rice cooker recipes Archives

Lentils are considered the third highest protein food element as they are rich in vitamins as well as fiber. Cooked lentils can be served as a side dish to a variety of different meals including roasted meat or fish. They can also be served with vegetarian options like tofu. However, if you’re in a hurry and want to cook the lentils within a short time, you can simply use your rice cooker. Cooking lentils in a rice cooker also requires less effort where cooking pans will take away both your time and energy. So, let’s check the post to know How to Cook Lentils in Rice Cooker with some easy and simple steps.

How to Cook Lentils in Rice Cooker | Step By Step Process

Using a rice steamer or cooker to prepare the lentils is the simple and easiest way to do it. Just follow these easy steps to prepare your favorite rice cooker lentils recipe without much more trouble.

Ingredients You’ll Need

Before you start your cooking, there is a list of some ingredients that you’ll need to complete your dish.

1 cup of dried lentil (red, green or brown)
2 cups cold water
Strainer or colander
Wooden spoon
A clean container or bowl

For seasoning your Lentils, you’ll need the following ingredients right below.

Salt (according to your taste)
Extra virgin olive oil or sunflower oil 1 tablespoon
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Turmeric powder ½ tablespoon
1/2 teaspoon or 1/4 teaspoon of freshly chopped herbs (optional)
Chili powder ½ tablespoon

Step-1: Rinse the Lentils

At first, it is necessary to wash the lentils properly with cold water. Place the lentils in a strainer in the sink and rinse them with hands until it seems dirt free. After washing the lentils, turn off the water and gently shake the strainer to encourage excess water to drip out.

Note: do not soak the lentils before cooking. Most dried beans and other dried legumes need to be soaked for a while to soften them. This also helps to remove some of the compounds known to cause digestive upset. Lentils, however, not recommended for pre-soaking, as they will become mushy if allowed to soak.

Step-2: Season the Lentils

Next, put out your clean lentils from the colander and place them into a clean bowl. Add all the ingredients such as olive oil or sunflower oil, salt, turmeric powder, chili powder, and ground black pepper. Mix all the ingredients properly using your hand or you can use a wooden spoon to complete the task. Make sure that, all lentils are finely coated with spices. Once it is done, your lentils are now ready for cooking.

Step-3: Start Cooking

Place the inner pot into the cooker and pour the lentils into the pot.
Add the correct amount of water to the lentils.
Turn off the lid of the cooker and press the “cook” button.
Let it cook for around 30 minutes, you can set the timer to avoid a blunder.
After 15 minutes of cooking, you need to open the lid and stir the mixture again with a long wooden spoon.
Wait until the “cook” switch turns into “Warm” automatically which means your cooking is done.
Allow the lentils to rest in the cooker for five minutes after they have stopped cooking.
Open the lid and stir the lentils with a wooden spoon.
Pour the lentils carefully into a serving bowl and serve them while hot. You can decorate your favourite lentils using coriander leaves.

Here is a red lentil rice cooker recipe that we make in our kitchen. You can try this recipe.

Traditional way To Cook the Lentils

The most commonly used process for cooking lentils is boiling which requires a stove, a cooking pot, and water. Check the recipe right below.

Things that you need for this Classic Recipe

1 cup dried lentils (red, green, or brown)
2 cups cold purified water
Measuring cups
Small cooking pot and
Colander
Salt

Step-1

Firstly, pour 1 cup dried lentils out on a bright, flat surface. Pick through the lentils, sorting out any bits of soil, rocks, or other debris as you run across them.

Step-2

Wash the lentils with tap water to ensure they are dirt-free. You can use a strainer or a small bowl for this step. Pour out the water as much as you can.

Step-3

Place the clean lentils into a small cooking pot and add 2 cups of water. Cover the pot with a lid and bring it to the stove.

Step-4

Place the pot on the stove-top and start cooking at medium fire. Once the water starts to boil and simmer rapidly, lower the fire setting until the water is simmering gently.

Step-5

Let the lentils cook uncovered until they are done. Keep an eye on the lentils while cooking. If needed, add more water during the cooking time. Be sure to add enough water so that the lentils are just barely covered.

Note: older lentils may take the longest cooking time.

Step-6

To check the tenderness and texture of the lentils, use a fork to get a few lentils from the pot and taste them. They are done if they are tender and firm but no longer crunchy. However, if your lentils are not yet ready, wait for 5 more minutes before doing another test.

Step-7

Add salt (according to your test) and acidic ingredients such as lemon juice or vinegar when cooking is done. You can also add spices like curry powder, ground cumin, garlic, cayenne pepper, or chili pepper, as well as herbs like cilantro or parsley.

Tips

You can add your cooked lentils to soups and salads.
You can even store the cooked lentils in the refrigerator for an average of one week.
For more flavour, brown a clove of garlic in a small sauté pan with a little bit of olive oil. Add the browned garlic to the rice cooker along with the extra virgin olive oil.

Final Words

It is always a good idea to modify your lentil recipe. You can attempt to add vegetables such as potatoes, carrots or broccoli to make your dish tastier. You can also use chicken stock and vegetable stock instead of using water that will make your recipe healthier.

