Kerala Style Ghee Rice (Ney Choru)

3.72 from 7 votes

Rice roasted and cooked with ghee and spices. Quick, easy and delicious Malabar style rice preparation. It goes well with spicy nonveg/veg curry.

Prep Time5

Cook Time20

Total Time25

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Indian, kerala

Servings: servings

Calories: 521kcal

Prepare garnish - Thinly slice the onion into uniformly-shaped pieces. Heat the ghee in a pan. Fry the sliced onions until golden brown. Sprinkle salt and a bit of sugar while it's frying. Drain and remove it.
In the remaining ghee, fry cashews and raisins, drain and remove it and keep it aside.
Prepare rice - Wash and drain the rice. Slice the onion. Crush the ginger. Heat the ghee in the same pan. Add the spices - aniseed, cinnamon, star anise, cloves, cardamom seeds, and bay leaf. Sauté for a couple of minutes until the spices get roasted. Then add sliced onion, curry leaves, and ginger. Sauté it well.
Once the onion turns light brown, add the cleaned rice. Add extra ghee if needed. Fry the rice so that it won't stick much once cooked. Sauté it till the rice is crispy.
Meanwhile, boil water in another pan. Add enough salt to it. Once it is boiled, add it to the fried rice. Cover and cook. It might take around 10 - 15 minutes. Once the water level drops just below the top of the rice, switch off the flame and keep the lid closed for another 15 minutes. It would be done by that time.
Pour over 1 teaspoon of ghee at the end. Fluff the rice and garnish with fried onions, cashews, and raisins.

Don’t let kaima or jeerakasala rice sit too long after washing. It absorbs water quickly and can throw off the cooking ratio.

Avoid stirring the rice constantly. The grains are delicate and can break easily.

Add a small squeeze of lemon juice to the boiling water before adding rice. It helps prevent clumping.

When increasing the quantity of rice, reduce the total water slightly to avoid overcooking.

Let the rice rest after cooking. This helps set the texture and keeps it from turning sticky.