This easy to make basmati rice recipe with only 20 minutes of hands on time produces a delicious, herb flavored rice everyone will enjoy when it's served up for dinner. The Instant Pot ensures perfectly cooked, fluffy rice every time.
Prep Time 15 minutesminutes
Cook Time 6 minutesminutes
Pressurize and Depressurize Instant Pot 25 minutesminutes
Add the oil to heat. When oil is hot, add the onions and garlic and cook until softened, about 8-10 minutes. Add the rice and toast for an additional 3-4 minutes.
Add the vegetable broth. Place the lid on top and lock in place. Check that the pressure valve is closed. Set to cook for 6 minutes on high pressure.
When finished cooking, allow it to release the pressure naturally for 10 minutes.
Then carefully turn the pressure release valve to open and allow steam to escape. Then carefully remove the lid from the Instant Pot. Refer to the instructions for safely removing the lid.
Stir in parsley and tarragon and add salt and pepper to taste.
Stove Top Instructions
Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the garlic and onions and cook until softened. Add the rice and toast for an additional 3-4 minutes.
Add two cups of wateror vegetable broth to the saucepan, cover it with a lid, and turn the heat down to medium-low. Simmer the rice for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the pot sit covered for five minutes.
Fluff the cooked rice with a forkand add the parsley, tarragon, and salt and pepper to taste.
Notes
Toast your rice for the best results. It may feel like an extra step but it adds a little color to the rice and enhances its flavor, adding more depth to your rice side dish. In addition, toasting the rice also produces fluffy basmati rice.Only use natural pressure release for TEN minutes! The rice is still cooking as it sits. For me, ten minutes resulted in rice that was tender but not mushy. For firmer rice, you can reduce it to five minutes and for softer rice, you can let it depressurize on its own completely which is usually about 15 minutes.Use fresh tarragon!!! The flavor is far superior to that of the dried. But if dried is your only option, be sure to use only one teaspoon of dried tarragon in place of the fresh when making Instant Pot basmati rice.Stir in the fresh herbs at the end of the cooking time. This allows the flavor of the herbs to really shine through. The color of your rice will vary depending on the color of the broth you use. If you prefer a whiter rice dish, use water instead to cook the rice. Just keep in mind that cooking rice in veggie broth does add flavor.The brand of rice and its age make a difference as well as different brands of pressure cookers. You may need to do a few test runs to nail down any variations in timing.