jeera rice recipe with step by step photos. this restaurant style jeera rice recipe is mildly spiced, fragrant and tastes too good with full on flavors of cumin. in hindi, cumin is called as jeera – thats why the name of this rice recipe is jeera rice.

jeera rice is one of the most popular rice dish in restaurants. many people prefer to have jeera rice instead of plain basmati rice to go along with dals or curry dishes. the tempering with cumin and fragrant whole spices, takes the simple rice dish a level notch up.

making jeera rice is very easy and even bachelors can make it. you can make jeera rice for guests or special occasions or also for every day food when you want to add more flavors to rice. there are two ways jeera rice can be made.

2 methods of making jeera rice

1. in the first method, the whole spices are sauteed first in oil and the rice is cooked along with the spices. this method is similar to that making of pulao. i have already posted this method in this easy jeera rice recipe. this is a one pot method and can be made both in a pressure cooker or in a pan or pot.
2. this jeera rice recipe posted here is the second method – where the rice grains are cooked first. then a tempering with cumin and whole spices is made. this tempering is then added to the cooked rice and mixed. this method of making jeera rice is mostly used in restaurants. optionally the rice can be cooked with some saffron strands to add some color and flavor in the cumin rice.

if you have some leftover cooked rice and don’t know what to do with them. then one good option you have is to use this method and make jeera rice. just alter the ingredients proportion depending upon the cooked rice you will be using.

how to serve jeera rice

jeera rice pairs very well with dals or north indian curries and gravy dishes.

you can serve jeera rice with some north indian curries like:

• punjabi dum aloo
• punjabi kadhi pakora
• palak paneer
• malai kofta
• paneer butter masala

or you can serve jeera rice with dal recipes or lentil gravies like:

• dal fry
• dal tadka
• dal makhani
• chana masala

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jeera rice recipe

give a makeover to the simple steamed rice by adding cumin (jeera) and some fragrant spices. this restaurant style jeera rice recipe is mildly spiced, fragrant and tastes too good with full on flavors of jeera. cooked rice is used to make this jeera rice recipe. if you have leftover rice, then you can even spice it up with this jeera rice recipe method. 

course main course

cuisine north indian

prep time 30 minutes

cook time 25 minutes

total time 55 minutes

servings 4

rough calories per serving 324 kcal

author dassana amit

ingredients (1 cup = 250 ml)

for cooking rice

• 1 cup basmati rice
• 4 cups water
• 1 tej patta (indian bay leaf)
• 2 green cardamoms (hari elaichi or choti elaichi)
• 1 black cardamom (badi elaichi)
• ½ inch cinnamon (dalchini)
• 2 cloves (lavang)
• 1 to 2 single strands of mace (javitri)
• 1 teaspoon salt or as required

for tempering jeera rice

• 2 tablespoons oil or 1.5 tablespoon ghee
• 2 teaspoons cumin seeds (jeera)
• 1 green chilli (hari mirch) - chopped, optional
• 1 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves (dhania patta)

how to make jeera rice recipe

cooking rice

1. rinse basmati rice till the water runs clear of starch. soak the rice for 30 mins and then drain all the water. keep aside.

2. heat 4 cups water till it comes to a boil. add all the whole spices. add rice and salt. simmer the rice on a low flame uncovered.

3. the rice grains should be cooked till tender and yet separate. drain the water and keep the cooked rice aside.
4. if you want you can rinse also the rice with water at room temperature. this stops the cooking of the rice and keeps the grains separate.

making jeera rice

1. heat oil in a small pan. add cumin/jeera.
2. let them crackle. they have to be fried well otherwise you will taste uncooked cumin in the rice.
3. add the green chilies. stir for a few seconds. no need to brown the chilies.
4. add the tempering to the hot or warm rice.
5. with a fork, gently mix the tempering with the rice grains. even if some rice grains break, its alright. do gently taking care so as not to break the rice grains.
6. add coriander and gently mix or garnish jeera rice with coriander at the time of serving.
7. serve jeera rice hot or warm with a dal or vegetable/paneer curry of your choice.

recipe notes

if using leftover rice, then you will need about 3 cups of cooked rice to use the same proportion of ingredients as mentioned in the recipe.

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how to make jeera rice

1. rinse 1 cup basmati rice till the water runs clear of starch. soak the rice for 30 mins and then drain all the water. keep aside.

2. heat 4 cups water. add all the whole spices – 1 indian bay leaf, 2 green cardamom, 1 black cardamom, ½ inch cinnamon, 2 cloves and 1 to 2 strands of mace.

3. add rice and 1 tsp salt or add salt as per taste. simmer the rice on a low flame uncovered.

4. the rice grains should be cooked till tender and yet separate.

5. the texture of the cooked rice grains is shown in the below picture. i usually cook rice grains a bit more softer than what is served in restaurants. the reason being that if the rice grains have even a small bite in them, then they cause indigestion problems.

6. drain the water and keep the cooked rice aside. if you want, you can rinse also the rice with water at room temperature. this stops the cooking of the rice and keeps the grains separate.

tempering jeera rice

7. heat 2 tbsp oil or 1.5 tbsp ghee in a small pan. add 2 tsp cumin/jeera.

8. let them crackle. they have to be fried well otherwise you will taste uncooked cumin in the rice.

9. add 1 chopped green chili. stir for a few seconds. no need to brown the chilies.

10. add the tempering to the hot or warm rice.

11. with a fork, gently mix the tempering with the rice grains. even if some rice grains break, its alright. do gently taking care so as not to break the rice grains.

12. add 1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves and gently mix or garnish jeera rice with coriander at the time of serving.

serve jeera rice with gravy dishes like rajma masala, kadai mushroom or even any dal like chana dal fry or palak dal.

dassana amit

Founder, Designer, Recipe Developer, Food Photographer || MORE ABOUT US

i started vegrecipesofindia.com in feb 2009. it is a pure vegetarian blog and shares recipes with step by step photos that will help you to make delicious and tasty vegetarian food easily.

i am passionate about cooking from childhood and learnt cooking from my elders. having a home science degree surely enhanced my cooking & baking skills which i now share as fool proof recipes on the blog. i am trained both in mainstream indian as well as international cuisines.