Aromatic Indian Rice Recipe
Fragrant exotic Indian Rice Recipe – Perfect basmati rice recipe using toasted whole spices, just like they use in India!
Why We Love This Indian Rice Recipe
Rice is one of those ingredients that would be very difficult for me to give up.
Whether it’s jasmine, basmati, or wild rice, the smell and texture are endearing and alluring. In fact, most of my favorite comfort foods revolve around rice.
There are rice dishes, and then there are rice dishes.
This particular rice dish is the latter… light, fluffy, aromatic, and bursting with intense flavor, making it so much more than a side dish.
To make Indian-style rice, you could always boil up a pot of rice and add a little curry powder. The difference in this Indian rice dish, is that we aren’t using curry powder, the blend of dried spices regularly used in Indian cooking.
Instead, we’re using whole individual spices to create vibrant complexity with delicately balanced exotic tones. Sound appealing?
If you like playing with spices, you are going to love this!
How To Make This Aromatic Basmati Rice Recipe
Ingredients
- Basmati Rice
- Ghee Clarified Butter
- Chopped Onion
- Minced Garlic Cloves
- Fresh Grated Ginger
- Cracked Cardamom Pods
- Cinnamon Stick
- Dried Chile Pepper Bird, Serrano, Cayenne…
- Fenugreek Seeds
- Cumin Seeds
- Turmeric
- Salt
- Water
- Vegetable Oil
- Whole Fresh Curry Leaves
Instructions
Heat a large pot over medium to medium-low heat. Add the ghee, onion, garlic, ginger, cardamom pods, cinnamon, chile, fenugreek, and cumin seeds. Saute until the onions are soft and the fenugreek seeds have started to soften, about 12-15 minutes. Stir occasionally.
Add the rice, turmeric, salt, and water. Raise the heat to high and bring it to a boil. Once boiling, cover and lower the heat again to medium-low. Simmer for 15 minutes, until the rice has absorbed the water and there are steam holes in the top of the rice. Fluff the long-grain rice with a fork, cover, and set aside to steam for 5-10 more minutes.
Add the oil to a small skillet. Place the skillet over medium-high heat. Once it’s very hot, add the curry leaves and step back–herbs contain a lot of moisture and will pop when frying. Fry the curry leaves for 10-20 seconds, just long enough for the popping to stop. Then scoop them out of the oil and place them on a paper towel to drain.
Sprinkle the curry leaves with salt. When ready to serve, scoop the rice into a large bowl, removing the cardamom pods, chile, and cinnamon stick.
Top the Indian rice with the crispy curry leaves, and be ready to breathe a deep sign of satisfaction when you taste it.
Colorful, rich, and zesty with a deep floral flavor from the basmati rice and tantalizing crispy curry leaves mingled throughout.
You’re welcome.
Get the Full (Printable) Aromatic Tumeric Rice Recipe Below. Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this recipe keep well?
You can store this cooked rice recipe in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4 to 6 days and then up to 6 months in the freezer.
Do I have to soak the rice before cooking?
This recipe does not call for soaking the rice grains before cooking on the stovetop.
Indian Rice Recipes goes well with
- Indian Spiced Fish
- Grilled Indian Chicken
- Butter Chicken Sliders
- Chicken Tikka Masala – Indian Simmer
- Kale Pakora – Kiran Tarun
Check the printable recipe card below for the nutrition information including calories, carbohydrates, sodium, and fiber percentages.
Indian Rice
Ingredients
- 2 cups basmati rice
- 3 tablespoons ghee clarified butter
- 1 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
- 4 cardamom pods cracked
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 dried chile pepper bird, serrano, cayenne…
- 1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
- 3/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 cups water
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/3 cup whole fresh curry leaves
Instructions
- Heat a large pot over medium to medium-low heat. Add the ghee, onion, garlic, ginger, cardamom pods, cinnamon, chile, fenugreek, and cumin seeds. Saute until the onions are soft and the fenugreek seeds have started to soften, about 12-15 minutes. Stir occasionally.
- Add the rice, turmeric, salt and water. Raise the heat to high and bring to a boil. Once boiling, cover and lower the heat again to medium-low. Simmer for 15 minutes, until the rice has absorbed the water and there are steam holes in the top of the rice. Fluff the rice with a fork, cover and set aside to steam for 5-10 more minutes.
