Cooking rice is not supposed to feel like such a daunting task. Yet, sometimes even the best cooks struggle to get that perfect fluffy consistency. India is globally one of the leading producers of rice, ranking second in the world in terms of its consumption. From the deepest parts of the rural areas to the poshest parts of the big cities, Indians cook and consume rice every day.
Yet it almost seems like a complex artform to cook rice where all the grains stay separated and fluffy. One main reason behind that is a lot of people, especially in the urban parts of the country, do not prefer cooking rice the traditional way, which is on a pot with lots of water, because it is time-consuming.
They prefer quick and less complicated options like rice cooker, microwave, or pressure cooker. And that is where it becomes a bit of a challenge to get the right consistency and texture. When rice is cooked in a pot with lots of water, the excess water gets discarded, which helps wash away a lot of extra starch that otherwise gives the rice its sticky texture.
We share some great tips for you today for cooking rice in a pressure cooker while retaining its desired texture. But first, let’s take a look at the basic variations of rice as that will determine the amount of water for cooking it. There are numerous kinds of grain identified as rice.
Asian rice, also known as Oryza Sativa is the most common and extensively cultivated. Over 40,000 variations of rice are grown across the globe, out of which 6000 varieties are grown in India. Narrowing down that long list could get extremely complicated, so let’s just divide it into three categories based on the grain length: Long, Medium, and Short. The ratio for cooking long and short-grain is one cup of water to one cup of rice, and for medium-grain, the ratio of water should be double the amount of rice.
Tips for Cooking Perfect Rice in a Pressure Cooker
This method is probably the most tricky one because once you lock the lid in, you can’t open and check the consistency till the rice is cooked and the pressure is released from the cooker. So it is crucial to be precise with the measurements. Pressure cookers tend to give slightly different results even with the same brands and models, depending on the temperature, cooking time, and the number of whistles. So don’t be surprised if the first attempt doesn’t go as planned.
- With pressure cookers, the best tip is to use less water than usual. For example, if you are cooking basmati rice, where the ratio is one cup of water to one cup of rice, use two tablespoons less water.
- Secondly, always wait for the rice to come to a simmer on high heat before closing the lid and then finish cooking on medium-low heat.
- The third tip is that for long and short-grain rice, just one whistle is enough, and two for medium grain rice.
- The fourth important point to remember is to not use force in releasing the pressure. Once you turn off the heat, leave the cooker to cool down and let the pressure drop on its own.
- The final tip is to let the rice rest for at least 10 minutes before serving, which will help in allowing the extra moisture to evaporate giving you the perfect fluffy rice.
Since 1964, AMK brand has been in the rice business providing the finest and premium quality of their wide variety of rice to the masses in India and all over the world. Ponni rice, pongal rice, raw rice and much more. And they have numerous national and international certifications to their credit for maintaining high quality standards of their products.