Jeera Rice

Jeera rice is an Indian dish consisting of rice and cumin seeds. It is a popular dish in North India, an everyday rice dish. It is easy to prepare unlike a biryani. Jeera is the Hindi word for cumin seeds.

Cumin is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae, native from the east Mediterranean to India. Its seeds (each one contained within a fruit, which is dried) are used in the cuisines of many different cultures, in both whole and ground form.

Cumin has been in use since ancient times. Seeds excavated at the Syrian site Tell ed-Der have been dated to the second millennium BC. They have also been reported from several New Kingdom levels of ancient Egyptian archaeological sites.  Originally cultivated in Iran and Mediterranean region, cumin is mentioned in the Bible in both the Old Testament (Isaiah 28:27) and the New Testament (Matthew 23:23). The ancient Greeks kept cumin at the dining table in its own container (much as pepper is frequently kept today), and this practice continues in Morocco. Cumin was also used heavily in ancient Roman cuisine. During the Middle Ages, cumin fell out of favour in Europe, except in Spain and Malta. It was introduced to the Americas by Spanish and Portuguese colonists. There are several different types of cumin but the most famous ones are black and green cumin which are both used in Persian cuisine.

It has since returned to favour in parts of Europe. Today, it is mostly grown in Iran, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Morocco, Egypt, India, Syria, Mexico, Chile, and China. The plant occurs as a rare casual in the British Isles, mainly in southern England, but the frequency of its occurrence has declined greatly. According to the Botanical Society of the British Isles' most recent Atlas, there has been only one confirmed record since 2000.
In India, cumin has been used for millennia as a traditional ingredient of curry.

Jeera Rice

Ingredients

• 1 cup Basmati rice 
• 3 cups water
• Salt to taste
• 2 tbsps vegtable, sunflower or canola oil/ghee
• 1 large onion chopped fine
• 2 tsps cumin seeds
• 1/2 cup water
• Coriander leaves to garnish

Method

• Wash the Basmati rice well in running water.
• Add the 3 cups of water and salt to taste to the rice and set it up to boil.
• Once the rice is almost cooked , remove from fire and drain the water by straining the rice through a sieve or colander. Set aside.
• In another pan, heat the oil/ghee till hot and add onions.
• Fry till light brown and then add the cumin seeds. The seeds will splutter and sizzle to show they are done.
• Now add the rice and stir well.
• Add 1/2 a cup of water to the rice and cover.
• Simmer till all the water dries up.
• Allow the rice to stand for another 2-3 minutes and then serve garnished with coriander leaves.