Name: Stove Top Pilau Rice
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 27 min
Ingredients: 150 grams basmati rice; 2 teaspoons vegetable oil; 1 small onion (finely chopped); 1/4 teaspoon cumin powder; 1 teaspoon turmeric; Pinch sea salt; 2 whole cloves; 1 green cardamom pod (crushed); 1 tej patta bay leaf; 1/4 cinnamon stick; 225 ml water

This Indian restaurant style stove top pilau rice recipe delivers perfect results every time!

Pilau rice is a colourful Indian restaurant side dish, made with aromatic spices. Fragrant and delicious, it’s easy to infuse the spices and rice together in a pot on the stove top over a low heat to cook to perfection. This also leaves time to organise your favourite curry dishes to eat alongside your cooked rice.

Ingredients For Pilau Rice

Basmati Rice: Excess starch rinsed off. I like Biona Himalayan Basmati Rice.
Spices: Cumin, Turmeric, Cloves, Cardamom, Bay Leaf, Cinnamon Stick
Other Ingredients: Vegetable Oil, Onion, Water

How To Make Stove Top Pilau Rice

One of the most important steps in cooking perfect pilau rice is making sure the rice is rinsed of any excess starch. With the rice properly rinsed it’s sure to come out fluffy and delicious, so it’s worth taking the time to do this.

Step 1: Rinse

Wash the basmati rice two or three times in fresh water until the water runs clear. Drain thoroughly and set aside.

Step 2: Fry

Heat the oil in a pot over a medium heat. Fry the chopped onion until soft (around 3 minutes). Add the cumin, turmeric, salt, cloves, cardamom, bay leaf and cinnamon and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the washed and drained rice and stir well until the rice is evenly coated with the oil and spices.

Step 3: Cook

Cover with 225ml fresh water. Bring to the boil, cover with a tight fitting lid and reduce the heat to the lowest possible available. Cook for 12 minutes. Remove from the stove top but keep the lid on and let the rice rest for another 10 minutes. Mix well to fluff up the rice and serve alongside your favourite curry dishes.

I hope you’ll try this Indian restaurant style stove top pilau rice recipe. If you do, let me know in the comments how it went!

Stove Top Pilau Rice

Prep Time

5 mins

Cook Time

12 mins

Resting Time

10 mins

Total Time

27 mins

Perfectly fluffy and fragrant Indian restaurant style pilau rice!

Course: Side Dish, Accompaniment

Cuisine: Indian, Indian Restaurant, British Indian, Scottish Indian, Indian Takeaway

Keyword: stove top

Servings: 1 portion

Ingredients

150 grams basmati rice
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 small onion finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon turmeric
Pinch sea salt
2 whole cloves
1 green cardamom pod crushed
1 tej patta bay leaf
1/4 cinnamon stick
225 ml water

Instructions

Rinse the basmati rice two or three times in fresh water until the water runs clear. Drain thoroughly and set aside.
Heat the oil in a pot over a medium heat. Fry the chopped onion until soft (around 3 minutes). Add the cumin, turmeric, salt, cloves, cardamom, bay leaf and cinnamon and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the washed and drained rice and stir well until the rice is evenly coated with the oil and spices.
Cover with 225ml fresh water. Bring to the boil, cover with a tight fitting lid and reduce the heat to the lowest possible available. Cook for 12 minutes. Remove from the stove top but keep the lid on and let the rice rest for another 10 minutes. Mix well once more to fluff up the rice and serve alongside your favourite curry dishes.

Do you like this stove top pilau rice recipe? If so, buying a copy of my book might appeal to you! In The Indian Takeaway Secret you can find a host of restaurant style recipes that you can make at home. You’ll learn how to make chicken pakora, paratha, madras curry and more! You can buy The Indian Takeaway Secret in paperback or kindle form here.