Perfectly plump grains of white basmati rice for any meal–this Instant Pot basmati rice recipe will make you rethink that rice cooker! If you need a quick side of fragrant basmati rice and don’t have time to soak the rice, then learn how to cook basmati rice in an Instant Pot.
Types of basmati rice to use in an Instant Pot
This recipe is specifically for white basmati rice for the Instant Pot. Like other types of rice, there are also white and brown varieties for basmati. Most brown rice types do require more water and/or more time to cook, so note that this recipe is specifically for white basmati rice only.
When picking white basmati rice, you want to pick basmati rice that has long, tapered grains of rice with an off-white coloring. You want to veer from sparkly white shades of rice because we’re looking for aged rice–some rice bags come in a clear bag and this makes it easier to see their coloring, otherwise, you can’t truly tell until you open it up. This has a more fragrant aroma the longer it’s aged and plumper grains after it’s cooked.
The specific brand of basmati rice we used for this recipe is from India Gate and is produced and exported from India. It’s been aged 1 year and has a very mild flavor after it’s cooked. While the instructions on this rice state to soak the rice for 15 minutes before cooking, we found no difference when putting the rinsed rice directly into the Instant Pot.
What is the ratio of water to basmati rice?
To learn how to cook basmati rice in an Instant Pot, all you have to do is follow a basic ratio of 1:1.25 when using white basmati rice and filtered water. Here’s a detailed description below:
- 2 servings (or 1 cup of cooked white basmati rice): 200 grams (or 1 dry measuring cup) white basmati rice and 10 fluid ounces (or 1 ¼ liquid measuring cups) of filtered water
- 4 servings (or 2 cups of cooked white basmati rice): 400 grams (or 2 dry measuring cups) white basmati rice and 20 fluid ounces (or 2 ½ liquid measuring cup) of filtered water — This is the most common serving size
- 8 servings (or 4 cups of cooked white basmati rice): 800 grams (or 4 dry measuring cups) white basmati rice and 40 fluid ounces (or 5 liquid measuring cups) of filtered water
I like to use a kitchen scale when measuring out the rice and water amounts for any rice recipe (or any recipe really) to get the most accurate measurements. Not all measuring cups are made equally and this helps prevent any inconsistencies in the recipe. If you do end up using measuring cups, make sure to use both dry and liquid measuring cups each only for their intended use, since 1 dry scoop cup is NOT the same as 1 cup for liquid.
How long to cook basmati rice in the Instant Pot
Total cooking time for white basmati rice in an Instant Pot is about 25-30 minutes including warming, building pressure, active cooking time, and natural release. When cooking white basmati rice in a pressure cooker like the Instant Pot, the active cooking time sounds fairly short compared to cooking rice on the stove or in a rice cooker.
Use the manual cooking setting on the Instant Pot and put the timer on for 5 minutes–yep, it’s that short. Keep in mind there is additional timing to warm up the Instant Pot, build pressure, and then naturally release some pressure.
If you don’t have an Instant Pot, you can also cook basmati rice in a rice cooker or basmati on the stove too!
Why is my basmati rice sticky?
If your basmati rice comes out sticky after cooking, there are a few reasons why this could happen. The most recurrent issue is adding too much water. To prevent this issue in the future, I like to use a kitchen scale to make sure all of my measurements are accurate. Another reason is overcooking the rice. This recipe only calls for 5 minutes of active cooking time in the Instant Pot, while the rest of the 20 minutes is building pressure inside the chamber and resting.
Unfortunately, there is no fix to over mushy, over-cooked rice. But that doesn’t mean you should throw it away! One of my favorite things to do with overcooked rice is to cook it some more and make cháo gà (Vietnamese chicken rice porridge/congee) with a side of Chinese donut (youtiao / dầu cháo quẩy).
Why do I have to rinse rice?
It’s important to rinse rice before cooking because it removes dirt and debris that you don’t want to eat. Another reason is to remove the excess starch on the grains of rice. The more starch in the rice cooker, the more potential that you can have sticky or mushy rice. Rinse the rice in a strainer under running water to remove all the extra starch and dirt–you can tell it’s ready when the water runs clear.
What is the difference between basmati and jasmine rice?
While both basmati and jasmine rice are long-grain rice varieties, they still have different textures and constituencies. Basmati rice is longer in shape than jasmine rice, and has separate, non-sticky grains of rice when cooked, and is great for making rice pilaf or with butter chicken recipe (Indian murgh makhani). When jasmine rice is cooked, it still sticks together in clumps, which makes it perfect for eating with chopsticks. If you want an easy, buttery seasoned rice option for jasmine rice, check out my recipe here.
Instant Pot Basmati Rice
Ingredients
- 200 g (1 c) white basmati rice
- 10 fl oz (1 ¼ c) filtered water plus more for rinsing
- ½ fl oz (1 tbsp) extra virgin olive oil
- 3 g (½ tsp) kosher salt
Equipment Used
- Strainer
- weighted scale (or dry and liquid measuring cups)
Instructions
- Use a dry measuring cup (or kitchen scale) to measure the white basmati rice. Place the rice in a strainer and rinse it under running water. Use your hands to move the grains around gently and continue to rinse until the water runs clear.
- Transfer the white basmati rice into the Instant Pot and add extra virgin olive oil and salt. Mix with a spoon until coated evenly.
- Add the filtered water and even out the rice grains.
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot and rotate to lock it in place.
- Set the Instant Pot to manual mode, high pressure for 5 minutes, and turn off the warming option.
- When it's done cooking, the pressure cooker will beep, then start a timer for 10 minutes to let some pressure release naturally. After 10 minutes, release any extra built-up pressure that hasn’t been released naturally. It's important to remove the rice chamber from the Instant Pot after releasing the pressure so that it doesn't dry out.
- Slide open the lid and use a rice paddle to gently fluff up the rice. Serve immediately.
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