How to Cook Basmati Rice

Basmati Rice

Basmati is long grain rice that is used primarily in Indian cooking. It’s also considered the “King of Rice” because of its long grain, aroma, and great taste.

🍽 Equipment

• 240 -250 ml measuring cup
• Stainless steel sauce pan or rice cooker
• Sieve
• Fork

🍳 Step By Step Instructions

How to Cook Basmati Rice on The Stove

The key for making basmati or any rice is to rinse it and drain it well, then use the correct rice to water ratio.

The correct basmati rice to water ratio is 1:1½ which is one cup basmati rice and one and a half cups water when using the absorption method.

You can use this rice to water ratio when cooking basmati in a saucepan on the stove or a rice cooker.

Step 1 - Wash and Drain

Rice needs washing before cooking to wash away excess starch and to remove dust particles.

To rinse the rice, measure the amount of rice you need into a saucepan. Then fill the saucepan with enough cold tap water to cover the rice.

Use your hand to swish the rice around your fingers in the water. The water will turn cloudy because of the starch and dust.

Carefully pour off the water and rinse and repeat several more times until the water becomes less cloudy.

With the final rinse, drain the rice into a sieve to remove all the water, then return the rice back to the saucepan.

Step 2 – Add Water

With the same cup used to measure the rice, measure one and a half cups cold water and add it to the saucepan with the rice.

Step 3 – Cooking Basmati Rice

When cooking basmati in a saucepan on the stove, place it on high heat and bring the water to a boil.

When the entire surface is bubbly and foamy, use a fork to stir the rice and loosen it from the bottom of the pan, cover the saucepan with a tight-fitting lid and reduce the heat to very low.

Cook the rice covered for 20 minutes, turn off the heat and, leave to stand for 10 minutes with the lid still on.

Use a fork to gently fluff and separate the rice before serving.

How to Cook Basmati Rice In A Rice Cooker

Place the rice and water into the rice cooker, cover with the lid and switch on.

Most rice cookers will automatically go to a keep warm setting once the cooking cycle is complete.  

After cooking, keep the rice covered in the rice cooker for about 5- 10 minutes. Use a fork to fluff the rice before serving.

💭 Recipe Tips

• Use the same cup to measure the rice and water to give you the correct water to rice ratio. And when filling the cup with water and rice, always fill to the top.

• Make sure to drain the rice well after rinsing. There should be no visible water left in the saucepan after rinsing. If there is and you add the water for cooking, you will end up with too much water and, the rice will end up being gluggy when cooked.

• Use the right size saucepan. It is important to use the correct size saucepan when cooking rice. The saucepan needs to be large enough to hold the rice when cooked because it doubles in size and, it also helps to cook the rice evenly. See below for saucepan sizes and rice to water ratio guide.

• Use a tight-fitting lid. The lid should fit snuggly on the saucepan because you want to trap in the steam as the rice cooks.

• Bring the pot to a boil without the lid on. It helps with even cooking to bring the water to a rapid boil before turning down the heat and covering it with a lid because it will ensure that the rice gets cooked at the corrected temperature.

• Don’t lift the lid during cooking. Once the pot is covered, don’t lift the lid to take a peek because steam will escape and bring down the temperature and can give uneven cooking.

Saucepan Size And Rice To Water Ratio Guide

Use the below as a guide for selecting a saucepan size for the amount of rice you are making.

• Use a 1 ½ - 2 liter (1 ½ - 2 quart) saucepan for 1 cup rice + 1 ½ cups water.
• Use a 2 – 3 liter (2 – 3 quart) saucepan for 2 cups rice + 3 cups water.
• Use a 4 – 5 liter (4 – 5 quart) saucepan for 3 cups rice + 4 ½ cups water or 4 cups rice + 6 cups water.

Recipes Using Basmati Rice

• Chicken pulao
• Indian tomato rice
• Fish biryani - Pakistani style
• Slow cooker chicken rice soup
• Indian Jeera rice

📝 Frequently Asked Questions

How much water for 2 cups of rice?

For 2 cups of uncooked rice, use 3 cups of water.

Rice to water ratio – rice cooker

The basmati rice water ratio for cooking rice in a rice cooker is the same as above, basically a 1:1 ½ ratio.

How long to cook basmati rice?

It only takes 20 minutes to cook white basmati rice.

How to make basmati rice not sticky?

Here is how to cook basmati rice so that it does not become sticky.
Thoroughly rinse the rice several times in cold tap water until the water is clear. Washing helps to remove most of the starch from the rice.

If the starch is not washed off from the grains, the starch will make the rice gummy and sticky when cooked.

How much basmati rice per person?

When working out how much basmati rice person, use this as a rough guide. 

Allow about ½ measuring cup (100 grams / 3.5 ounces) of uncooked rice per adult person for about 1 cup (200 grams / 7 ounces) of tightly packed cooked rice.

If you have small children or people with small appetites, you may want to reduce this quantity.