Ghee Rice Easy One Pot Recipe

What is Ghee Rice

Ghee rice is a popular South Indian pilaf like dish made without any vegetables. It is commonly paired with lentils, veggie curries, and korma. It includes aromatic spices often used in Indian cuisine, caramelized onions, plus cashews and raisins for extra flavor and great textures. Whenever I make dal recipes at home, I almost always prepare a batch of this ghee rice as well. The rice is perfect for soaking up the rich gravy of a main dish – but is also tasty enough to enjoy plain on its own! Start to finish this ghee rice recipe is ready in under fifty minutes (including the soaking time for rice). It is perfect for serving as part of a hearty dinner any night of the week, and leftovers are delicious to enjoy for several days.

How to make Ghee Rice

Soaking Rice

1. First, rinse 1 cup of basmati rice under cool running water, until the water runs clear. Then place the rice in a bowl and cover it with water. Soak the rice grains for 20 to 30 minutes. TIP: Rinse the rice grains really well so that on cooking the rice grains become fluffy and separate. If the extra starch does not get rinsed from the rice, the dish may end up becoming sticky or lumpy.
2. After 20 to 30 minutes, drain the water and set the soaked rice aside.

Preparation

3. For the easiest recipe, I recommend that you gather all of your ingredients before making the dish. In the photo below are the whole spices that we will be adding to ghee rice.
4. Next, slice 1 medium sized onion and set aside. Gather 15 to 18 raw cashews and 1 tablespoon of raisins, and set aside as well.

Frying Cashews, Raisins

5. Heat 3 tablespoons of ghee in a thick bottomed pot or a thick bottomed pan. Keep the flame to a low so that you do not burn the clarified butter.
6. Once the ghee is melted and hot, add the cashews to the pot.
7. Fry until you see light brown specks on a few of the cashews, but do not burn.
8. Then add the raisins.
9. Fry until the raisins puff up a bit in the ghee. Be sure to continuously stir as the cashews and raisins cook so that they do not become too brown and bitter.
10. Remove the fried cashews and raisins with a slotted spoon, and set aside.

Sautéing Onions and Rice

11. Now to the same melted ghee in the pot, add the whole spices and stir. Let them crackle for a few seconds and become fragrant, but do not burn the spices.
12. Immediately add the sliced onions, and stir.
13. Continue to stir as you saute the onions until they turn golden and caramelize.
14. Next add the soaked rice to the pot.
15. Gently stir the rice for a couple of minutes with the seasonings so that the ghee coats the rice well. Do not over-stir or the rice grains may break.
16. Now add 1.5 to 2 cups of water to the pot, depending on what brand of rice you are using. The rice should be completely covered by the water.
17. Season with salt to your preference: Taste the water as you add a little bit of salt at a time to get just how you like. Generally, the water should taste a bit salty, but you can reduce the salt if you like. Sometimes, I also like to add ½ teaspoon of lemon juice, but this is optional.

Cooking Ghee Rice

18. Increase the temperature if needed to bring the water to a simmer, then reduce back to low heat. Cover the pot with a tight fitting lid.
19. Simmer for about 8 to 9 minutes, until the rice is cooked and all the water is absorbed. Check once or twice while the rice cooks: if the water has been absorbed and the rice grains are undercooked, you can add a tablespoon or so of more hot water and continue cooking.
20. Once the rice is cooked, remove from the stovetop and allow to rest while covered for another 5 to 6 minutes. Then remove the lid and gently fluff the rice with a fork.

Serving Suggestions

21. Garnish ghee rice with the fried cashews and raisins, and serve hot. For an extra pop of fresh flavor, you can also top it with some chopped coriander or mint leaves. Enjoy ghee rice plain on its own or as a delicious side dish. It is perfect to pair with gravy based dishes like rich Curry Recipes, with dals, or korma varieties like Veg Kurma or Potato Kurma.

Storage

Keep any leftovers in your refrigerator for 1 to 2 days. Reheat by steaming in the Instant pot or in a pan for 5 minutes.

