There are so many sites on the net giving you instructions on how to prepare various dishes but very few out there teaching you how to cook rice. The simplest& fastest method to cook rice is by using the pressure cooker. It is advisable to cook using a vessel inside the cooker.
1 cup of rice is more than enough for an adult.
1 cup normally refers to 200 ml of rice.
Normally 1 cups rice needs 2 & 1/2 – 3 cups of water.
The ratio of rice : water varies with the kind of rice used and the nature of the dish.
1 cup Basmati Rice – 2 cups water
1 cup Raw rice – 3 cups water.
I have used the ponni raw rice variety which requires 3 cups of water.
I have given step by step instructions with pictures for the beginners to understand.
Step 1
Add water in the cooker ( little less than 1/4 of the cooker capacity). Place the plate given along with the cooker in it .(See Pic)
Step 2
Wash rice well. Add needed water and keep
the vessel with rice & water inside the cooker. (See Pic)
Step 3
Fit the rubber gasket properly inside the lid of the cooker as show in the picture.
Step 4
Close the cooker till it fits properly and locks firmly and place it on the stove to cook.
Step 5
Wait for sometime. When steam starts escaping through the vent, put the weight given along with the cooker. (See Pic)
Step 6
Wait for 3 whistles (Steam is released from the vent which is closed with the weight with a sound) and switch off the gas.
Do not open the cooker immediately.Wait for the pressure to go down. ( which takes about 10-15 minutes )
Step 7
Open the cooker and your rice is ready.
How to cook rice in a pressure pan ? Same as above.
This blog is going to make my grad student days abroad so much easier!
Thanks a lot.
PS: your son pointed me over here in response to an SOS I sent out on twitter.
Lovely step-by-step! Would love to share your photo on Facebook (with a link back here) if I can! Can you clarify on your instructions about whether one should use the recommended water ratio for the rice, or subtract one cup?
You noted that the ratio is 2:1 but you used 3:1 rice.
Thanks,
L
Dear Laura
The ratio of rice is to water depends on the quality of rice used.
For basmati rice – the ratio is
1 cup rice – 2 cups water
For raw rice – the ratio is
1 cup rice – 3 cups water .
If the rice is newly harvested rice, you must reduce the water .
If the rice is old , then increase the quantity of water a little .
In India we get many varieties of rice
This is awesome. Today even Mothers are not teaching their daughters cooking. so what happens when they get married their husbands like me who loves food so much has to search internet .Let our next generation may be well versed with cooking.Thanks a lot
why mothers should teach only their daughters
They sud teach sons also.
men should learn cooking too, and most importantly help the wife in the kitchen, and not just sit and eat
To Help parents and siblings must learn
HI,
I dont have pressure cooker with me. I know how to cook in pressure cooker that too on on LPG (in India). Here I have induction heater (electric heater) at my apartment. They have given me few vessels in which i tried cooking rice & dal. But dish is turning out to be disaster. Can you please give me tips how do i cook rice & dal without cooker..i.e only in vessels.
Thanks for help in advance!!
Dear Swapnil
Sorry for the delay in replying to you.I had connectivity problem.Ok Coming to your question-
You can cook rice without pressure cooker.You can check out my post on how to cook basmati rice
http://www.padhuskitchen.com/2012/04/how-to-cook-basmati-rice.html
You can cook moong dal without pressure cooker but it is difficult to cook tur dal without cooker.Just cook moong dal in a pot of water till soft. You can make a variety of dals using moong dal.You can find dal recipes in the link below-
http://www.padhuskitchen.com/2010/09/side-dish-for-chapatiroti-veg-side-dish.html
Hope this helps.Happy cooking!
Amazing Blog:)!!!
How about the gas? Should we keep it on high or medium when all the 3 whistles come?
Gas should be kept in medium. After 3 whistles, switch off the gas.
Hey Padhu,
I stumbled upon your blog when researching on how to make arisi upma. Now that I see the width that your blog covers (and the "Bachelor cooking" part, especially), my days as a grad student in the US are gonna be so much easier! Thank you for that!
