How to cook perfectly steamed basmati rice every time
Master the art of perfectly steamed basmati rice! Learn expert tips, from rinsing and soaking to mastering the rice-to-water ratio, for restaurant-quality basmati rice every time.
Servings: 8 people
Calories: 160kcal
Ingredients
- 2 cups basmati rice [400] grams
- 4 cups boiling water
- 2 Tablespoons ghee or butter
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 5 cloves
- 3 cardamom smashed
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Rinse and soak. Begin by rinsing 2 cups of raw basmati rice under cold running water until the water runs clear and all the excess starch is removed. For enhanced flavor and texture, especially for aged basmati rice, soak the rice in a large bowl for at least 30 minutes before cooking, or for an optimal outcome, overnight. Once soaked, drain the rice, and allow it to air-dry for about 10 minutes.
- Infuse flavor. In a large stainless-steel saucepan or Dutch oven set over medium-high heat, melt the ghee. Add whole cardamom, cloves, a cinnamon stick, and a bay leaf, then stir gently until fragrant - about 3 minutes. Add the rinsed rice into the pot, ensuring each grain is evenly coated with the fragrant ghee. This last step helps add a subtle nutty flavor.
- Cook and steam. Carefully add 4 cups of boiling water and a teaspoon of salt to the pot. Stir. Increase the heat to high from medium heat, allowing the mixture to come to a vigorous boil. Once boiling, cover the pot with a lid (tight-fitting lid is preferable) and reduce the heat to its lowest setting. Allow the rice to cook covered and undisturbed for 15 minutes. Do not peek! After this initial cooking period, turn off the heat and cook the rice in the residual steam for an additional 15 minutes.
- Fluff and serve. Using a fork, gently fluff the cooked rice to separate the grains. You will notice that some rice grains are plumper than others. To fix this, allow the rice to rest for about 10 minutes. This allows the grains to evenly absorb the water and plump up. Serve hot.
Video
Notes
- Rinse the rice with cold water. Rinsing the rice removes the extra starch which makes the cooked rice sticky, contributing to very fluffy basmati rice. If you do not rinse the rice, you could end up with a sticky film on top of the cooked rice. Use cold water so that the rice does not begin cooking and throw off your cooking time.
- Make sure you soak aged basmati rice. Premium, aged basmati rice is more dry and brittle than the 'fresh crop,' non-aged rice that you typically buy at the grocery store. It is aged for 1-2 years and is much more flavorful and aromatic than non-aged basmati rice. Nanu, my grandmother, a basmati connoisseur, told me that soaking premium aged basmati was critical because the hydration helped ensure that the grains cooked unevenly and did not break during the cooking process. I ruined an entire batch of basmati rice once by skipping this step.
- Use a fork for fluffy rice grains immediately after cooking the rice. Scoop the rice with a fork from the outside of the pot towards the middle. Do not use a spoon or a whisk. Freshly steamed rice is very soft and will easily cut into smaller pieces. If you do not fluff the rice immediately it will clump and be less fluffy. If you do forget, remove the rice from the pot in one big piece and place in a microwave safe bowl. Add 1 teaspoon of water, cover with plastic wrap and microwave for about 3-5 minutes. Then fluff the hot rice.
- Cooking time varies by rice type. A general guideline is 15 minutes to cook and 15 minutes to steam white rice. Brown rice takes longer to cook about 30 minutes to cook and 15 minutes to steam.
- Rice-to-water ratio. I use a 1:2 ratio of rice to water for soft, fluffy, and long, fully expanded grains of basmati rice. Use 1:1.5 ratio of rice to water for al dente rice.