Ney Choru with Kaima Rice
By Swasthi on September 1, 2022, Comments, Jump to Recipe
Kerala ney choru recipe – Learn how to make Malabar nei choru recipe using Jeerakasala rice. Ney choru translates to ghee rice & is one of the classic dishes from Kerala cuisine. It is very much popular and is mostly served with chicken curry or mutton curry and even with Kerala egg roast. It is the Jeerakasala rice, a small grain fragrant rice that makes Malabar ney choru special – aromatic and delicious.

About Nei Choru
Ney choru is a traditional Kerala rice dish made with kaima rice (jeerakasala rice), whole spices, ghee, nuts, raisins and onions.
Jeerakasala rice also known as kaima rice is widely used in Malabar region to make ghee rice and biryani. This short grain rice has a unique aroma and is a quick cook rice that gets cooked in a short time. If you do not have Jeerakasala rice, you can also make this using any other rice variety.
In the past, I had shared a ghee rice recipe using basmati rice, the one commonly found in South Indian restaurants. Today’s recipe yields nei choru that is slightly different in terms of aroma & taste since the rice and spices used are different.
If you are a vegetarian then you can try this rice recipe with kadala curry, any paneer gravy or mushroom gravy.

How to make Ney Choru
1. Bring 2 ½ cups water to a boil in a pot. On another stove/burner, heat 3 to 4 tablespoons ghee in a pot or cooker. Fry ¼ to ½ cup split cashews until slightly golden.
2. Add ¼ cup raisins and saute until they turn plump. Remove the fried cashews and raisins to a plate and set aside.

3. Add ½ cup sliced onions and fry until golden, stirring often to light brown them evenly. Do not over fry else they burn and taste bitter. Remove them to the plate and keep aside. Pour back as much ghee as possible to the pot or pan (from the onions).

4. To the same pan, add 1 star anise, ½ teaspoon saunf (fennel seeds), 1 bay leaf, 2 inch cinnamon, 3 to 4 cardamom and 3 to 4 cloves.

5. Add ¼ cup sliced onions and saute until golden.

6. Add ¾ teaspoon ginger garlic paste and saute just for 1 minute, until aromatic but not burnt.

7. Add 1 ½ cups rinsed and drained kaima rice. This rice doesn’t need any soaking.

8. Saute for about 2 mins stirring evenly. Add ¼ to ½ teaspoon salt.

9. Pour boiling water.

10. Stir and taste test. The water should taste slightly salty. If needed add more. Regulate the flame to medium.
11. Cover and cook until the water is absorbed. I used pressure cooker lid to cover. It doesn’t whistle since the water will be absorbed very soon. It takes about 5 to 8 mins for the rice to be done depending on the kind of pot/ pan used.

13. Open the lid and fluff up the rice and check if the rice is done. If the rice is still under cooked sprinkle little warm water and mix. Switch off the stove. Cover again and rest for 5 mins.

14. Garnish nei choru with cashews and raisins. Serve nei choru with chicken curry, mutton curry, kadala curry or any vegetable gravy.


Related Recipes
Recipe card

Ney Choru | Nei Choru
For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card
Ingredients (US cup = 240ml )
- 1 ½ cups rice (Jeerakasala / kaima or basmati)
- 2 ½ cups water hot (use more if using different rice)
- ¼ cup ghee (can reduce to 3 tbsps)
- ½ cup onions sliced for garnish
- ¼ cup onions sliced , for rice
- ¾ tsp ginger paste (for flavour)
- ¼ to ½ cup cashews
- ¼ cup raisins
- 1 star anise / biryani flower
- ½ tsp saunf / fennel seeds
- 1 bay leaf / tej patta
- 4 cloves / laung
- 2 inch cinnamon sticks
- Salt as needed
- Green chilies slit (optional)
Instructions
Preparation
- Wash rice a few times and drain. If using jeerakasala rice, soaking is not needed. If using basmati soak it for about 30 mins. Drain completely.
- Make a paste of ginger and if desired you can also crush green chili along with it. Slice the onions.
- Bring 2 ½ cups water to a boil. Meanwhile carry on with the next steps.
- Heat ghee and fry the cashews. When they are about to be golden, add raisins and saute until they swell up. Remove them to a plate.
- In the same pan, fry onions stirring continuously until golden. Transfer these as well to a plate. Fried onions, cashews and raisins are for garnish.
How to make ney choru
- In the same pot or pan, add the spices and saute until they turn fragrant. Take care not to burn.
- Add onions and fry until golden.
- Add ginger paste and saute just for a while.
- Add drained rice and fry for 2 to 3 mins on a medium flame. Be gentle while stirring else the rice the break.
- Add salt and pour the hot water.
- Stir gently and check salt. If needed add more.
- Regulate the flame to medium.
- Cover and cook until all the water is absorbed. It takes about 5 to 8 mins depending on the kind of pot used.
- When the water is absorbed completely fluff up the rice. If the rice is under cooked, sprinkle some water and cook.
- Switch off and keep the rice covered for another 5 mins.
- Garnish ney choru with fried onions, cashews and raisins.
Alternative quantities provided in the recipe card are for 1x only, original recipe.
For best results follow my detailed step-by-step photo instructions and tips above the recipe card.
Video
NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)
© Swasthi’s Recipes
Nei Choru recipe is from the Archives. First published in February 2017. Updated and republished in August 2021.

