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Ghee rice recipe | How to make ghee rice

By swasthi , on August 19, 2019, 79 Comments

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Ghee rice recipe is one of the most simplest one pot aromatic rice dishes that can be prepared in a jiffy. It is best served with a gravy side dish like kurma, Chicken gravy or Egg curry. Ghee rice is quite a popular South Indian food that is mostly prepared for a special meal. It is often served in restaurants with a kurma curry or chicken curry or any egg or non-veg gravy.

ghee rice

Ghee rice is mildly flavored with desi ghee, basic spices like cardamom, bay leaf, cinnamon and cloves.

The flavor of the fresh desi ghee is unique and totally elevates the flavor of the dish. Do not try this recipe with oil.

Ghee rice is made all over South India with slight variations. It is found on restaurant menus, wedding menus and even made in many homes for a weekend meal.

In this post, I am sharing 2 ghee rice recipes. In the first method, the rice is cooked in ghee with spices. Second method calls for seasoning the spices in ghee and adding the steamed rice like the fried rice.

I often follow the second recipe for kids meal, ideally for dinner. A simple veggie salad is always good with that and makes the meal complete.

More one pot rice recipes
Veg pulao
Tomato Rice
Lemon Rice

Tips to make the best ghee rice

  1. Use good quality ghee that has a nice aroma. It is the good quality ghee that brings a unique aroma to the rice. If possible use desi cow’s ghee or at least puree ghee. Avoid using oil.
  2. Always rinse the rice well a few times before making ghee rice. This helps to get rid of the excess starch and prevents the rise from turning mushy.
  3. Soaking rice for at least 30 mins before cooking helps the rice to expand well & cook up to fluffy grains.
  4. Different regions use different kinds of rice to make ghee rice. I make it using aged basmati rice. You can use any other rice of your choice.
  5. Frying rice in ghee for 3 to 5 mins is another key step to make perfect ghee rice.

You can serve this ghee rice
veg kurma
potato kurma
soya chunks kurma
egg kurma
chicken kurma

Ghee rice recipe

ghee rice recipe

Ghee rice recipe | How to make ghee rice

Ghee rice is a one pot rice dish made with ghee, rice, spices & nuts. It is one of the most basic flavored rice recipe served with kurma or any curry. 
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time20 minutes
Servings3
AuthorSwasthi

Ingredients (1 cup = 240ml )

Ingredients for ghee rice

  • 1½ cups basmati rice
  • 3 tablespoons ghee or clarified butter
  • 1 medium onion thinly sliced (optional)
  • 2½ cups water (use more if using normal rice)
  • 2 green chilies slit
  • Salt as needed
  • 14 cashewnuts or kaju
  • 14 raisins

Whole spices

  • 2 inch cinnamon or dalchini
  • 6 cloves or laung
  • 4 green cardamoms or elaichi
  • 1 strand mace or javitri
  • 1 star anise or chakri phool
  • 1 bay leaf or tej patta

How to make the recipe

Preparation for ghee rice

  • Wash 1½ cups rice until the water runs clear.
  • Soak it for at least 20 to 30 minutes. Drain and set aside. 
  • While the rice soaks, slice 1 medium onion thinly & slit 2 green chilies.
  • Heat a pressure cooker or a pan with 2 tablespoons of ghee.
  • Fry 14 cashews till lightly golden, add 14 raisins and stir up.
  • When they turn plump set them aside in a plate.
  • To the same pan, add onions. You can also skip onions. 
  • Fry them till golden to make the fried onions / barista.
  • These onions are used for garnishing and they add flavor to the rice.

How to make ghee rice

  • Pour 1 tablespoon more ghee to the pan.
  • Add in 1 bay leaf, 1 star anise, 4 to 6 cloves, small cinnamon stick and a strand of mace.
  • Fry for a min until aromatic.
  • Next put in 2 sliced green chilis and fry for a min. 
  • Add drained rice & fry on a medium flame for about 3 to 4 minutes. Stir to prevent burning .
  • Pour 2½ cups water and salt as needed.
  • You may need to add more or less water depending on the rice.
  • Taste the water and check the salt. If needed add more.
  • Cook the rice till fully done. If making in a pressure cooker allow the cooker to whistle once on a medium flame if using basmati rice. If using normal rice, cook on a medium flame for 1 whistle.
  • When the pressure releases, gently fluff up the rice with a fork. 
  • Transfer ghee rice to a serving bowl or plate. 
  • Garnish with raisins, cashews, fried onions and coriander leaves.
  • Serve ghee rice with any gravy like kurma, curry or even with egg roast. You can also eat it plain.

