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instant pot cilantro lime rice recipe
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Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice Using Basmati Rice

This easy instant pot cilantro lime rice has a light lime flavor and its perfect for a light vegetarian lunch or dinner.
Course Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine Mexican
Keyword instant pot cilantro lime rice recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
pressure build up and release time 25 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 8
Calories 259kcal
Author PA

Ingredients

  • 2.5 cups White basmati rice
  • 5 cups water
  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • ¼ teaspoon salt (may adjust the amount) do not use a lot as we are adding lime juice
  • 1 lime (or about 4 tablespoons of filtered lime juice)
  • 3 cloves garlic crushed
  • 2 inch piece ginger peeled and crushed
  • 1.5 cups cilantro leaves finely chopped may adjust the amount slightly based on your preference

Whole spices used

  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 small cinnamon sticks
  • 3 cloves

For garnishing

  • 2 tablespoons cilantro leaves chopped

Instructions

  • Wash the rice and keep it aside.
  • Add the oil and one tablespoon of butter to the inner pot and press the saute function, adjust to low setting.
  • Add the bay leaves, cinnamon sticks and cloves, lightly fry for about a minute.
  • Add the crushed garlic and ginger also to the pot, mix well and saute for another 2 to 3 minutes until the ginger and garlic are lightly fried.
  • Add the rice also to the pot, add the remaining one tablespoon of butter and lightly fry the rice for another 2 minutes. Press the 'keep warm/cancel' button so the sauteing function will stop.
  • Add the water and also 2 tablespoons of lime juice (make sure to use filtered lime juice without seed, mix everything well.
  • Close the instant pot with lid in sealing position and press the manual, cook in high pressure for 5 minutes. It will take a few minutes for the instant pot to build up enough pressure, after which the pot will start cooking. Once the cooking is done, the pot will beep so you will have to wait until then.
  • Once the cooking is done and the instant pot beeps, press the 'keep warm/cancel' button and wait for the instant pot to naturally release all the pressure which will take another few minutes of time.
  • Meanwhile in a bowl, mix together the 1.5 cups of chopped cilantro leaves (may adjust the amount based on your preference) and remaining 2 tablespoons of filtered lime juice. Keep this cilantro lime mixture aside.
  • Once the pressure is all naturally released (may do a careful manual release of pressure after an NPR or natural pressure release of about 15 minutes), carefully open the lid by turning it in venting position.
  • Add the cilantro lime mixture also to the cooked rice, and gently mix the rice using a good quality spatula or fluff using a fork until the rice is evenly mixed with the cilantro lime mixture. If you do not do the mixing properly, some parts of rice will be less flavored, so make sure to mix the rice evenly with the cilantro lime juice mixture. I recommend keep this closed for another couple of minutes so that the flavors will nicely blend in making it even more delicious. This cilantro lime rice has a light lime flavor, if you wish for more of the lime flavor, you can add little more filtered lime juice and mix it up!
  • Garnish the rice with chopped cilantro leaves, serve hot with any curry or sides of your choice!

Notes

If you are serving the rice later, it is advisable to gently fluff the rice a few times in between on regular intervals, while the rice is still hot, which will prevent the rice from sticking together as it cools down.
As I mentioned earlier, this cilantro lime rice is flavored with the fresh cilantro leaves (coriander leaves), few spices, ginger, garlic and lime juice (can use lemon juice too if that is what you have in your kitchen). It has a light lime flavor which I think is perfect, but if you prefer more lime flavor, you can always add more lime juice according to your preference, and mix it up.
Just make sure to mix up properly so the added lime juice will mix up with the rice evenly adding the same flavor to each grain of the cooked rice.
The nutrition facts entered here are approximate values as I divided the entire dish into 7 to 8 large servings.
You can also enjoy this as side dish (which is more popular) which will give you even more small servings.
As I already mentioned in the post, I often enjoy it as a main dish along with other vegetarian sides, though this cilantro lime rice is often served as a side dish for Mexican style meals. So if you like to use it as a side dish, the number of servings will be even more than this and the calories will be smaller for individual servings.

Nutrition

Calories: 259kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 8mg | Sodium: 111mg | Potassium: 95mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 297IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 36mg | Iron: 1mg