About Swasthi
I’m Swasthi Shreekanth, the recipe developer, food photographer & food writer behind Swasthi’s 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. More about me
Follow Swasthi’s Recipes
Comments
HI swasthi,
Can this recipe be also made in insta pot?
I am thinking the water to rice ratio will be increased by 1.5 cups owing to the cook pot taking up water to steam up the rice as well? Please let me know your thoughts!
Thanks
devi
Hi Devi,
Yes it can be made in IP. I have the instructions for ghee rice in IP here. Kaima rice will need about 2 cups water for the above recipe with 4 mins pressure cook (low pressure). If using basmati rice, pls follow the link mentioned above. Hope this helps.
Hi Ms. Swasthi,
I made Ney Chor yesterday and it was out of the world. Thanks for sharing the recipe and please continue to give people like me your awesome recipes.
Thanks Again!!!
Stay Safe Stay Healthy
Ram
Than
Hi,
You are welcome! Glad it turned out good. Sure will keep sharing.
Thanks for leaving a comment
Swasthi’s recipes always turn out perfectly. The measurements are so accurate that you just have to follow the recipe without any worries. Till date Swasthis Recipes has never ever disappointed. Thanks for bringing so much joy to my dinner table.
Welcome Vandana
So glad to know! Thank you so much!
🙂
Hi Swasthi,
My mouth was watering as I was going through the recipe and it turned out to be delicious. My husband and my mom loved it. Thank you for the wonderful recipe.
Welcome Meghna,
Glad you all loved the ney choru. Thanks for rating the recipe.
🙂
Hi swasthi,
Tried this recipe today and it turned fabulous…thanks for sharing such wonderful recipes….
Welcome Sunitha,
Glad you liked it.
🙂
Hi…when you say add hot water to.cook the rice, should it be boiling hot water.
Also is it ok to add water at room temperature?
Thanks
Nisha
Welcome Nisha
The water must be boiling hot. I have mentioned bring water to a boil. If the water is not hot, it will affect the texture of the rice
Hi Swasthi. Great recipes on your blog. Made so many of them. Can you please tell me for this ghee rice recipe with jeeera rice, what should be the rice to water ratio?
Hi sabeena
Thanks for trying. I hope you are asking about seeraga samba rice. Usually it takes about 1½ to 1¾ cups water for every 1 cup rice. Aged rice absorbs more water. Rice from recent harvest doesn’t need much. So you will have to experiment. Hope this helps
Hi Swasthi,
Is kaima rice same as seeraga samba rice?
Hi Bhuvana
No! Both are different. Kaima rice is jeerakasala rice and is much smaller and fragrant than seeraga samba rice. Kaima is from Kerala, Wayanad and seeraga samba is from Tamilnadu
Hi , I love your vegetarian recipes .But everytime I try to pin the recipe I like I get a response that I cannot pin a recipe and I have been blocked by the pinner ..Kindly let me know.
Hi Tejashree
I am so sorry about it. I have been trying to find why this is happening. I am not active on pinterest, so no chance of me blocking anyone. I am trying to figure out if there is something wrong with my plugins. I tried to follow the pintrest help to find if I can unblock. But i dont see that option. I have followed you, hope I will be able to resolve this. If would be great if you can send me a screen shot of that to contact (at) indianhealthyrecipes.com