Video

NUTRITION

Calories: 542kcal | Carbohydrates: 85g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 38mg | Sodium: 519mg | Potassium: 236mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin C: 6.8mg | Calcium: 51mg | Iron: 1.6mg

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METHOD 1

Preparation

1. Wash and soak rice for 20 minutes.

2. Add ghee to a cooker or a pot. Next add cashews and fry till lightly golden. Also add raisins. When they plump up, keep them aside. We need them for garnishing.

frying nuts & raisins in ghee

3. Transfer onions to the same pan, fry till evenly golden or light brown. We need them for garnishing as well they add flavor to the rice.

frying onions for ghee rice

How to make ghee rice

4. To the same pan, add little more ghee. Add bay leaf, 1 star anise, 4 to 6 cloves, small cinnamon stick and a strand of mace. Fry for a min. Then add 2 sliced green chilis and fry for a min.

frying spices for ghee rice

5. Next add drained rice. Fry for about 3 to 4 minutes, stirring evenly and frying.

frying basmati rice
basmati rice with spices and ghee

6. Pour water and salt. On a medium heat cook the rice till done.

pouring water to make ghee rice

If making ghee rice in a pressure cooker,
Method 1:
Cook for 1 whistle on a high flame if using basmati rice. OR Cook for 1 whistle on a medium flame if using normal rice.

Method 2:
Cook until all the water has evaporated. The rice has to be still soggy, then cover the pressure cooker lid and cook for 5 to 7 mins on a low heat. Open the lid and fluff up.

pressure cooking ghee rice

Fluff up the ghee rice when the pressure goes down.

fluffy ghee rice

Garnish with raisins, cashews, fried onions and coriander leaves.

ghee rice recipe

Ghee rice recipe – Recipe 2

This is more like a fried rice, needs only pepper powder and no other spice is used. This makes a good lunch box dish for kids but without egg. I wonder if eggs keep good for so long in kids lunch box.

This can be made without egg or you can even use some of your favorite veggies like carrot, peas, capsicum and beans. I have grown up eating this more often during winters.

Pepper and curry leaves fried in ghee emits a great aroma & taste.

Most times I end up making this for my lunch. We don’t mind having it without any raita or gravy and just love to have it with grated carrot, sliced onions or cucumbers.

If you are a non-vegetarian then you can try this with a hot and spicy andhra chicken fry or a gravy like chicken chettinad or butter chicken.

Ingredients

½ cup basmathi rice
1 boiled egg (pierce it with a fork randomly) (optional)
fistful of cashews and raisins
2 tbsp ghee
10 pepper corns (coarsely crushed)
2 sprig curry leaves
1 green chili slit
1 to 2 garlic chopped
Salt to taste

frying cooked long grain rice with eggs

Method
1. Cook rice and cool it completely.
2. Heat a pan with ghee, fry cashews and raisins, set these aside to a plate
3. Add garlic, curry leaves, green chili and egg. fry till the leaves turn crisp
4. Next add coarsely crushed pepper powder and salt, saute
5. Add rice to the pan and mix well. fry for 2 minutes on high

6. Garnish with cashews and raisins just before serving.

ghee rice with eggs
Restaurant style ghee rice made with fragrant rice, spices, nuts and raisins. Serve it with any curry, kurma or dal. #gheerice #gheericerecipe

Filed Under: Andhra recipes, Egg recipes, Latest Recipes, Lunch box recipes, Recipes for kids, Rice Recipes, South Indian Recipes, vegetarian recipes

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About swasthi

I’m Swasthi shreekanth, the recipe developer, food photographer & food writer behind Swasthis recipes. My aim is to help you cook great Indian food with my time-tested recipes. After 2 decades of experience in practical Indian cooking I started this blog to help people cook better & more often at home. Whether you are a novice or an experienced cook I am sure Swasthi’s Recipes will assist you to enhance your cooking skills.
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Reader Interactions

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Comments

  1. Lukeman says

    January 8, 2016

    Thanks for the recipe,
    It taste good..

    Reply
    • swasthi says

      January 10, 2016

      welcome

      Reply
  2. Seena Rajsekar says

    January 7, 2016

    Mouthwatering recipes in very simple form which are easy to prepare.

    Reply
    • swasthi says

      January 10, 2016

      Thank you

      Reply
  3. suma says

    November 4, 2015

    4 stars
    Hi swathi I have seen the receipe for my kid. I will try let me see she will like. Thank u so much for the step by step method. It is very good to follow

    Reply
    • swasthi says

      November 5, 2015

      Welcome Suma
      yes try it. Thank you

      Reply
  4. Banu says

    October 24, 2015

    Hi…… can we add coconut milk instead of water…. r equal quantity of water n coconut milk