Hi, it is 3 cups for 1 cup of raw rice in the bowl which is placed on the trivet + little less than 1/4 of the cooker capacity right. So will it not over cooked with 3 cups of water and this water in the cooker. Please help thanks
It depends on the quality of rice.New rice need less water and old rice needs 3 cups of water , sometimes even more.You have to learn by trial and error .Method of cooking rice is given clearly
The setup that you chose includes two vessels. How to cook rice if i only have a pressure cooker? What are the benefits of keeping an extra vessel inside a pressure cooker?
Dear Santak
For a beginner it is safe to use two vessels (one is the cooker and the other is the stainless steel vessel).You can cook directly in the cooker but should be very careful as there are chance of the rice getting burnt. The benefits of keeping an extra vessel inside the cooker is you can be 100% sure that the rice will not get burnt.Since you have only pressure cooker, I suggest that you cook for 1 whistle and keep it low flame for another 5 minutes .I have cooked my vegetable pulao using only a pressure cooker.Refer Vegetable Pulao
Hope this helps
how do i cook brown rice in pressure cooker..?
I have a separate post on cooking brown rice. Kindly refer that
How to cook brown rice
Also refer the page "cooking basics" at the top of the website. You will find many cooking basics in that page.
Hi,
I need to know what the ratio of water if we cook biriyani with jerragasamba rice
The quantity of water differs with each rice variety. Every time I buy rice (even the same variety) -First day, I try cooking it by adding less water. Try adding 2 cups of water for 1 cup of jeeragasamba rice. If you find the rice is not soft, add 2 1/2 cups the next day. If the rice is still hard after adding 2 1/2 cups of water, try adding 3 cups of water. If you find it mushy, reduce the quantity of water. You have to find the correct measurement by trial and error.Hope I made it clear.
Hi
I am using induction stove. Pls tel me what level of temperature should i maintain?
Thanks in advance
Hi
Shouldn't i keep the rice directly in the cooker. Why is it kept in a separate vessel??
Thanks
Hi Arthi
Your question is already answered. Santak dalai has asked the same question. Kindly read the answer above.You can cook the rice directly in the cooker.
Hi Padhu,
I was wondering if you could cook brown rice this way in a Hawkins cooker. I do not have a prestige cooker and would like to use Hawkins instead of rice cooker, do you know if it's safe to place stainless stellar vessel inside Hawkins?
Lakshmi -Most of the cookers are the same, so I think you can cook rice in the same way. You must have got separators with the cooker,isn't it. You can cook rice in that also. But see to it that you add enough water inside the cooker. My brand is prestige.
when my wife goes her parents' house during festivals i follow your instructions to cook for me. sometimes i succeed sometimes not. anyhow i find your lessons very helpful.
i now want to learn cake, pastry and various kinds of cookies making. do you provide training on those items.
i need it to set up my business. remember i am 47 years old.
Kewal Singh ([email protected])
There are two reasons people in India people in India keep another vessel inside the pressure cooker. The first is this allows two things such as Dal and rice to be cooked a the same time. The other one is because India pressure cookers do not have a thick conducting bottom i.e. they are not of very good quality. If you buy a pressure cooker in the US you can directly put anything you want in the pressure cooker. Of course you have to ensure that there is enough water.
hi , why do u keep vessel inside the cooker instead of which you can directly keep the rice in the cooker itself . Why do you do so?
Sandal dalai has asked me the same question and I have answered it. You can cook directly in the cooker also but take care that you add enough water otherwise the rice will get burnt.
Padhuskitchen is best useful blog I have ever seen at internet 🙂
So my brown rice didnt cook well even after three whistles n being soakedbproperly had to put it to three whistles more n it ended up with a porridgey consistency. So does that mean i have low quality brown rice? Pls suggest how to buy brown rice
After 3 whistles you can simmer for 10 minutes and then switch off the heat. I eat only brown rice everyday. With different brand, the water measurement changes a little and I find out the correct quantity of water by trial and error. Mostly I add 3 cups of water for 1 cup of brown rice. Some brands require only 2 1/2- 2 3/4 cup of water.So experiment and find out the right quantity of water. If you are cooking with a stainless steel vessel inside the cooker 3 or 4 whistles are enough, then simmer for 10 minutes and switch it off. Open once the pressure subsides. You will get soft and chewy brown rice.