- Add the oil to a small skillet. Place the skillet over medium-high heat. Once it’s very hot, add the curry leaves and step back–herbs contain a lot of moisture and will pop when frying. Fry the curry leaves for 10-20 seconds, just long enough for the popping to stop. Then scoop them out of the oil and and place them on a paper towel to drain. Sprinkle the curry leaves with salt. When ready to serve, scoop the rice into a large bowl, removing the cardamom pods, chile, and cinnamon stick. Top with flash fried curry leaves and serve warm.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Delicious and super easy! I had to make a couple small adjustments to the spices because some were not it stock at the store – but it was still amazing! I’ll be ordering those online for the next time. (I used ground cumin for cumin seed; chili powder for dried chilis, and coriander seeds for fenugreek.) Definitely a hit for the whole family.
You even try basmati rice and Kala Namak Rice.
Mine best is Kala Namak, its smell its wow and yummy.
You even try basmati rice and Kala Namak Rice.
Mine best is Kala Namak, its smell its wow and yummy.
Great 👍 food 🥘 yum 😋 🤤
I love this recipe! The rice has a beautiful color and is spectacularly delicious. I served this rice with another one of your recipes: Roasted Indian Fish and Creamy Curried Cauliflower. Both recipes have become a repeat on our monthly menu. Thank You for sharing.
delicious rice recipe I loved it.
I didn’t have curry leaves M, cumin seeds, or chilies but it still turned out great!
I just came across this delicious sounding recipe. Can one use dried curry leaves (that’s what I have at the moment). Can I make rice the day before and do fried dry curry leaves before I serve? I’m doing an Indian feast for my friends birthday and am trying to cook a little before the big day..(one day before)
Most Delicious.
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I stumbled upon this recipe on the internet today and just made it. It turned out brilliant!
Thank You for this divine recipe! Delish. I’m a bit of a snob when it comes to Indian recipes. I’m not Indian but my hubby is and I lived there for years and most recipes I try from non-Indian cooks often miss the mark. But this was fabulous and thankfully I had all the ingredients. Lovely!
That’s a beautiful color!
It made me smile to see curry leaves described as a lesser known ingredient. Where I live, they are omnipresent :-D I sometimes make rice pulao with ground curry leaves and cashew nuts. If curry leaves are your thing, you’ll love that recipe.
Just perfect for me, rice look’s so beautiful.
What a great recipe! I love Indian food. I have to travel 1.5 hrs or more to get
to an Indian restaurant. So Indian food recipes are on my radar and pin list.
i just adore this rice. The color and flavors are so appealing. I love the crispy curry leaves – brilliant!
Can’t wait to try this!
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Everything in this is right up my alley and I completely agree with your comment, “I love digging through those little strip-mall markets for lesser known ingredients like this. Totally worth the drive and time, in my opinion.” It’s that attention to detail and passion for the final product that drives me, too. Beautiful photos!
What gorgeous rice Sommer- I just LOVE all of the spices and flavors that you included!
Love roasting whole spices… was just talking to Heather about fenugreek!
One of my favorite rice recipes!
This rice looks amazing and sounds even better! I love the authentic Indian rice but have never tried to make it myself. Can’t wait to give this recipe a try!
Love this rice! So pretty too!
Wow! The rice looks lovely. I am so surprised to see that you like the flavor of fenugreek seeds! I know many many Indians ( including my family) scowling at it. The raw seeds are bitter, but they mellow down beautifully after cooking. Do you know that you can grow fresh fenugreek leaves at home? They also taste wonderful and are extremely aromatic. You can actually sprout fenugreek seeds and add them to your salads. They are a powerhouse of nutrition, especially iron. Happy blogging, and btw, I Love your page :-)
Fanugreek seeds are the bomb of vitamin and minerals. They contains all amino acids and as you say iron which is really rare. For more information about fanugreek seeds you can check HappyForks site. Ambika, do you have recipes for other meals in which we can add fanugreek?
Love a good rice! This one looks perfect!!
Rice is by far one of my very favorite sides/grains/foods. We love it over here and I am a huge fan of indian so this is some good looking rice!
Wow! I love the time and love that goes into the recipe to really get that flavor!
I have been thinking that I haven’t made rice in too long. Being a food blogger I feel ALL the pressure to make everything quinoa.
But, we are hyooooge Indian fans, so you’ve inspired me to get back on the rice train! Pinned!