    Reply
    • swasthi says

      October 25, 2015

      Hi Banu, yes you can use thin coconut milk

      Reply
  5. maashi says

    October 15, 2015

    Super recipe

    Reply
    • swasthi says

      October 15, 2015

      Thanks

      Reply
  6. Sridevi says

    September 10, 2015

    All the recipes are very easy to follow & set by set pic are very useful and interesting to try. All the rice recipes for lunch box is great & my daughter is enjoying sharing with friends. Thanks

    Reply
    • swasthi says

      September 11, 2015

      Welcome Sridevi,
      I am so glad your daughter liked the lunch box foods. This really brings a smile on my face, pleasing kids is the most difficult task.
      Thanks for the feedback

      Reply
  7. S.H.Sheshu says

    August 27, 2015

    Pls let me know dumrot recipe

    Reply
    • swasthi says

      August 30, 2015

      You can try dumrot recipe / kasi halwa with the following measures
      4 cups grated ashgourd
      1 to 1 ¼ cup sugar
      ¼ cardamom powder
      ghee as needed
      Squeeze off little juice from ashgourd and fry it in ghee until the moisture completely evaporates. Then add sugar and continue to cook. Sugar begins to melt and the mixture turns gooey.Add cardamom powder. Cook until the moisture evaporates and turns slightly stringy., Heat more ghee and fry nuts. Pour to the halwa.

      Reply
  8. Ana says

    July 8, 2015

    5 stars
    Superb recipe

    Reply
    • swasthi says

      July 8, 2015

      Thanks

      Reply
  9. saumya says

    May 14, 2015

    5 stars
    Hi, thank you for this recipe actually I don’t know cooking but after seeing your recipes I tried and it came very nice so all my family members were happy .thank you so much.

    Reply
    • swasthi says

      May 14, 2015

      Hi Saumya,
      Iam glad to know that your family loved the food. Welcome.

      Reply
  10. Malathi says

    April 29, 2015

    Hi Swasthi ! Tried Ghee rice it came out very tasty! Tks all ur recipe look vy yummy! I am nt vy gud in baking Pl post a simple recipe fr me. Tks again

    Malathi
    Bangalore

    Reply
    • swasthi says

      April 29, 2015

      Thanks Malathi,
      Iam glad you liked it. i will surely post a easy baking recipe soon.

      Reply
  11. Keerthana says

    April 16, 2015

    Al d recipes was nice it’s vry easy to prepare

    Reply
  12. pruthweerani says

    March 23, 2015

    Hei m belonging to odisha…..ur recipie is realy good &osum .m husband loved it so mch…..

    Reply
    • swasthi says

      March 23, 2015

      Thank you Rani,
      Iam glad you all loved it
      🙂

      Reply
  13. Sasikalasathish says

    March 18, 2015

    5 stars
    Potato rice awesome… Thank u frnd…

    Reply
  14. Fairy says

    February 1, 2015

    5 stars
    Yay! Prepared the first version. Simple , easy n suppa yummy !
    Thank You Dearie.

    Reply
    • swasthi says

      February 1, 2015

      Welcome Fairy,
      Iam glad you like it. Have a wonderful day.
      🙂

      Reply
  15. Shalini says

    January 14, 2015

    5 stars
    I prepared this recipe today without egg (the first version). This recipe is so simple to prepare but it is very flavourful. Since from my childhood, i have never had such a wonderful ghee rice. I always had the normal ghee rice.

    Wishing you “Happy Makar Sankranti”

    Reply
    • swasthi says

      January 15, 2015

      Iam glad you liked the ghee rice.
      Thank you Shalini and wish you too a very Happy Sankranti.

      Reply
  16. yamuna balamurugan says

    December 19, 2014

    5 stars
    hi your recipe is really good and tempet me to cook soon after i close my laptop

    Reply
    • swasthi says

      December 19, 2014

      Hello Yamuna,
      🙂
      Thank you so much for the nice words. have a wonderful weekend.
      🙂

      Reply
      • Dhanya says

        January 20, 2017

        I have a doubt. If i keep in cooker for how many whistles should i keep it.

        Reply
        • swasthi says

          January 21, 2017

          Hi Danya
          There are different ways of cooking
          1 whistle on a high flame if using basmathi
          or
          1 whistle on a medium flame if using normal rice
          Second method. – Cook until the rice has absorbed all the water, cover the cooker and cook for 5 to 7 mins on a very low flame, no whistles in this case

          Reply
  17. Renu navin paliwal says

    July 18, 2012

    thats different!!

    Reply
  18. kitchen queen says

    July 17, 2012

    very delicious flavourful and simple rice.

    Reply
  19. sara's TASTY BUDS says

    July 17, 2012

    very tempting with egg.This recipe is different from usual ghee rice.<br /><br />sharanya

    Reply
  20. PT says

    July 17, 2012

    flavorful rice.. goes well with chicken curry..

    Reply
  21. Vimitha Anand says

    July 17, 2012

    Nice flavorful rice

    Reply
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