Jeera Chawal – Cumin Flavored Rice

Jeera rice or Zeera rice or Jeera Pulao is an Indian dish consisting of rice and cumin seeds. This rice dish is known as “Zeera rice” in Pakistan. It is a popular dish in North India, an everyday rice dish. It is easy to prepare, unlike a biryani. “Jeera” is the Hindi word for cumin seeds. The ingredients used are rice, cumin seeds, vegetable oil, onions and coriander leaves.
Cumin seeds are fried in hot oil. Long grain Basmati rice and salt are added to it. Water in almost double quantity of rice is poured and allowed to boil with covered lid at high flame. The rice then is steamed on low flame until all the water is absorbed.
Jeera rice is generally garnished with finely chopped fresh coriander leaves, but is also garnished with onion rings in some Indian hotels and restaurants.
There are two methods of making jeera rice. In the first method, rice and jeera are cooked together along with spices. In the second method, rice is cooked first and then seasoned with cumin, spices and butter. This method is often followed in the restaurants. Either way you make, it tastes delicious with intense flavor of Jeera(Cumin)
I love to serve jeera rice with Chole Chana Masala(Chickpea Curry), and some other paneer or Daal curries.

Following are the common ingredients used to flavor the rice.
Basmati rice – 1 Cup
Water – 1 Cup
Salt – 1/2 tsp (adjust per taste)
Coriander leaves – For garnishing
To temper
Ghee | Oil – 1 Tbsp
Bay leaf – 1
Cinnamon – 1/2 stick
Cardamom – 2
Cloves – 3 Cloves
Jeera | Cumin Seeds – 1 1/2 tsp
Anise Star 2 pieces if available
Jeera rice recipe is not found in ancient books and scripts of Indian recipes and culinary art. Text about this recipe can be found in books and travelogues since the Mughal Empire. Mughals were fond of rice recipes, because of which cooks worked to invent new rice recipes as well as did experiments with tradition old recipes. Jeera rice recipe is one of those rice recipes. Later on, it was adopted in Indian cuisine and became so popular that the recipe is now cooked daily by almost every Indian family.
To prepare the Jeera rice pulao:
First wash and soak the rice in water for about 15 minutes. Drain the water and keep aside.
Heat the pressure cooker pan with ghee and add all the ingredients listed under “To temper” in the given order. Once the jeera starts changing to golden brown, add the rice and saute nicely for about a minute.
Add the water, salt, give a stir and cook covered in medium flame for 1 whistle or until the rice is done. Wait until the pressure subsides and open the lid of the pressure cooker. Add the coriander leaves and mix carefully without breaking the rice strands.
Enjoy hot with any spicy gravy.
You can prepare this recipe in any method you prefer. Like rice cooker, pressure cooker or normal pot method. Adjust the quantity of water per the method being used.
Tempering with ghee, gives the best flavor to this recipe.