This delicious and easy Turmeric Rice is a one-pot recipe that is made in the rice cooker. It has a tinge of sweetness from the raisins, crunch from the cashews and a gorgeous golden color from the turmeric! Plus all the main ingredients are from the pantry!
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⭐ Why This Recipe is a Star
- This easy turmeric rice is made in one pot, so less washing and drying involved! (I make mine in a rice cooker, like I do with Cilantro Lime Rice, Chicken Rice and Pumpkin Rice, but you can do it in a dutch oven over the stovetop too. An Instant Pot is actually best as you can toast the spices before cooking the rice- all in 1 pot!) It works well as a main dish or easy side dish- the vibrant color makes it extra appetising.
- Only requires simple ingredients: Cooking Indian cuisine can be quite an involved process- my Indian friends can spend almost an hour just frying the aromatics sometimes! To make the dish more suitable for quick weeknight dinners, I've made this recipe many times, paring it down to the main ones that are required for flavor.
- Turmeric is good for you: Turmeric contains curcumin, which has both anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, which is why drinks such as turmeric latte and turmeric tea are so popular. Many turmeric recipes include coconut, which is not so good for you- my version of this golden rice omits the coconut, to make it healthier. For more information on the health benefits of turmeric (and recipes), click here.
🥘 Ingredients
You only need readily available ingredients such as:
- long grain rice: I highly recommend basmati rice for a fluffier dish, but you can also use jasmine rice if you wish. I do not recommend Japanese sushi rice or glutinous rice as it contains extra starch and will not be as fluffy (The texture is totally different!) I have not tested the recipe with brown rice but will update once I do.
- chicken stock: use high quality chicken broth or 1 chicken bouillon cube mixed with water. (You will need twice as much water as rice, in terms of volume.) If using homemade chicken stock, you will need to slightly increase the quantity of salt used and add a pinch of sugar. If vegetarian or vegan, substitute with chicken stock and omit the butter/ substitute with coconut oil.
- turmeric powder: you can also use freshly sliced turmeric but note that you will need more to pound the turmeric so it's more work. (Sliced turmeric doesn't work that well here as you will need a lot to get the same deep golden color, which will make the flavor too strong. (See below for the difference in color.) Remember to be careful when working with fresh turmeric as it leaves stains, especially on white clothing!)
- onion: I like red onions or shallots for sweetness but white or yellow onions work too.
- garlic: I have not tried substituting fresh garlic for garlic powder yet but will update on the quantities required when I do so.
- cinnamon stick: the sweet cinnamon goes very well with the warm flavor of the turmeric. If you don't have a whole stick on hand, you can add ½-1 teaspoon of cinnamon powder as a substitute.
- raisins: feel free to substitute with cranberries
- roasted cashews: these give the rice a delicious crunch!
- unsalted butter: since we're omitting the coconut milk/ coconut cream, I like to stir in some butter or ghee after the rice has cooked to make the rice taste a bit richer. (I do not recommend olive oil as a substitute!)
As mentioned, the type of turmeric you use has an impact on the appearance and flavor of the dish! The following 2 dishes were made with exactly the same ingredients EXCEPT for the turmeric.
Which do you find more attractive? Personally, I think the golden version wins hands down!
📖 Variations & Substitutes
- Spiced rice: if you prefer more warm flavors, you can add ginger, a turn of black pepper and whole spices to your golden turmeric rice. When I do so, I add 2 star anise, 6 green cardamom and a bay leaf or 2. (Toasting them before using helps to release the flavors better.)
- Turmeric coconut rice: if you want to make coconut golden rice, you can replace some of the stock with coconut milk. Don't use too much or the rice will be soft and be too wet. I recommend 3-4 Tablespoons at the most.
🔪 Step-by-Step Instructions
1a. Wash and drain the white rice. (I wash my rice about 3 times till it's clear to remove the excess starch. The water from the 1st wash can be used to water plants, and the 2nd and 3rd washes can be used to make Korean stew.)
1b. Place the rice, cinnamon stick, minced onion, minced garlic and turmeric powder in the rice cooker pot.
