To make ghee rice, wash and soak aged basmati or jeerakasala rice, fry whole spices and sliced onions in ghee, toast the drained rice in the same pan, then cook it in about 1.5 cups of water per cup of rice and rest it covered before fluffing. One to two tablespoons of ghee per cup of raw rice is a sensible starting point.
At a glance
- The Kerala State Biodiversity Board says jeerakasala and gandhakasala rices are mainly used for ghee rice, or neychoru, made for weddings and festivals.
- A Deakin University sensory study cooked jasmine rice at 1.125 to 2.25 parts water to 1 part rice and found no overall consumer preference, so the water ratio is a matter of texture.
- At USDA FoodData Central's 900 kcal per 100 g for ghee and ICMR-NIN's 15 g tablespoon, each tablespoon of ghee adds 135 kcal to the pot.
- ICMR-NIN advises limiting ghee or butter to 1 to 2 teaspoons a day, or 5 to 10 g on its 5 g teaspoon.
- The UK Food Standards Agency says leftover rice should be chilled quickly, ideally within one hour, kept in the fridge no more than one day and reheated only once.
Which rice is best for ghee rice?
Use aged basmati for long, separate grains, or a Kerala aromatic rice such as jeerakasala for traditional neychoru. The Kerala State Biodiversity Board says jeerakasala and gandhakasala are mainly used for ghee rice, or neichoru, prepared for marriages and festivals. It describes Wayanad jeerakasala as a scented, non-basmati rice with medium, slightly elongated grains.
Basmati is defined by length. The basmati standards published by APEDA set a minimum milled grain length of 6.61 mm and ask for cooked grains that are non-sticky and tender, tested on samples aged for three months. In a Punjab Agricultural University study of Basmati-386 paddy, five months of storage increased elongation and water absorption and reduced cooking time. That is one variety in one study, but it points the same way: for separate grains, buy aged basmati.
Why wash and soak the rice first?
Because both change texture. A 2024 laboratory study of lightly milled rice found that soaking improved water absorption and so reduced hardness, and that washing helped sensory quality. It used Chinese rice varieties, not basmati or jeerakasala, so take the direction from it rather than any number.
- Wash the rice, pouring off the cloudy water, until it runs nearly clear.
- Soak it in fresh water. Our starting point is 20 to 30 minutes for basmati; follow the packet if it says otherwise.
- Drain it well in a sieve before it goes into the hot ghee, and stir gently from then on to keep the grains whole.
How much water does ghee rice need in a pot or a pressure cooker?
Start with 1.5 cups of water per cup of soaked rice, in a pot or a pressure cooker, and adjust next time. There is no single correct ratio: in a Deakin University study of jasmine rice, more water changed firmness, stickiness and fluffiness, but 117 consumers showed no overall preference between ratios.
The 2020 study cooked aromatic white jasmine rice at 1.125, 1.5, 1.875 and 2.25 parts water to one part rice. A 12-member trained panel found aroma, firmness, chewiness, stickiness and fluffiness all shifted as the water went up. Frequent rice eaters split between preferring fluffy and sticky rice, and the 1.5:1 ratio was not dominated by any single attribute, which is why we start there. Jasmine is not basmati, so adjust:
- Grains hard in the centre: add a splash more water next time.
- Grains soft, split or clumping: use less water next time. For neychoru with separate grains, err towards less.
- Pressure cooker: same starting ratio; cook on medium heat to the first whistle, then let the pressure drop on its own.
How much ghee should you use per cup of rice?
One to two tablespoons per cup of raw rice. At ICMR-NIN's 15 g tablespoon and USDA FoodData Central's 900 kcal per 100 g for ghee, each tablespoon adds 135 kcal to the pot. If one cup of raw rice serves two, one tablespoon adds about 68 kcal per serving, before the rice, onions or nuts.
The table uses ICMR-NIN's household measures (15 g tablespoon, 5 g teaspoon) and USDA's ghee entry: 900 kcal and 60 g of saturated fat per 100 g, or 9 kcal and 0.6 g per gram.
| Ghee per cup of raw rice | Grams (× 15 g) | Calories in the pot (grams × 9) | Per serving, if 1 cup serves 2 | Ghee per serving in ICMR-NIN teaspoons (grams ÷ 5) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 tablespoon | 15 g | 15 × 9 = 135 kcal | 7.5 g ghee; 67.5, about 68 kcal; 4.5 g saturated fat | 7.5 ÷ 5 = 1.5 teaspoons |
| 2 tablespoons | 30 g | 30 × 9 = 270 kcal | 15 g ghee; 135 kcal; 9 g saturated fat | 15 ÷ 5 = 3 teaspoons |
| 3 tablespoons | 45 g | 45 × 9 = 405 kcal | 22.5 g ghee; 202.5, about 203 kcal; 13.5 g saturated fat | 22.5 ÷ 5 = 4.5 teaspoons |
ICMR-NIN says: "Limit ghee or butter to just 1 to 2 teaspoons/day or avoid, if possible." That is 5 to 10 g. One tablespoon per cup, shared between two, puts 7.5 g on each plate, inside that range; two tablespoons puts 15 g, over it. ICMR-NIN also calls saturated fat use high above 10 g a day of visible saturated fat on a 2,000 kcal diet, and the three-tablespoon pot gives 13.5 g per serving from the ghee alone.
