Indian yellow rice recipe with turmeric spice powder is a great way to add turmeric spice to your diet by including this wonderful rice side dish for lunch & dinner sometimes. If you often have rice dishes, you can easily add a pinch of turmeric powder to your rice which will make it colorful, more healthy and flavorful.
This easy yellow rice is prepared on stove top, but you can also make even more easier and delicious yellow rice in instant pot pressure cooker!
Yellow rice is popular in many cuisines around the world including Indian, Spanish and Mexican cuisines.
In Spanish and Mexican cuisines, yellow rice is popularly known as arroz amarillo which makes a delicious rice side dish which is served along with other Mexican or Spanish dishes for a delicious meal.
This yellow rice recipe with turmeric spice uses turmeric powder as one of the main ingredients along with other ingredients.
You can prepare this yellow rice recipe with turmeric at your home easily and enjoy the rice with any curry or chutney of your choice.
You can also have fresh yogurt or salads or raita like this tomato onion raita along with this yellow rice using turmeric.
Some suggestions for curry would be chana masala, palak paneer paneer curry, paneer matar curry, creamy eggplant curry, baingan barta etc which will all go great with this yellow rice.
Here is how I prepared this turmeric rice following this easy yellow rice recipe with turmeric spice.
To add natural color to your rice, you can always add spices instead of food coloring if the spices you choose blend well with the flavor of the dish.
Most spices have exotic flavors and you will need only a very little quantity in a dish.
For example, I have used just ½ teaspoon of turmeric powder in this yellow rice recipe which is enough to add color to the rice.
Even though the quantity of spice that we add seem to be small, they have amazing health benefits and most spices are very effective even if you add only very little amounts to your food.
Turmeric is definitely one of the most healthiest spice that you can enjoy in your food daily by adding to many of the recipes that you already enjoy.
The only downside of using turmeric is the fact that it may stain the surfaces that it comes in contact with, so just be careful with that 🙂
So let us go on to this simple yellow rice recipe with turmeric powder. You can also add the exotic spice saffron to this yellow rice, which will add more exotic flavors and colors to the dish.
I didn’t use saffron for this yellow rice recipe, but you can always add saffron if you have it at home.
To add saffron, just dissolve 4 to 5 strands (yes, that small quantity is enough) in 2 tablespoons of warm milk and just sprinkle this saffron flavored milk to the rice mixture as you cook the rice.
You may also choose to add the saffron milk to the rice after the rice is prepared, in that case just mix gently so it will blend with the rice.
So here is how you can make this simple, easy and delicious yellow rice following this yellow rice recipe using turmeric spice.
How to make Indian yellow rice with basmati rice and turmeric spice?
To make easy, delicious Indian style yellow rice, we use the following ingredients.
ingredients to make Indian yellow rice
2 cups white basmati rice
1 onion
1 teaspoon garlic crushed or minced
1 teaspoon ginger crushed or grated
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
¼ teaspoon red chili powder
¼ teaspoon black pepper powder
4 cups water
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon ghee or butter
salt adjust to taste
Step by step instructions
Wash the rice and keep it aside (you may soak the rice for 15 to 20 minutes if prefer softer rice).
Chop the onion and keep it aside.
Heat the oil in a pan and add cumin seeds.
When the cumin seeds is lightly fried, add the onions and fry or saute it until the onion is browned.
Add the garlic and ginger to the same pan, fry for 1 to 2 minutes.
Add the rice to the pan, gently roast for about 1 to 2 minutes stirring occasionally.
Add all the spices to the rice and roast for another 1 to 2 minutes.
Now add salt and water, keep in high heat for the water to boil.
As the water starts boiling, add the ghee or butter (if using), mix everything, close the pan and reduce the heat to low.
Cook in low heat for about 10 minutes or until all water is absorbed.
You can gently mix the prepared yellow rice with turmeric using a fork so the rice won’t stick to each other.
I always recommend gently fluffing the rice using a fork or spatula in an interval of about 15 minutes, so the rice will remain fluffy and won’t stick to each other.
Serve the yellow rice hot with whatever side you like, some suggestions will be yogurt, pickles, raitha, salads, chutney, any vegetable curry, paneer, dal etc.
Below you can get the recipe for Indian yellow rice in detail.
Indian Yellow Rice With Basmati Rice & Turmeric On Stove Top
Ingredients
- 2 cups white basmati rice
- 1 onion
- 1 teaspoon garlic crushed or minced
- 1 teaspoon ginger crushed or grated
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ¼ teaspoon red chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper powder
- 4 cups water
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 tablespoon ghee or butter
- salt adjust to taste
Instructions
- Wash the rice and keep it aside (you may soak the rice for 15 to 20 minutes if prefer softer rice)
- Chop the onion and keep it aside.
- Heat the oil in a pan and add cumin seeds.
- When the cumin seeds is lightly fried, add the onions and fry or saute it until the onion is browned.
- Add the garlic and ginger to the same pan, fry for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add the rice to the pan, gently roast for about 1 to 2 minutes stirring occasionally.
- Add all the spices to the rice and roast for another 1 to 2 minutes.
- Now add salt and water, keep in high heat for the water to boil.
- As the water starts boiling, add the ghee or butter (if using), mix everything, close the pan and reduce the heat to low.
- Cook in low heat for about 10 minutes or until all water is absorbed.
- You can gently mix the prepared yellow rice with turmeric using a fork so the rice won’t stick to each other. I always recommend gently fluffing the rice using a fork or spatula in an interval of about 15 minutes, so the rice will remain fluffy and won’t stick to each other. Serve the yellow rice hot with whatever side you like, some suggestions will be yogurt, pickles, raitha, salads, chutney, any vegetable curry, paneer, dal etc.
The rice is in dire need of some salt.
Thank you for pointing that out! I missed to include salt in the ingredients list early though it was there in the instructions! I have updated the post now. Thanks again!