If you love to have cooked Basmati rice with chicken, mutton or any type of curry, then you must know how satisfying is to have this rice. This full-flavored aromatic rice is mostly used in Biryani, Pilaf or as a side dish. However, if you love Basmati rice and have a rice cooker in your kitchen, then you must know how to cook Basmati rice in a rice cooker.

Why? Because it’s easier to cook Basmati rice in a rice cooker than a traditional stovetop. You don’t need to monitor while cooking the rice in the rice cooker.

How to Cook Basmati Rice in a Rice Cooker?

This is a simple 3 steps formula that anyone can follow to cook Basmati rice in a rice cooker.

1^st Step: Add rice, water and other flavorings (optional but recommended) to the rice cooker pot.

2^nd Step: Turn on the rice cooker and set the timer (If your rice cooker doesn’t go to the Keep Warm mode automatically.

3^rd Step: Let chill the cooked rice for 10 minutes.

Look at these steps, it’s really easy to follow to cook the rice in a rice cooker. Well, before going to the detailed (written and video) recipe, you may love to check some random facts about Basmati rice and the cooking process. This will help you to become a pro cooker and everyone will be surprised to see your perfectly cooked Basmati rice.

Facts about Basmati Rice You Should Know

What is Basmati Rice?

Basmati rice is a type of long-grain white rice, mostly cultivated in India, Pakistan and some other Asian countries. According to Wikipedia, more than 60% of the world’s Basmati rice trade by India and the rest of the others trade by Pakistan. However, this is healthy rice and another version of Basmati rice is also available in the market named Brown Basmati Rice.

Basmati Rice to Water Ratio

Well, the ratio of water greatly depends on the type of rice you want to cook. Mostly, two types of Basmati rice are available in the market, one is aged Basmati rice and another is newly harvested Basmati rice.

For aged Basmati rice, the standard water ratio is 1:2. That means you will need 2 cups of water to cook 1 cup of Basmati rice. And for newly harvested Basmati rice, you will need 1 and ¾ cups of water to cook 1 cup of rice.

Well, another important fact for aged Basmati rice is, if you soak the rice in the water for 30 minutes, then 1:2 is the perfect ratio for Indian and Pakistani aged Basmati rice. But if you don’t want to soak the rice before cook, or even don’t want to rinse the rice, then it may take a little bit more water to cook perfectly.

How Long to Cook Basmati Rice?

Basmati rice cooking time depends on several facts like the type of rice, amount of rice, power of your rice cooker, etc.

In general, it will take 20 minutes to cook 2 cups of Basmati rice in a rice cooker.

And if your rice cooker comes with Keep Warm mode function, then you don’t need to worry about cooking time. Because once the rice will be cooked, the rice cooker will go to the Keep Warm mode automatically.

Fortunately, my Panasonic Rice Cooker comes with the function. So I don’t need to worry about cooking time and I can watch a movie, have a cup of coffee or play with my kids after just Turning on the rice cooker.

How to Cook Brown Basmati Rice in Rice Cooker?

The process of cooking Brown Basmati rice in the rice cooker is the same as white Basmati rice. But you only need to change the ratio of water. For aged Brown Basmati rice from India or Pakistan, you will need 2.5 cups of water to cook 1 cup of Brown Basmati rice. And for newly harvested Brown Basmati rice, the ratio will be 1:2.

How to Cook Indian Basmati Rice?

As said before, more than 60% of the world’s Basmati rice trade by India, so this post “How to cook Basmati rice in a rice cooker” mainly focused on Indian Basmati rice. So follow this post’s instruction to coon Indian Basmati rice.

How to Store Cooked Basmati Rice?

Place the cooked Basmati rice in an airtight container and store the container in the refrigerator. But keep in mind that, properly stored cooked Basmati rice will last in the refrigerator for 4-6 days.

How to Reheat Basmati Rice?

To reheat cooked , sprinkle a little water on the top of the rice and “Keep Warm” mode for 5-10 minutes depending on the amount of rice.

To reheat cooked Basmati rice in the Microwave Oven, sprinkle a little water on the top of the rice and Microwave for 2-5 minutes. (Microwave time depends on the amount of rice)

Do You Need to Rinse Basmati Rice?

The answer is both Yes and NO!

Well, personally I always rinse (wash) Basmati rice before cooking. And sometimes I also soak them in the water for 15-30 minutes before cooking. It helps to make the rice fluffy.

However, if you don’t want, you don’t need to rinse the rice before cook. But washing aged Basmati rice is greatly recommended because they are starchy.

What Brand of Rice Cooker is Best for Cooking Basmati Rice?

I’m using a Panasonic Rice Cooker in my kitchen that is an open-lid type and has 730W power. And I always cook perfect Basmati rice using my rice cooker. So you can also use a rice cooker from this brand. However, you can also use a rice cooker from other renowned brands like Aroma Rice Cooker, Zojirushi, Hamilton Beach, Cuisinart, Tiger, etc.

Tips to Cook Fluffy Basmati Rice in the Rice Cooker

Here are some few tips you can follow to cook Fluffy Basmati rice in the rice cooker.

Always rinse the rice before cooking.
Use the exact ratio of water to avoid sticking, over-cooking or uncooked rice.
Use some oil/butter to make cooked rice fluffy.
Always fluff the rice using a spatula right after cooking the rice.
Use Basmati rice from a renowned brand.
Try to use aged Basmati rice, because newly harvested rice tends to stick more than aged rice.