These limits sit inside a visible-fat allowance of 20 to 50 g a day for all cooking fats. Our guide to how much ghee per day the ICMR-NIN guidelines allow sets that out by sex and activity, and our ghee spoon measures in grams explains why tablespoon weights differ between references. If a doctor or dietitian has set your fat intake, follow their figure.
How do you make ghee rice step by step?
Fry whole spices in ghee, brown sliced onions, toast the drained rice, add hot salted water, cook covered until it is absorbed, then rest and fluff. Spices go into the fat first, onions next and rice last. The quantities below are for one cup of rice and are our starting points, not tested standards.
- Prepare. Wash, soak and drain one cup of rice. Slice one onion thinly. Heat 1.5 cups of water with salt to taste.
- Heat the ghee. Warm one to two tablespoons of ghee in a heavy pan or pressure cooker over medium heat. Keep one teaspoon aside for the end.
- Add the whole spices. We use a bay leaf, a small piece of cinnamon, a few cloves and green cardamom; cumin seeds are optional. Stir until fragrant, without letting them burn.
- Brown the onions. Fry, stirring, until golden. For a crisp garnish, lift out half with a slotted spoon, with any cashews or raisins you fry briefly after them.
- Toast the rice. Add the drained rice and stir gently for a couple of minutes, until every grain is coated in ghee.
- Add the water. Pour in the hot salted water, stir once and bring it to the boil.
- Cook covered. In a pot, cover tightly on low heat until the water is absorbed and small holes appear on the surface. In a pressure cooker, cook to the first whistle and let the pressure drop naturally.
- Rest and finish. Leave it covered off the heat for about ten minutes, then drizzle over the reserved ghee, fluff with a fork and top with the onions and nuts.
Our guide to when to add ghee in everyday cooking explains why ghee goes in early as a frying fat and late as a finish. Ghee rice uses both.
How should you cool, store and reheat leftover ghee rice?
Cool it quickly, ideally within one hour, keep it in the fridge for no more than a day, and reheat it only once, until steaming hot all the way through. That is the UK Food Standards Agency's advice for any cooked rice, and the ghee does not change it.
The FSA explains that uncooked rice can contain spores of Bacillus cereus, a bacterium that can cause food poisoning, and that the spores can survive cooking. The longer cooked rice sits at room temperature, the more likely the bacteria or toxins will make it unsafe. It is not the reheating that causes the problem, it says, but how the rice was stored beforehand.
- Do not cool it in the pot. The FSA says not to leave rice in the rice cooker, steamer or pan to cool down.
- Divide it. Smaller portions chill faster, the FSA says. ICMR-NIN advises storing cooked food in lidded containers in the fridge, preferably in small portions, with the fridge below 5°C.
- Eat within a day. Rice may be eaten cold if it was cooled quickly and kept in the fridge.
- Reheat once. Make sure it is steaming hot throughout, and never reheat it a second time.
ICMR-NIN makes the same point in general terms: it lists improperly stored cooked foods, naming rice, among the causes of food-borne illness, and says keeping cooked food warm for several hours promotes bacterial growth. If you are choosing a ghee for this dish, our A2 bilona ghee is made by Himdhara from curd churned on a wooden bilona.
The short version
Wash and soak aged basmati or jeerakasala, fry whole spices and onions in ghee, toast the drained rice, then cook it in about 1.5 cups of water per cup and rest it covered. Water changes texture rather than right or wrong, so adjust the ratio until the grain suits you. Each 15 g tablespoon of ghee adds 135 kcal to the pot, and one tablespoon per cup shared between two stays within ICMR-NIN's 1 to 2 teaspoons a day. Chill leftovers within about an hour, keep them no more than a day, and reheat them once until steaming hot.
Sources
Further reading behind the figures above. Himdhara's own numbers — yields, batch results — come from our production records and the batch reports on the lab reports page.
- Kerala State Biodiversity Board (2017). Aromatic and medicinal rice varieties of Kerala. Kerala State Biodiversity Board.
- Maleki C, Oliver P, Lewin S, Liem G, Keast R (2020). Preference mapping of different water-to-rice ratios in cooked aromatic white jasmine rice. Journal of Food Science.
- ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition (2024). Dietary Guidelines for Indians. ICMR-NIN, Hyderabad.
- U.S. Department of Agriculture (2019). Butter, Clarified butter (ghee). FoodData Central (SR Legacy).
- Food Standards Agency (2026). Home food fact checker. GOV.UK.