Simmer means keep in low flame?
Yes, you are right.
Hi… I have become a fan if yours… your recipes are the very descriptive n hence easy to follow n try… my basmati rice always get over cooked or undercooked… please could help..
Thank you so much Lakshmi for liking my recipes. It is best to cook basmati rice in a pan with lid. Check out my detailed post on How to cook Basmati Rice
my cooker does not whistle even after ten minutes. what should be the timing
May be you should change your gasket. If it is loose, the cooker will not whistle or will take a long time to whistle. If you cook rice directly inside the cooker, you must see to it that you do not burn the rice. I cannot tell you the exact time as it differs according to the capacity of the cooker.
Hi padhu, this is smthn i learnt from my mom.. 1:2 measure. Let the pressure build n turn off the gas once if the cooker starts whistling. Soft separate grains n nothing sticks to the cooker. We use raw rice always and this method saves fuel too. Just my input for saving lpg.
Hi Padhu, Thanks for this wonderful page.. Do you publish books? Where can I find them?
Thank you for liking my website. I have not published any books so far.
Hi Padhu! I have just recently discovered your web page. I would like to thank you for all the effort. I enjoy cooking and I was looking for vegetarian Indian recipes. I have found your webpage really useful. All the recipes are really well explained and the idea of the beginners recipes it is just brilliant! Many thanks, because now I can get confidence with the easy recipes and later on try to go for the less easy ones! Please keep posting recipes!
thanks padhu .you saved my cooking gas.
Hi padhu
Can u tell me the water quantity for 1cup boiled rice.
Megha – 1 cups rice needs approximately 2 1/2 – 3 cups of water. If the rice is new, add 2 1/2 cups of water (the shop keeper will tell you if the rice is newly harvested or old rice). For old rice you need 3 cups of water. You have to find out the correct quantity of water by trial and error as it differs according to the variety of rice. I have given only approximate measure.
Hi I am having 2 litre pressure cooker prestige. How to cook in that. Is it possible to cook rice varieties and days in that. (Little quantity).
Yes, you can cook but very less quantity.
I dont have plate to be placed in cooker.Can I directly keep vessel inside cooker
Yes, you can but will shake and make noise. You can keep some other small plate also. You also get that cooker plate in the market separately.
Water in the cooker enters the vessel with rice and water…I tried making baby porridge…should I close the vessel with lid? I didn't place plate below the vessel as I don't have one with holes…
Yes you should close the vessel and place the perforated plate below. Otherwise the vessel will keep on shaking and water will go inside. You will get it separately in all shops which sell vessels.
Wife gone to mayka . Thanks for recipe
On a stainless steel pressure cooker, can i make rice and rice variety directly . without a vessel? Will the bottom burn out, kindly tell, .I do in aluminium cooker, but in stainless steel is it possible,?
Yes, there is a possibility of food getting burnt For the first time, you check the time instead of counting the whistle.
We should drain soaking water for brown rice
Not necessary. Soak only in needed hot water and then cook with the water.
Hi padhu, I have a hygiene related question. We wash rice before cooking it, right? Is it advisable to use drinking water for washing also? I want to know what is the practice in most households. My mother used tap water only.
I too use only tap water for washing as the water here is good. If water is chlorinated, use drinking water.
Hii, I tried to cook rice in pressure cooker, after taking the rice from the vessel I have noticed some water storing in the last layer of the vessel. Only the top layers of rice are good but the down part became watery. How can I solve this?
Cook for few more minutes on low heat.
Thankyou for addressing this… cooking rice seems simple but isnt.. I always have either water from the pressure cooker getting into rice container or the rice spilling out of the container into the pressure cooker. How can one fix this ?
If the rice is spilling out of the container, you must use a bigger container. The container is just not enough for the rice to expand and cook.
If water from the pressure cooker gets into the rice, add a little less water in the cooker and cover the rice vessel with a lid. You can check my video also
https://youtu.be/_vXpXTes3uI
Can we cook rice without the container?
I mean directly in the cooker without extra container
Yes, you can but I personally do not prefer it as it dries and becomes cold faster.