Instant Pot Basmati Rice -Perfect Indian Long Grain White Rice

How to Cook Basmati Rice in Instant Pot or Stove Top- A guide on cooking the perfect Basmati rice in your Instant Pot  pressure cooker as per your taste using Manual, Pot in Pot or Rice Mode

Jump to:

• What is Basmati Rice
• Why Cook Basmati rice in Instant Pot
• Ingredients
• Should you Soak Basmati Rice
• Delay Button Rice
• Pot in Pot Rice Cooking
• How to Cook White Basmati Rice in Instant Pot
• Notes
• Storing & Leftovers
• Serve Basmati Rice
• FAQs on Instant Pot Basmati Rice
• More Basmati Rice Recipes
• Instant Pot Basmati Rice
• Rice Water Ratios

CUISINE: Indian Comfort Food
TEXTURE: Creamy
EASE:  Very Easy
APPEARANCE: Steaming hot like a porridge
Serve with : Indian chutneys, Papad, Pickle or Raita
Pros : Vegan, Gluten Free

This guide is for long grain(or medium) white basmati rice- without the husk.

Everyone likes their rice a certain way. Some want it el dente, all grains separate and some want it soft.

When I am making rice for fried rice, to serve with a quick curry or even an Indian stir fried rice like lemon rice , I want to rice to be just cooked. Though when we eat Dal chawal aka rice and dal, I want my rice to be softer.

Here is what we will do

• Wash the Rice
• Measure the Water as per your taste(i have a whole table to make this easy!)
• Pressure cook

I have noted that in United states, most prefer rice very eldente.

If travel down south India, you will mostly find softer rice though in the northern part of India , if two grains of rice stick together, then that's overcooked Rice.

Making rice is one of the first steps in learning how to cook. There are a lot of ways of making rice. You can steam it, boil it with excess water to remove the starch, use a rice cooker or pressure cook it.

Every time you buy a new type of rice, it takes at least 1 time to figure out the exact method and ratio of water to rice.

What is Basmati Rice

Basmati rice is a long grain rice that's very popular in Indian food.

I can safely say that most Indians have at least 3 types of rice- Everyday rice like sona masoori or Jeera Samba or raw rice , Basmati rice for pulavs, biryanis and special occasions and possibly a healthier brown rice or red rice from Kerala.

When cooked basmati rice is long, separate, almost el dente.

The Older the rice, the better it is.

Why Cook Basmati rice in Instant Pot

Though I love making rice in the instant pot, in certain scenarios, it's not the best option

• Biryani Rice- When you are making layered rice and you want to half cook the rice. I always do this in a pot of boiling water because I have more control over it and I can stop when I want.
• Single Person quantity- If you have to make less than ½ cup of rice for say a single person, cooking it in instant pot will not work. The rice and water will be too little to be cooked in the instant pot. It will start to get crisp and you might even get a burn warning. If you still want to make it in the instant pot, I would suggest pot in pot cooking. Don't worry, I get into pot in pot cooking in detail below.

Ingredients

Okay a relatively short list. In fact, you can knock of the last 2 most of the times.

Basmati Rice

There are a lot of different types of basmati rice available in the market- Long Grain,Broken,Brown and Black.This guide is for long grain(or medium) white basmati rice- without the husk.

There will be slight vairations in the final result based on

1. Age of the Rice
2. Altitude
3. The outcome you want- soft/fluffy or al dente
4. Soaking

Water

The amount of water you add will depend on the outcome you want, Soaking time and the pressure cooker you use.

Traditional pressure cooker need more water as the steam is emitted out with each whistle. But Instant pots need way lesser water and that's why the ratios look very different from the normal pressure cooker.

• No Soak Rice & El dente - 1 Part Rice & 1 ¼ Part Water
• No Soak Rice & Soft - 1 Part Rice & 1 ½ Part Water
• Soaked & El dente- - 1 Part Rice & 1 Part Water
• Soaked & Soft- - 1 Part Rice & 1 ¼ Part Water
• Pot in Pot - Soft - - 1 Part Rice & 1 ¼ Part Water

If you are confused about pot in pot, we will discuss this below.

Oil & Salt

These are not really absolutely needed, especially if you are using good quality rice and serving it with indian food.

Usually Indian food is saltier than most and the rice being plain works pretty well.

Though i would add salt and oil when I am cooking to a) impress someone b)Serving it with dry side dish c)Making fried rice with it.

Speaking of fried rice, you can make my "shortcut" fried rice in the instant pot.

Should you Soak Basmati Rice

I used the same rice & amount of water to test out the difference between rice thats been soaked and not soaked.

I find that the rice that's been soaked for 1 hour or more does cook softer, with lesser bite to it while being separate and fluffy.

So if you are looking to impress or a planner(which i am not), you should soak the rice.

The rice cooked for the same time, without soaking, often ended up having a bite in the middle of the rice. It didn't plump up enough. For everyday cooking where the only critiques are my child and husband, I rarely soak.

I just give the rice a good rinse and stick it in the instant pot.

In the photo below, i hope you can make out how the rice that's been cooked for 5 min , with 10 minute natural pressure release is more separate & less plump.

Where as the rice that's been soaked for 30 minutes and cooked for the same amount of time, with same amount of water, is fatter, softer, without being sticky.

In summary, soak the rice if you prefer it softer. One way around this is to use 1 part rice and 1.5 parts water.Or use the delay button.

Delay Button Rice

This is my favorite way of making rice.

I wash and rinse the rice. Add the same amount of water as the rice.

Set the Pressure cooking time to 5 minutes. And then I delay it by an hours time.