Instant Pot Ghee Rice

Frying cashews and raisins – Firstly press the sauté button on your Instant Pot. Set the sauté mode to ‘less’ mode. Let the display show “hot”. Add the cashews first. When they begin to get light golden, add raisins and fry until the raisins become plump. Remove them and set aside. Frying spices and onions – Add the spices and let them crackle. Tip in the sliced onions. Now set the sauté mode to ‘normal’. Sauté onions until golden. Stir often so that the onions cook evenly. Adding rice – Next add the soaked and drained rice. Mix the rice grains very well. Adding water – Pour 1.25 cups water and salt as needed. Mix well and deglaze. Pressure cooking – Seal IP with its lid. Position the pressure valve to the sealing position. Pressure cook on high for 5 minutes.Waiting time – When you hear the IP beep after the pressure cooking is complete, wait for 10 minutes before doing a quick pressure release. Serving – Carefully lift the valve to remove the extra pressure and steam. Remove the lid. Gently fluff the rice and serve hot garnished with the fried cashews, raisins and coriander leaves.

Stove-top Pressure Cooker Method

Frying dry fruits – For making ghee rice in a stove-top pressure cooker, follow the steps of frying the cashews, raisins in the ghee in a 2-litre pressure cooker. Sautéing onions, rice – Fry the whole spices, sauté onions until golden in the remaining ghee inside the cooker. Add the rice and mix well. Pour 1.5 to 1.75 cups water and season with salt. Cooking – Pressure cook for 7 to 8 minutes on medium to medium-high heat or for 2 whistles. Let the pressure fall naturally in the cooker. Open and fluff the rice. Serve hot or warm.

Difference between Ghee rice and Nei Choru

There is a variation to this rice dish called as Nei Choru from the Kerala cuisine that is made with Kaima rice and has a different flavor profile than this recipe. The reason being Nei choru has a different combination of whole spices, is made with a unique variety of South Indian short grained rice known as kaima rice or seeraga samba rice. It also features fried onions as a garnish that brings some crispy sweet caramelized texture to the dish.

Helpful Tips

Please be sure to rate the recipe in the recipe card or leave a comment below if you have made it. For more vegetarian inspirations, Sign Up for my emails or follow me on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter. Curd Rice Recipe | Daddojanam | Thayir Sadam Tomato Rice Recipe | Quick Thakkali Sadam Lemon Rice (Tangy Flavorful Rice) Tamarind Rice | Puliyodharai Recipe This ghee rice recipe from the blog archives (July 2016) has been republished and updated on 26 February 2021.

title: “Ghee Rice Easy One Pot Recipe " ShowToc: true date: “2024-10-01” author: “Alva Wilson”

What is Ghee Rice

Ghee rice is a popular South Indian pilaf like dish made without any vegetables. It is commonly paired with lentils, veggie curries, and korma. It includes aromatic spices often used in Indian cuisine, caramelized onions, plus cashews and raisins for extra flavor and great textures. Whenever I make dal recipes at home, I almost always prepare a batch of this ghee rice as well. The rice is perfect for soaking up the rich gravy of a main dish – but is also tasty enough to enjoy plain on its own! Start to finish this ghee rice recipe is ready in under fifty minutes (including the soaking time for rice). It is perfect for serving as part of a hearty dinner any night of the week, and leftovers are delicious to enjoy for several days.

How to make Ghee Rice

Soaking Rice

1. First, rinse 1 cup of basmati rice under cool running water, until the water runs clear. Then place the rice in a bowl and cover it with water. Soak the rice grains for 20 to 30 minutes. TIP: Rinse the rice grains really well so that on cooking the rice grains become fluffy and separate. If the extra starch does not get rinsed from the rice, the dish may end up becoming sticky or lumpy.
2. After 20 to 30 minutes, drain the water and set the soaked rice aside.

Preparation

3. For the easiest recipe, I recommend that you gather all of your ingredients before making the dish. In the photo below are the whole spices that we will be adding to ghee rice.
4. Next, slice 1 medium sized onion and set aside. Gather 15 to 18 raw cashews and 1 tablespoon of raisins, and set aside as well.

Frying Cashews, Raisins

5. Heat 3 tablespoons of ghee in a thick bottomed pot or a thick bottomed pan. Keep the flame to a low so that you do not burn the clarified butter.
6. Once the ghee is melted and hot, add the cashews to the pot.
7. Fry until you see light brown specks on a few of the cashews, but do not burn.
8. Then add the raisins.
9. Fry until the raisins puff up a bit in the ghee. Be sure to continuously stir as the cashews and raisins cook so that they do not become too brown and bitter.
10. Remove the fried cashews and raisins with a slotted spoon, and set aside.

