About Butter Rice

Basmati rice, butter (either white or salted) and a few more ingredients like whole spices, salt and some water. Voila! You have a dish ready to blow your minds with its simple yet amazing flavors. This recipe of Indian-style Butter Rice is just this, and more. This Indian Butter Rice is also known as Makhani Pulao or Makhani Chawal, and is a delectable and indulgent dish that combines the richness of butter with aromatic spices and fluffy basmati rice. There are many ways a Butter Rice can be made. This is one of the simplest ways to prepare it. So, when you want to give a makeover to the simple and plain steamed rice, then you know can turn to this recipe of mine and elevate it to a lovely Butter Rice. This recipe of Butter Rice can easily be halved, doubled or tripled to suit your requirements. As is visible from the step-by-step depiction of this recipe here, I have used unsalted white butter (called makhan in Hindi) for my recipe. You can even use salted butter or yellow butter. Serve Butter Rice with any North Indian lentil dish like Dal Makhani, dal fry, dal tadka or a curry of your choice like Paneer Butter Masala, dum aloo, rajma masala or Kadai Paneer. This rice variety is a comforting and indulgent dish that showcases the essence of Indian cuisine – combining aromatic spices with the creamy richness of butter to create a dish that’s both satisfying and memorable.

Customizations

Other ingredients that you consider adding to this Butter Rice are some sautéed sliced onions, sliced green chilies or a bit of red chili powder for a subtle heat and some ginger-garlic paste for a savory kick. I also add some cashews in this Butter Rice to enhance the flavors and texture. But this is optional and can be skipped. Of course, if you are a fan of nuts and dry fruits, you can consider adding more of them like almonds, pistachios, raisins or sultanas. Have some dried berries? Add them to make a very basic and simple version of a berry pulao. Finishing touches to this Butter Rice can include addition of a handful of chopped fresh coriander leaves or parsley or mint for a pop of color and freshness. Some more rice recipes that add a lot of flavor to an Indian meal are Ghee Rice, Jeera Rice, kaju pulao, Masala Rice and the Kerala-style ghee rice called Nei Choru. So, when you want to perk up a simple dal rice meal or rajma rice (rajma chawal) meal, then you can prepare these rice recipe varieties.

How to make Indian Butter Rice

Prep Rice

  1. Rinse ½ cup basmati rice very well in water till the water runs clear of starch. Then, soak rice in enough water for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, drain all the water and keep the soaked rice aside. Note that instead of basmati rice, you could use any other variety of long grained rice or medium-grained rice that is not sticky.

Sauté Spices, Cashews In Butter

  1. Keep a thick-bottomed pan on low heat on the stovetop. Add 2 tablespoons white unsalted butter in the pan. You can also opt to use salted butter.
  2. Let the butter simply melt on a low to medium-low heat.
  3. When the butter has almost melted, add the following whole spices:

1 small tej patta (Indian bay leaf) ½ inch cinnamon stick 2 cloves 2 green cardamoms

  1. Next, add 8 to 10 cashews.
  2. On low medium-low heat, sauté the cashews.
  3. Sauté until the cashews turn light golden or golden. You can skip cashews, if you want or you can fry or roast/toast cashews separately and then add them as a garnish.

Make Butter Rice

  1. Next, add the rice.
  2. Gently stir and mix to combine the rice with the butter, spices and cashews. The butter should coat the rice grains evenly.
  3. Next, add 1 to 1¼ cups water. Depending on the quality of rice used, you can add less or more water.
  4. Season with salt as per taste. Keep a check on salt, if using salted butter.
  5. Mix well. Check the taste of water and it should taste slightly salty.
  6. Cover the pan with its lid and simmer on low to medium-low heat until the rice grains are tender and all the water is absorbed. You can check the rice at intervals and if required, add some more water.
  7. Once done, remove the lid and gently fluff the rice.
  8. Serve Butter Rice with any North Indian lentil dishes or curries of your choice. You can garnish it with some chopped coriander or mint leaves or parsley.

Expert 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. Tehri Recipe | Tahri (Vegetable Rice) Bhindi Rice | Sauteed okra with rice Veg Pulao Recipe (Mix Vegetable Pulav) Carrot Rice (Easy and Healthy) This Butter Rice recipe from the blog archives was first published on July 2017. It has been updated and republished on May 2024.

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