Ghee Rice, also known as Nei Choru or Neyy Choru in Kerala, India, is a favourite for celebrations and is as comforting as it is flavorful. This rice dish, paired with any flavorful side dish or curry, is a treat that makes your taste buds dance with joy and leaves you deeply satisfied.
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Why will you love this Ghee Rice?
- Quick and Easy - This recipe comes together effortlessly with just a few pantry staples.
- Perfect for Special Occasions- A must-have on festive menus, family gatherings, or when you want to impress with minimal effort.
- Incredibly Flavorful - Lightly spiced and enriched with the nutty aroma of ghee, every bite is comforting and delicious.
- Aromatic & Authentic - Made with fragrant Kaima rice or Basmati (also used in easy mutton biryani recipe), whole spices, and ghee, this dish is a celebration of South Indian tradition.
- Customizable - Watching calories? You can easily reduce the amount of ghee or substitute part of it with a mild oil without compromising the flavor.
- Pairs with Everything - It's a versatile side that goes wonderfully with both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes, think Kashmiri chicken, fried fish, spicy coconut shrimp, curry chicken with coconut milk, malai kofta, amritsari pindi chole, chana masala, lauki kofta curry, rajma masala dhaba style, kerala style green peas curry, and many more.
From its aroma to its simplicity, Ghee Rice (Neyy Choru) is the kind of dish that brings joy to the table and leaves everyone satisfied or some for seconds.
Ingredients
Ghee rice or Neyychor requires Ghee, whole spices like cinnamon, bay leaves, cardamom, cloves, onions diced and cut lengthwise for browning and garnishing, and salt. Simple ingredients and simple to make.
How to make Nei choru?
We begin by washing the rice and draining it. Keep the washed rice aside for about 15 to 20 minutes. Heat a thick-bottomed pan, or set the saute mode on in an Instant Pot. Add the ghee and oil. Add thinly sliced onions when hot and fry until crisp and golden brown. Drain and keep aside. Add the cashews and raisins, and brown them as well.
- Step 1: Use the Sautee option, add ghee and oil. When hot, add onions and fry till browned. Next, fry cashews and raisins.
- Step 2: Drain and transfer the fried onions, cashews, and raisins, and keep them aside to be used for garnish later.
- Step 3: In the remaining oil, add whole spices, chopped onions, and green chilies (optional)
- Step 4: Add the soaked rice and sautee well.
In the remaining oil and ghee, add the spices and diced onions, and saute for about 2 minutes. Next, add the washed rice. Fry for about 5 to 7 minutes until the rice turns opaque.
- Step 5: Add water and salt, and cook with the rice option.
- Step 6: Garnish with fried onions, raisins, and nuts and serve!
Add the salt and water, and cook until done in a rice cooker. If using an Instant Pot, use the Rice button option, which cooks for about 10 to 12 minutes. Fluff and transfer the cooked rice into a serving bowl.
Garnish the rice with fried onions, cashews, and raisins. Ghee rice can be eaten with any entree, curried dish, or vegetable or chicken stew. A simple phiki dal using the phiki dal recipe is a great option as well.
Useful Tips
- Squeeze half a lemon to give a nice flavor and to keep the rice from sticking.
- Sprinkle some salt when frying onions so they get browned faster.
- Make sure to cook with the right amount of water to avoid overcooking or undercooking.
- Use Ghee or a combination of ghee and oil to get the authentic flavor.
Recipe FAQs
This rice is traditionally made using a small variety of rice called jeeraga (seeraga) samba rice or Kaima rice. When fried with ghee and cooked, the rice gives a very nice aroma, which makes the dish very appetizing.
The whole spices used are cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, and bay leaves, which also make it very aromatic. This rice is also used in making biryanis like Kozhikodan chicken biryani and Malabar mutton biryani. You can also use Basmati rice for this dish.
If using Basmati rice, it's typically double the amount of water for the first cup of rice and a cup each for the following cups of rice.
For Kaima rice, the ratio is 1.5 cups of water to 1 cup of rice, but it may also depend on the brand of the rice. It has a tendency to cook faster and may get mushy if more water is used.
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Nei Choru
Ingredients
- 2 cups Rice Basmati Long grained
- 3 tbsp Ghee or Clarified Butter
- 4 tsp Vegetable oil
- 3-4 Cloves
- ½ inch stick Cinnamon
- 2 Bay leaves
- 4-5 Cardamom
- ½ Onion diced
- 3-4 Green chilies slit
- 2 tsp Salt or to taste
- 1 Onion thinly sliced for frying
Instructions
- Wash the rice, drain, and keep aside
- Heat a thick bottomed pan, add the ghee and oil
- Add the thinly sliced onions and fry until crisp golden brown.
- Drain and keep aside.Add the cashews and raisins, brown it as well.
- Drain and keep aside.
- In the remaining oil, add the spices and diced onions and saute for about 2 mins
- Add slit green chilies (optional)
- Next, add the washed rice
- Fry for about 5 to 7 mins until the rice turns opaque
- Add the salt and water and cook until done in a rice cooker
- Transfer the cooked rice into a serving bowl and garnish with fried onions, cashews, and raisins.
- Ghee rice can be eaten with any entree, curried dish, or vegetable or chicken stew.
Video
Notes
- Squeeze half a lemon to give a nice flavor and to keep the rice from sticking.
- Sprinkle some salt when frying onions so they get browned faster.
- Make sure to cook with the right amount of water to avoid overcooking or undercooking.
- Use Ghee or a combination of ghee and oil to get the authentic flavor.
Nutrition
Love Ghee rice and the instructions are so easy to follow .I was able to make it for a get together and got great reviews!
You have the best rice recipes! Thank you!
Glad you liked it. Thanks!
Thank you for sharing the recipe. It looks really good.