How to Make Basmati Rice in Instant Pot?

A Common Mistake When Making Instant Pot Basmati Rice

I prefer Basmati rice over all other white rice. Its long grains, its nutty flavor,
and its propensity to absorb and blend with sauces set it apart from other rice
varieties.

But cooking Basmati rice in an Instant Pot raises its own set of
challenges. For one, most of the instructions on the Internet or on the Basmati
packages are wrong when cooking Basmati rice in an Instant Pot.

A major mistake I find people making is using the instructions for white rice (including attempting to use the “Rice” function on the Instant Pot). They make a wholly unsatisfactory batch of almost inedible rice and then wonder if they’ve made a mistake buying that wonderful kitchen tool, the Instant Pot.

You Must Soak the Rice First

It needn’t be so complicated. If you look at various Basmati packages,
occasionally you’ll see a suggestion to “Soak the rice for 10-15 minutes.” That’s
a very important step, and in my way of thinking, not a suggestion at all. To
make perfect Basmati rice, you must first soak the rice.

The challenge, naturally, is how to accomplish that in an Instant Pot?

There is a novel and unique way of doing this: Use the Instant Pot’s built-in
“Delay Start” function to delay the cooking cycle and create your own “soaking” cycle!

Here is the procedure:

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Perfect Instant Pot Basmati Rice

Yield: 1 cup

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

No more burnt, uncooked, or mushy Indian basmati rice. Make Perfect Instant Pot Basmati Rice in 20 mins!

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Ingredients

• Rice
• Water
• Instant Pot

Instructions

1. Measure out the required amount of Basmati rice (1 cup, for starters). Pour that rice into a strainer and rinse it thoroughly under running cool water. Use your fingers to rub the grains together to remove excess starch.

2. Pour the wet rice into the Instant Pot’s liner. Add the required amount of water (1½ cups, for starters). Make sure that all the rice is submerged and there are no grains left sticking to the liner’s walls. Place the liner in the Instant Pot.

3. Close and lock the lid. Set the vent to “Sealing.”

4. Select “Pressure Cook,” High pressure, 4 minutes.

5. Immediately select the “Delay Start” function and use the +/- keys to set the time to 10 minutes.

6. Sit back and wait.

7. When the Instant Pot initially beeps, the delay period kicks in and the timer begins to count down. When the display shows “On,” the cooking cycle begins.

8. When the cooking cycle is completed, wait until the display shows “L0010.”

9. Select “Cancel.”

10. Carefully open the vent and release any residual pressure and steam.

11. When the pressure indicator pin drops down, carefully remove the lid.

12. Remove the cooked Basmati rice to a serving bowl.

13. Congratulations! You’ve done it!!!

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 1 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 205Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 11mgCarbohydrates: 45gFiber: 1gSugar: 0gProtein: 4g

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?

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This Table of Instant Pot Rice Cookery gives me the mouthfeel that I crave.

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