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.
Rinse basmati rice till the water runs clear of starch. Soak the rice for 20 to 30 mins and then drain all the water. Keep aside.
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.
The rice grains should be cooked till tender and yet separate. 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.Rinsing with water brings down the hot temperature of the rice and cools the rice grains faster.
Ensure that the cooked rice is warm or at room temperature before you move to the next step. As mixing the tempering mixture in hot rice will cause the tender rice grains to break.
Making jeera rice
Heat oil in a small pan. Add cumin/jeera.
Let them crackle. They have to be fried well otherwise you will taste uncooked cumin in the rice.
Add the green chilies. Stir for a few seconds. No need to brown the chilies.
Add the tempering to the hot or warm rice.
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.
Add coriander and gently mix or garnish the rice with coriander at the time of serving.
Serve jeera rice hot or warm with a dal or vegetable/paneer curry of your choice.
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.
Use aged basmati rice for the best results. Even parboiled basmati rice (sella basmati rice) works well. Soak the sella basmati rice for about an hour before you cook.
For a more fragrant jeera rice, temper the cumin and spices in ghee instead of oil.
Instead of coriander leaves (cilantro), garnish cumin rice with mint leaves.