A pot of freshly-cooked Basmati rice is one of the best things you can sit down to, but no one really likes the whole cooking process. In this article you will know the best way to cook instant pot basmati rice using a pressure cooker. Even though making rice seems pretty basic, it’s actually quite tricky if you’ve ever tried to make it at home. It’s no wonder that there are so many YouTube channels and blogs dedicated to making the “perfect” rice!
While there is something to be said about the basic and reliable rice cooker, if you want to step up your rice-cooking game, you should get an Instant Pot!
Why Use An Instant Pot To Make Basmati Rice?
Basmati rice is one of the more difficult types of rice to cook. If you don’t do it perfectly, you won’t get those light and fluffy grains that are characteristic of Basmati rice. In fact, it’s easy to end up with a pot of gluey and soggy grains.
While Basmati rice needs to be washed just like regular rice, the difference lies in the amount of water and length of cooking time used for Basmati rice. If you don’t want to go through the hassle of perfecting your rice cooking technique, an Instant Pot will do all the heavy lifting for you.
What is “Pressure Cooker” mode?
On an Instant Pot, pressure cooker mode is also known as “manual” mode. Generally, you use the “Rice” pre-programmed function for cooking short-grained rice varieties. However, this mode is not perfectly compatible with cooking Basmati rice because the timing is off.
Basmati rice will take around 8 minutes to cook, compared to short-grained white rice that will only take around 4-5 minutes to cook in an Instant Pot.
The Perfect Basmati Rice Recipe
The trick to making the perfect Basmati rice in an Instant Pot is by using the “Pressure Cooker” setting and by using a 1:1 ratio. For every 1 cup of Basmati rice, you need to add 1 cup of water to your Instant Pot.
If you are making a smaller amount of rice (say 1-2 cups only), it’s better to use the pot-in-pot method. Use the trivet that comes with your Instant Pot, and place the grains in a small, flat-bottomed metal bowl. Place water in both the Instant Pot inner pot and the small metal bowl before cooking. However, if you’re making rice for a large group of people, you can cook the grains directly in the inner pot.
Make sure that you don’t fill past the half-way mark in the inner pot.
Close the lid and the seal, and select the “Manual” option. Set the time to 8 minutes.
After 8 minutes, allow the pressure to release gradually and naturally. Once the float valve has dropped down, open the lid.
Take a fork, fluff up the rice, and serve!
Conclusion
An Instant Pot is one of the best investments you can make in your kitchen. Not only does it allow you to make rice perfectly every time, you can also make a range of other dishes! Try baking your own bread, making yogurt from scratch, or cooking a whole pot of stew; the possibilities are endless. Learn more rice recipes here!