This easy garlic turmeric rice recipe is a wicked delicious variation of the classic Indian ‘yellow rice’ dish. With subtle flavors from the onion and garlic and the healthy turmeric, this fluffy rice is super versatile and healthy too!
If you have been looking to experiment with Indian cooking, you might want to give this flavorful rice recipe a try. And of course, you can always try the classic pressure cooker jeera rice if you're looking for something simpler.
I love experimenting with Indian curries, and quite recently, I tried my hands at a new Achari Gosht and a Paya Curry. While I love teaming up my curries with parathas or my favorite bullet naan, everyone in my family enjoys them with rice.
So of course, I had to try out a variation to the classic cumin rice, and that’s when I landed up with this delicious version of the yellow turmeric rice.
Quick Look: Garlic Turmeric Rice
- 🔪 Prep time: 5 minutes.
- ⏲️ Cook time: 15 minutes.
- 👪 Servings: 2.
- 📋 Main ingredients: Basmati rice, garlic, onion, turmeric, vegetable stock, butter, whole spices.
- ♨️ Cooking method: Sauté → add the rice and stock → simmer → fluff and serve.
- ⭐ Difficulty: Easy.
- 🥣 Serving ideas: Pair with chicken tikka masala, bhuna gosht, dal, grilled chicken, Aloo methi, or your favorite Indian curry.
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What's So Great About the Recipe?
- The best part about this recipe has to be its flavor. It is so much more than just a classic yellow rice with turmeric added in.
- The rice is cooked in a broth instead of water, which makes it so much healthier too.
- It's really versatile. You can enjoy it as a rice side to go with chicken malai tikka too.
Recipe Ingredients
Rice: Basmati rice works best.
Vegetable stock: For that extra flavor. I love using my low sodium vegetable stock here.
Garlic + onion: The flavor builders.
Oil: You’ll need just a little bit of regular cooking oil to sauté the spices in. You can also use lemon infused olive oil instead if you love the bright, citrusy flavors it adds.
Butter: A bit of butter can help elevate this rice dish and give it a little richness. You can skip this if you want to make it a vegan meal.
Whole spices: I used whole peppercorns, cloves, and bay leaves to lend this dish some earthy undertones of flavor.
Turmeric powder: Just a bit of turmeric powder can lend the turmeric rice that bright yellow color you’re looking for in this Indian rice dish.
Cilantro: And of course, you’d want those little specks of green and some freshness to this turmeric rice dish.
See recipe card for quantities.
Substitutions & Variations
- If you don’t have the Basmati rice that the recipe calls for, you can use Jasmine rice or any other aged, long-grain rice for the recipe.
- Brown rice is also a good choice if you are looking for an alternative to white rice to make this rice dish healthier.
- If you don’t have garlic, you can use garlic powder to add some more flavor to the yellow rice. I would recommend batch-making some Air Fryer roasted garlic, storing it in the freezer, and then using some of it for this and other recipes.
- Another great idea is to use turmeric and ginger as the key ingredients and skip adding garlic and onion to make this turmeric rice dish.
- Want to bring a bit of heat into the rice dish? Sprinkle some Peri Peri seasoning into the mix.
How to Make Garlic Turmeric Rice
Step 1: In a pot, heat the oil and sauté the whole spices along with the onions and garlic, until they all become fragrant.
Step 2: Add the rice and sauté for a few more minutes.
Step 3: Next, add in the turmeric, salt, butter, and stock along with ½ cup of water, and stir to combine.
Step 4: Bring to a boil and then turn the heat down. Let this simmer for 10-12 minutes while stirring the rice gently.
Step 5: Remember to reduce the heat to low until the rice cooks.
Step 6: Let it cool down and then fluff it with a fork and serve.
💭Top Tip
Also, remember to choose long-grain rice, ideally the aged variety, and rinse it well to remove any excess starch.
Tips & Tricks to Nail the Recipe
- The key to getting the rice light and fluffy and perfect every time is to have the perfect water (or, in this case, stock) to rice ratio.
- Using more than the needed amount of water will make the rice mushy and sticky. I realized this when I made lemon dill rice.
- If you’re still not sure about getting the water-rice proportion correctly, you can cook the rice separately in a pot until it is just about 85% cooked, drain off the excess liquid, and then combine the rice with the sautéed spices and turmeric. This is, of course, an option only if you’re using water instead of vegetable stock to cook the rice.
- Another important point to note is to make sure you fluff the cooled rice with a fork to help the grains separate and keep them from clumping with each other. I always do this when I make coconut lime rice too.
How to Serve Garlic Turmeric Rice
The easiest, simplest way to serve turmeric rice is to pair it with an Indian curry. White chicken Karahi and Bhuna Gosht are two amazing hearty Indian curries that pack in a flavor punch that works perfectly with this rice dish. You can also keep it simple and pair it with some Air Fryer Bhindi Masala.
I love teaming it up with some tomato peanut chutney or my Mirchi ka Achar which I almost always have in my refrigerator, and it becomes such a delicious and easy weeknight meal. You can also serve this rice with an easy side dish like some oven-roasted sweet potatoes or a cooling mint and cucumber raita.
Sometimes, I also like to serve this rice dish with some masala buttermilk to make it a complete meal.
Troubleshooting & FAQs
You can skip soaking the rice, but remember that you’ll need a bit more time to make this recipe if you do.
You sure can! While I used vegetable broth instead of chicken broth, I would recommend using low-sodium chicken broth if you really want to use a non-vegetarian broth.
You can make turmeric rice in a rice cooker or an Instant Pot too! In fact, using either of these cooking methods will help you cook the rice faster too!
The best way to store any leftover garlic turmeric rice that you may have is to refrigerate it in an airtight container. The rice should stay good for 2-3 days
You can reheat it in the microwave with a few splashes of water to moisten it up.
More Indian Recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
If you tried this Garlic turmeric rice or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Garlic Turmeric Rice
Ingredients
- 1 cup rice
- 1 cup vegetable stock
- 1 onion chopped
- 3-4 garlic cloves chopped
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2-3 bay leaves
- 4-5 whole peppercorns
- 1-2 cloves
- 1 pinch turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon cilantro chopped
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Start by washing the rice thoroughly twice or thrice, until the water runs clear. Soak this for about 2-3 hours.
- In a pot, heat the oil and saute the whole spices along with the onions and garlic, until they all become fragrant.
- Add the rice and saute for a few more minutes.
- Next, add in the turmeric, salt, butter and the stock along with ½ cup of water, and stir to combine.
- Bring to a boil and then turn the heat down. Bringthis to simmer for 10-12 minutes, while stirring the rice gently. Remember to reduce the heat to low until the rice cooks.
- Let it cool down and then fluff with a fork and serve.
Notes
- The key to getting the rice light and fluffy and perfect every time is to have the perfect water (or, in this case, stock) to rice ratio.
- Using more than the needed amount of water will make the rice mushy and sticky.
- Another important point to note is to make sure you fluff the cooled rice with a fork to help the grains separate and keep them from clumping with each other.
