Indian Jeera Rice – Cumin Rice

Jeera rice or jeera fried rice is an easy-to-make rice of cumin fried in ghee. Try this fragrant jeera rice recipe and you’ll start making it for everyone you know!

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Every time you eat at an Indian restaurant, you wonder how their rice is so light and fragrant, and how the rice tastes so earthy and fragrant, don’t you?

It’s quite simple really. Instead of plain white rice, you use long-grain rice or basmati rice. Then you flavor it with a nice tadka – that’s what we call the bubbling fragrant mixture of ghee and cumin – and serve it with a delicious paneer korma, masoor dal curry, mackerel fry, or another local Indian curry.

And if you want to know what we do with the rice water that we drain out, here’s a secret. Well, not really a secret, every Indian knows it. First, we use it to starch cotton clothes, second, we flush it down the drain, or third, we use it to make our hair shiny as I’ve mentioned in my other post.

What do you need to Cook Jeera Rice Pulao?

To make a pulao of jeera rice or cumin and rice, you’ll need some good quality long-grain white rice itself, cumin or jeera, salt, and water. A lot of water if you want to cook as we do!

Oft times, we also add bay leaves to add flavor to the rice, and coriander leaves after cooking.

How to make Fried jeera Rice at home?

Cook the Rice

Now if you want fluffy long-grain rice like the Indian restaurants all over the world, pick a nice basmati rice. If you’re okay with an almost-long-grain, use any other good long-grain rice.

We used to love using Kohinoor rice till the pandemic made them disappear and we switched to IndiaGate. They were a lot better than Daawat. If you don’t have that, you can still make this recipe with any good white rice that you like.

Anyways, start by rinsing the rice a few times to remove starch and polishing chemicals.

Once you’re rice is clean, heat water and salt in a pot. The water should be four or more times the quantity of the rice. There’s no fixed limit, we just use a lot of it. You can also add bay leaves for flavor. Once the water starts boiling, add the rice to it and cook for a while.

While the rice is cooking, stir it a few times so that it doesn’t stick to the bottom and cooks evenly throughout. If you can’t be bothered, just leave it be. We do that too!

After some time, squish a few grains of rice between your thumb and forefinger to check if it’s cooked. If it’s easily broken, it’s ready. If not, cook the rice for a few more minutes.

Once the rice is ready, drain the rice and set aside. We drain it in the traditional way. See the pic below!

Make the Jeera Tadka

Add ghee and jeera (cumin seeds) to a small tadka pan. If you don’t have this, use a small frying pan – that works too. Once the cumin starts to sputter and you smell a deep earthy smell, it’s ready.

Add it to the cooked rice and mix well before serving. You can sprinkle with some chopped parsley if you like.

Cooking Tips Or Tricks

• Rinse the rice multiple times before cooking to remove chemicals and starch.
• If you want turmeric rice, see my sis’s recipe or this other recipe for plain coriander rice.
• Add some bay leaves to the water while boiling rice for more flavor.
• Or some fried onions for sweetness. See this recipe.
• Don’t worry if it seems like the salt used is extra. It gets drained out with the excess water. So your rice is left with just a little salt. 
• You can also add peppercorns, cinnamon sticks, cloves, or chopped green chilies to the cumin after a minute of frying, but this is optional.
• Add some boiled peas and it turns into jeera rice pulao.
• You can use the same recipe for brown rice.
• You might also like the recipes for simple white rice, burnt onion rice, rice with turmeric, or wedding rice.
• You might also love all these rice desserts – white choc with raisins and puffed rice, dark choc with raisins and puffed rice, or the dark choc and coconut in puffed rice.
• Want to try something totally different with rice? Make letri! Or turn this rice into the tricolor rice!

FAQ’s About Cooking Cumin-Flavored Rice

Can Cooked Jeera Rice Be Reheated?

Yes, cumin flavored rice can be reheated after you’ve cooked it, for one to two times. Do not reheat it more than that. Also, add in a little water and a bit of ghee while reheating – this makes sure the rice doesn’t get dry.

Can Cooked Rice With Jeera Be Refrigerated or Frozen?

Yes, cumin-fried rice can be refrigerated for about 4 – 7 days. Reheat before serving.

You can also store any surplus rice made with cumin in an airtight container in the freezer where it will stay edible for months. Just add a few spoons of water and a tablespoon of ghee after thawing and reheat well before serving.

What does cumin taste and smell like?

Cumin has a peppery and slightly bitter taste with a warm pungent aroma.

Can I substitute Cumin with caraway seeds?

Caraway seeds have a lighter flavor than cumin, so if you want to use them instead, used double the quantity required. For example, a teaspoon of cumin seeds can be substituted with two teaspoons of caraway seeds.

What to serve with cumin seed fried rice?

This cumin fried rice goes well with almost everything – from red lentil dal or yellow lentil dal to South African oxtail stew or fish chilly fry or East Indian spicy vindaloo or lesser yellow vindaloo. Just make your favorite curry and serve it with the cumin rice. It also goes well with a side of boondi raita, beetroot salad, green tomato salad, or onion salad.

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