Jeera (Cumin) Rice
When I was about 11, I developed an obsession with Jeera Rice. I refused to eat anything unless this rice was on my plate. Not long after I learned how to make simple basmati rice, I quickly learned to make Jeera rice for myself and for a good three month period I made it nightly. Often, when I was being picky and didn’t want to eat the family dinner, I would just have this rice and some yogurt for dinner.
Even though I loved this rice, I’m not the kind of person to eat the same thing over and over again. I rarely even eat leftovers. So this jeera rice was the first dish I did some real experimenting with.
I would vary the amount of cumin, the kind of rice, andandi often I added other ingredients. Sometimes it was frozen peas or lemon juice or sometimes yogurt. My favorite was when I made it super lemony.
I don’t think I would like that super lemony rice now as an adult but I do like a hint of lemon. I use lemon zest when I make jeera rice now. I just love the subtle lemon flavor. Y
Ingredients
- 1 cup basmati rice
- 1 tbsp ghee
- 2 tsp whole cumin seeds
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 cups water
Instructions
- Rinse the rice 3-4 times.
- In a medium sized sauce pan, heat the ghee over medium heat.
- Add the cumin seeds and cook until they sizzle.
- Add the rice. Cook for 1 minutes while stirring.
- Add the water, lemon zest and salt. Stir. Bring to a boil.
- Cover and lower the heat to low. Cook for 12 minutes, do not stir and do not remove the lid.
- Fluff with a fork before serving.
Most lovely pics – and I’m convinced that this rice smells and tastes wonderful :-).
Thanks Claudia! It’s one of my favorite smells. Basmati rice as it cooks! So good! 🙂
Flavorful rice.. beautiful clicks!!
Addicted!
Yay! I love jeera rice too! I could still eat it every day. If only I had the time to cook daily…
That’s the longest rice I’ve ever seen! Looks tasty. Love all the flavors here.
I love the freshness of adding lime to rice – I have never tried lemon but am sure to now!
Cumin & lemon? Yeah, I have to make this. It sounds phenomenal and I totally understand how you could subsist on this for three months!
Ooh, this sounds delicious! Thanks for making Indian cuisine sound so accessible! I think I can actually make this and not screw it up!
Thank you for this recipe, for the first time ever my rice has come out fluffy, without sticking to the pan. And the cumin and lemon combination is delicious. 🙂
Do you use kala / shahi Jeera or just western style cumin for this?