I usually do this when I start cooking a meal so that by the time we are ready to eat, the rice is cooked perfectly and is steaming hot!

Pot in Pot Rice Cooking

Cooking several things at the same time in the pressure cooker is an age old Indian practice!

The way this works is, you place the trivet you got with the instant pot in the steel insert. Add 1 cup of water.

Place a Steel bowl of rice, with water, cover it with a plate.

Pressure cook for 6 minutes on HIGH.

The rice comes out soft, fluffy but still separate.

You can cook the dal and rice together but you have to be careful about cooking things that take same amount of time.

Like Rice and Moong dal or vegetables.

When to do pot in pot

• Good for smaller quantities- When the amount of rice being cooked is less than ½ cup
• When you do not want to wash the big instant pot insert or you have to reuse it.
• When you are short on time and want to cook two things toghether. Though this needs serial planning, proper equipment and measurement.
• The rice doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan.

How to Cook White Basmati Rice in Instant Pot

To make perfecttly cooked Basmati rice, just the way YOU like it, follow the steps below.

Step 1: Rinse the Rice

Do make sure to rinse the rice. Sometimes the rice can have husk or dust particles in it. It's essential that you rinse it under running cold water 2-3 times. This is especially needed in the case of organic rice or Older rice.

If you are planning to soak the rice, add some drinking water to it so that its completely submerged and set it aside.

Strain the rice before adding it to the instant pot.

Step 2:Measure & Add water

Now measure the water as per the chart below.

• No Soak Rice & El dente - 1 Part Rice & 1 ¼ Part Water
• No Soak Rice & Soft - 1 Part Rice & 1 ½ Part Water
• Soaked & El dente- - 1 Part Rice & 1 Part Water
• Soaked & Soft- - 1 Part Rice & 1 ¼ Part Water
• Pot in Pot - Soft - - 1 Part Rice & 1 ¼ Part Water

To the rice, add the desired amount of water.

If you want, you can add salt and oil to the rice now.

Step 3:Pressure Cook

I usually pressure cook for 5 minutes. What can I say I like round numbers and in this case not only is it easy to remember but it works too.

Though for pot in pot cooking, I give it an extra minute.

Step 4: Natural Pressure Release

Let the Steam escape Naturally for 10 minutes and then Quick release. When in a rush, I Quick release after 3 minutes.

The reason for letting the steam release naturally is two fold a)it gives the rice a bit more "slow" cooking time. Which makes the rice less sticky and fluffier b)It gives the water that's on the bottom of the pot to get absorbed by the rice.

Usually the rice on top of the pot is cooked with more of a bite than the rice in the bottom. Which sometimes has a little more moisture simply because of gravity and pressure from top. That's why natural pressure release helps give it that extra time.

And finally don't forget to fluff it with a fork.

Notes

• Minimum amount of rice that you can cook in instant pot is ½ cup. Even with ½ cup of rice, some of the rice will stick to the bottom of the pan.
• Keep Warm Setting - cannot be used for more than 20 minutes. After this, the bottom most rice will start getting crispy and cooked.Though you can use this setting for unlimited time(till your rice doesnt get spoilt) when using pot in pot method.

Storing & Leftovers

I usually cook rice as and when I need because I don't mind doing it, but you can cook rice in bulk and remove as and when needed.

Store the rice in an air tight container or you could portion it out in single serve containers too. It should last for 6-7 days in the fridge.

You can also freeze cooked rice. I like to do this in freezer bags that have been frozen flat. That way, it's super easy to remove and microwave in a plate.

Here are some easy ways to heat up Cold basmati rice.

Microwave- Sprinkle the rice with ½ tablespoon of water, cover it and microwave it till its hot and steamy.

Steam- You can also steam the rice in a steamer.I do this when the rice is cold and more than a couple of days old.

Boil- For a quick refresh, I usually add the cold rice to boiling water, let it stand for 2-3 minutes, before draining the water.

Also! If you are making fried rice of some kind, do not refresh or heat the rice and directly use the cold rice. This will make sure the rice grains are separate.

Serve Basmati Rice

It's best to serve rice straight out of the instant pot. Basmati rice is at peak yumness when it's hot and just been cooked.

Here are some sides & curries to go with your perfect basmati rice.

• Dals - The most comforting food for most indians besides Khichdi is Dal chawal. I have some amazing Instant pot dal recipes that you will love - you can try a simple Toor Dal or Chana Dal or a north Indian classic- Black Dal or Dal Makhani.
• Beans- My most favorite meal in this whole world is Rajma Chawal- Kidney beans cooked in a onion tomato gravy with fluffy rice. While Rajma was my favorite, my brother and now my husband and son too, love Chole Rice.
• Vegetarian Curries - Cauliflower curry Aloo gobhi made with a little gravy or mushroom masala or an indulgent Paneer dish like Palak Paneer or Paneer butter masala.
• Chicken & Seafood Curries - Serve the rice with All time Indian classic like Butter Chicken , Chicken Vindaloo and our house staple South Indian Style Pepper Chicken Curry. Or a fragrant Kerala Shrimp Coconut Curry ..Sigh the combinations are endless!

FAQs on Instant Pot Basmati Rice

More Basmati Rice Recipes

Here are some more instant pot basmati rice recipes that you will love!

Instant Pot Sona Masoori Rice
Instant Pot Brown Rice
Instant Pot Rice Pudding
Instant Pot Mushroom Risotto
Instant Pot Vegetable Biryani
Instant Pot Chicken Biryani
Instant Pot Mushroom Parmesan Rice
Instant Pot Ghee Rice

If you make your rice using this method, do leave me a comment and a rating. I would love to connect with you!

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