 to 3 tbsp of hot water. Stir gently with a fork.
- Lower the flame and cook the rice till done and all the water has been absorbed. It took me 8 minutes for the rice to be tender, soft and fluffy. You can check once or twice while the rice is cooking.
- To check the doneness, press a cooked rice grain with your thumb and forefinger. It should be soft and mash easily. Or you can bite into a few rice grains. It there is resistance in the bite, this means the grains need to be cooked for some more time.
- Allow a standing time of 5 minutes, before you open the lid. Then gently fluff the rice with a fork.
- Serve these perfectly cooked rice grains with your favorite curry or dal.
Nutrition Info (approximate values)
How to cook basmati rice in a pot or pan
1. Take 1 cup heaped basmati rice (200 grams) in a bowl.
2. Begin to rinse the rice grains in running water. rinse the rice with a gentle swirling of your fingers in the bowl.
3. If you see the below pic, you see opaque water. Thats the starch in the water.
4. The rice has to be rinsed till the water becomes clear, transparent and without starch.
5. Then soak the rice in ¾ to 1 cup water for 30 minutes.
6. after 30 minutes, strain the rice very well and keep aside.
Cooking basmati rice
7. In a heavy thick deep bottomed pan, add 2 cups water (500 ml). use a wide deep pan so that the water does spill out while cooking. The amount of water to be used depends on the quality of rice. Sometimes some strains of basmati rice gets cooked quickly in less water. In this case, you can add 1.75 cups of water.
8. add ½ tsp oil. You can also use butter or ghee. This step is optional and you can just skip it too.
9. add ¼ tsp salt or as per your taste. Sometimes I don’t even add salt.
10. On a medium flame, let the water come to a boil.
11. Add rice.
12. Once all the rice grains are added, you can gently shake the pan, so that the rice grains settle down.
13. Or alternatively, you can also give a gentle stir with a fork.
14. Cover the pan with its lid. you can check once or twice while the rice is cooking. If the grains do not look cooked and the water has got over, then add 2 to 3 tbsp hot water. Stir gently with a fork.
15. Lower the flame and cook the rice till all the water has been absorbed and the rice grains have cooked well. IT took 8 minutes For the rice to be tender, soft and fluffy. The time will vary with the type, quality of pan and the intensity of flame.
To check the doneness:
- Press a cooked rice grain with your thumb and forefinger. It should be soft and mash easily.
- Or you can bite into a few rice grains. It there is resistance in the bite, this means the grains need to be cooked for some more time.
16. once the rice grains are cooked, allow a resting time of 5 minutes, before you open the lid. Then gently fluff the rice with a fork.
17. Serve these perfectly cooked basmati rice with your favorite curry like kadai mushroom, paneer butter masala, palak paneer or dal.
Dassana, I want you to know that you are doing a wonderful job!! Your knowledge of cooking must have helped millions of people and they would bless you each time they sit to eat their meals. I didn’t know any cooking as I had lost my mother and grandmother at a young age. And you came to my rescue.
kajal first of all a big hug to you. thank you for these words. i am emotional and teary-eyed. thanks again and i wish you all the best in your life.
Is it not possible to cook basmati rice in pressure cooker? Becoz everytime I cook it pressure cooker the rice turns out so mashy and sticky.
Thanks,
Uma
in pressure cooker, basmati rice does turn sticky. so i always end up cooking in a pan.
My remarks are not getting posted. Please help
megha, your comments goes to moderation before getting published. this is to sort out spam comments.
Thank you so much. Your website is very very interesting and lovely.
Thank you for being an inspiration for all the recipes.
Beautiful ways and beautiful explanation and awesome presentation. A very homely website.
Thank you Dassana for being there.
welcome megha. glad to know that you liked the website. thanks for sharing positive feedback.
when i soak the rice… the grains break..what do i do
the grains break after soaking the rice or while cooking them?
Should u rinse rice all the time before u cook it.
i always rinse rice before i cook them.
Thanks! Please share sweet pulao recipe.
have noted down the recipe request.
Hi,
I have been trying most of your recipes and everything come out perfect. I would like to know which brand of basmati rice do you use? Mine doesnt get this long after cooked.
thanks nitu. i have used here indian gate basmati rice classic brand.
It would be nice to have a share button for the website and different recipes. Thanks
you mean sharing of social media buttons? social media buttons are already there for the sharing of recipes.