Sautéing Onions and Rice

11. Now to the same melted ghee in the pot, add the whole spices and stir. Let them crackle for a few seconds and become fragrant, but do not burn the spices.
12. Immediately add the sliced onions, and stir.
13. Continue to stir as you saute the onions until they turn golden and caramelize.
14. Next add the soaked rice to the pot.
15. Gently stir the rice for a couple of minutes with the seasonings so that the ghee coats the rice well. Do not over-stir or the rice grains may break.
16. Now add 1.5 to 2 cups of water to the pot, depending on what brand of rice you are using. The rice should be completely covered by the water.
17. Season with salt to your preference: Taste the water as you add a little bit of salt at a time to get just how you like. Generally, the water should taste a bit salty, but you can reduce the salt if you like. Sometimes, I also like to add ½ teaspoon of lemon juice, but this is optional.

Cooking Ghee Rice

18. Increase the temperature if needed to bring the water to a simmer, then reduce back to low heat. Cover the pot with a tight fitting lid.
19. Simmer for about 8 to 9 minutes, until the rice is cooked and all the water is absorbed. Check once or twice while the rice cooks: if the water has been absorbed and the rice grains are undercooked, you can add a tablespoon or so of more hot water and continue cooking.
20. Once the rice is cooked, remove from the stovetop and allow to rest while covered for another 5 to 6 minutes. Then remove the lid and gently fluff the rice with a fork.

Serving Suggestions

21. Garnish ghee rice with the fried cashews and raisins, and serve hot. For an extra pop of fresh flavor, you can also top it with some chopped coriander or mint leaves. Enjoy ghee rice plain on its own or as a delicious side dish. It is perfect to pair with gravy based dishes like rich Curry Recipes, with dals, or korma varieties like Veg Kurma or Potato Kurma.

Storage

Keep any leftovers in your refrigerator for 1 to 2 days. Reheat by steaming in the Instant pot or in a pan for 5 minutes.

Instant Pot Ghee Rice

Frying cashews and raisins – Firstly press the sauté button on your Instant Pot. Set the sauté mode to ‘less’ mode. Let the display show “hot”. Add the cashews first. When they begin to get light golden, add raisins and fry until the raisins become plump. Remove them and set aside. Frying spices and onions – Add the spices and let them crackle. Tip in the sliced onions. Now set the sauté mode to ‘normal’. Sauté onions until golden. Stir often so that the onions cook evenly. Adding rice – Next add the soaked and drained rice. Mix the rice grains very well. Adding water – Pour 1.25 cups water and salt as needed. Mix well and deglaze. Pressure cooking – Seal IP with its lid. Position the pressure valve to the sealing position. Pressure cook on high for 5 minutes.Waiting time – When you hear the IP beep after the pressure cooking is complete, wait for 10 minutes before doing a quick pressure release. Serving – Carefully lift the valve to remove the extra pressure and steam. Remove the lid. Gently fluff the rice and serve hot garnished with the fried cashews, raisins and coriander leaves.

Stove-top Pressure Cooker Method

Frying dry fruits – For making ghee rice in a stove-top pressure cooker, follow the steps of frying the cashews, raisins in the ghee in a 2-litre pressure cooker. Sautéing onions, rice – Fry the whole spices, sauté onions until golden in the remaining ghee inside the cooker. Add the rice and mix well. Pour 1.5 to 1.75 cups water and season with salt. Cooking – Pressure cook for 7 to 8 minutes on medium to medium-high heat or for 2 whistles. Let the pressure fall naturally in the cooker. Open and fluff the rice. Serve hot or warm.

Difference between Ghee rice and Nei Choru

There is a variation to this rice dish called as Nei Choru from the Kerala cuisine that is made with Kaima rice and has a different flavor profile than this recipe. The reason being Nei choru has a different combination of whole spices, is made with a unique variety of South Indian short grained rice known as kaima rice or seeraga samba rice. It also features fried onions as a garnish that brings some crispy sweet caramelized texture to the dish.

Helpful Tips

Please be sure to rate the recipe in the recipe card or leave a comment below if you have made it. For more vegetarian inspirations, Sign Up for my emails or follow me on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter. Curd Rice Recipe | Daddojanam | Thayir Sadam Tomato Rice Recipe | Quick Thakkali Sadam Lemon Rice (Tangy Flavorful Rice) Tamarind Rice | Puliyodharai Recipe This ghee rice recipe from the blog archives (July 2016) has been republished and updated on 26 February 2021.