Lemon Rice Instant Pot

5 from 12 votes

This Instant Pot lemon rice recipe can be made in just 30 minutes, making it the perfect meal for busy families.

Prep Time10

Cook Time15

Total Time25

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Indian

Diet: Vegan

Allergen: Dairy free, Gluten free

Difficulty: Easy

Servings:

Calories: 367kcal

Rinse the rice in water three times and soak it in enough water for 10 minutes. Drain the water and set the rice aside.
2 cups basmati rice
In the saute mode, add olive oil or vegan ghee to the inner pot. When the oil is hot, add peanuts, and fry them until they are golden brown.
1 tablespoon vegan ghee or coconut oil, 3 tablespoon peanuts
Remove the peanuts from the instant pot and set them aside.
To the same pot, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, chana dal, and curry leaves. Fry until the spices start to splutter.
½ teaspoon cumin seeds, 1 teaspoon chana dal, 1 teaspoon mustard seeds, 5 curry leaves
Add grated ginger and chopped green chilies and fry for a minute.
2 teaspoon grated ginger, 1 green chili chopped
Now add the turmeric powder, salt drained rice, and fry for 30 seconds.
¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
Add water. Stir well.
2 ¼ cup water
Close the instant pot with its lid and pressure cook on high pressure for five minutes.
When the instant pot beeps, do a natural pressure release.
Open the instant pot and add fresh lemon juice, chopped cilantro, and fried peanuts over the cooked rice. Give it a good stir.
½ tablespoon lemon juice, 1 tablespoon cilantro chopped
Serve instant pot lemon rice hot with vegan raita or vegan curry

To get perfectly cooked, fluffy rice, make sure to rinse the rice in water and soak it for at least ten minutes before cooking.
When making this recipe ahead of time, cook the rice and store it in the fridge. When you are ready to serve, add lemon juice, cilantro, and peanuts to the plain rice and give it a stir and serve.
If you want a more savory flavor, you can add garlic or onion to the recipe.
You skip the nuts if you are allergic to them.
If you don't have fresh lemons, you can use bottled lemon juice.
Using lemon zest to garnish the rice is an option to introduce a stronger lemon flavor.
If you do not have chana dal, urad dal can be a good substitute.
Curry leaves are optional but they do add a lot of flavor to the dish. If you don't have them, just skip them.
You can also make this recipe using sona masoori rice but be sure to check how many cups of water are required for that rice variety.