2a. Add the required amount of chicken stock. (It's a 2:1 volume ratio so use 2 Cups of chicken stock for every 1 cup of rice grains.)
2b. Start your rice cooker!
3a. Once the rice has cooked, leave it for 2-3 minutes before uncovering.
3b. Add the butter and raisins to the fragrant rice and fluff gently. Don't stir too vigorously as we don't want to mash up the rice. (The heat from the rice will melt the butter, but you can cut the butter into smaller cubes before mixing in, if you wish.)
4a. Once the butter has melted, mix in the cashews. (I like mine extra crunchy so I leave it as the last step.)
Serve and enjoy the yellow turmeric rice! It tastes great with tandoori chicken!
Note: If you have fried shallots on hand, they go really well with this dish!
🥡 How to Store
Be very careful with rice storage as rice goes bad easily and can give you bad food poisoning. Make sure the rice is not left out for too long (For more tips on storing leftover rice, click here.)
Store the rice in an airtight container in the fridge and consume within 1-2 days. Reheat in a pan, with a bit of water. Make sure the rice is completely hot after reheating.
Some people freeze the rice for up to 3 months but I personally never freeze rice.
👩🏻🍳 Expert Tips
Tip #1: If you don't have chicken stock on hand, you can place cut chicken quarters on top of the rice and cook it with the rice in the rice cooker! The juices from the chicken will flow down onto the rice and give it more flavor. (However, do note that you will need to increase the amount of salt used and add a pinch of sugar.)
Tip #2: if you used the extra spices such as bay leaves, you may want to place them in a disposable tea filter bag so that you can easily separate the whole spices from the rice before serving.
Tip #3: If making the rice in a pot over the stove, remove to leave the pot covered for 10 minutes after the rice has cooked. (I.e. only lift the lid 10 minutes after cooking.)
🥗 Other Turmeric Recipes
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Easy Turmeric Rice (One Pot, Rice Cooker)
Equipment
- Rice cooker Substitute: pot or instant pot
Ingredients
- 1 Cup basmati rice
- 2 Cups chicken stock Substitute: vegetable stock or 1 chicken stock cube dissolved in 2 Cups water. If using homemade broth, increase the amount of salt and add a pinch of sugar.
- 1 red onion peel and mince. We want the onion small so that you can easily eat it with the rice without being overwhelmed by the onions!
- 5 cloves garlic peeled and minced
- 1-1½ teaspoon turmeric powder Depending on the freshness of your turmeric powder (use more if your powder is older as the flavor will have faded.) Substitute: pounded fresh turmeric. Do not use sliced turmeric as it won't give the same golden color. (You'll need to use so much, the flavor will be overwhelming.)
- ½ teaspoon salt More if you're using homemade broth which is less seasoned.
- ½ Tablespoon unsalted butter Substitute: ghee or coconut oil
- 3 Tablespoons raisins Substitute: cranberries
- 3 Tablespoons roasted cashew nuts
Instructions
Rice Cooker Method
- Wash and drain the white rice. Note: I wash my rice about 3 times till it's clear to remove the excess starch. The water from the 1st wash can be used to water plants, and the 2nd and 3rd washes can be used to make Korean stew.
- Place the rice, cinnamon stick, minced onion, minced garlic and turmeric powder in the rice cooker pot.
- Add the required amount of chicken stock. (It's a 2:1 volume ratio so use 2 Cups of chicken stock for every 1 cup of rice grains.)
- Start your rice cooker! Once the rice has cooked, leave it for 2-3 minutes before uncovering.
- Add the butter and raisins to the fragrant rice and fluff gently. Don't stir too vigorously as we don't want to mash up the rice. (The heat from the rice will melt the butter, but you can cut the butter into smaller cubes before mixing in, if you wish.)
- Once the butter has melted, mix in the cashews. (I like mine extra crunchy so I leave it as the last step.)Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Note: the nutritional information is an estimate automatically calculated using the WPRM recipe maker and I am not responsible for its veracity.
Nutrition
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hana says
It was delicious but I would like to try with coconut milk too. Can you advise on the quantity for that? Thanks