In a bowl take the basmati rice. You can use any amount of rice depending on the biryani recipe you are making.
Start to rinse the rice grains in running water. Rinse the rice grains with a gentle swirling of your fingers in the bowl.
Rinse rice until the water looks clear, transparent and without starch.
In the same bowl, soak the rinsed rice for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes drain all of the water from the rice using a strainer. Set the rice aside.
Cooking rice for biryani
Take a deep bottomed pan. Add 5 cups water and heat the water on a high heat. To save time, I heat the water in an electric heater. Then add the water to the pan and place it on the stove-top.
When the water becomes hot, add all the spices and salt as required.
Usually for most biryani recipes, the rice is cooked together with the spices. But if you do not have spices or do not want to add any spices, then just skip adding them.
Bring the water to a rapid boil. Then add the rice. You can also add ½ to 1 teaspoon of oil or ghee at this step.
Just gently stir with a spoon or fork, after you add the rice.
Do not reduce the flame and continue to cook the rice without any lid.
The rice has to be 75% or ¾ᵗʰ cooked. The grains should have a slight bite to them when cooked. The rice should not be fully cooked but almost cooked.
Remove the pan from the stove top and immediately drain the rice in a colander. You can also rinse the rice gently with cool water so that the grains stop cooking. Gently fluff and keep aside.
You can also remove and spread the rice on a large plate or tray. Cover with a lid.
When the rice becomes warm or cools down, you can use it for layering in biryani.
Notes
While my recipe shows you cooking 1.5 cups of basmati rice, feel free to change the quantities of the ingredients proportionately.
You can skip the spices if you do not have them.
Adding lemon juice is optional and can be omitted.