Infuse your rice with delicious flavour and aroma of coconut in this foolproof recipe. Perfect for serving with Indian and Thai curries.
Our Chicken Tikka Masala is the best partner for this fragrant basmati rice.
Plain rice is incredibly versatile and easy to make but have you tried coconut rice? Cooked with coconut milk instead of water, which infuses the rice with incredible flavour and aroma. If you ever ordered it from your local takeout restaurant, you know exactly what I am talking about!
Coconut rice-[ is no more difficult to prepare than you plain rice but the coconut adds so much more excitement to your dinner. For years I was making my rice in a rice cooker as it is the least labour intensive and the most fail proof method. But ever since I purchased my Instant Pot, I got rid of the rice cooker and got fully on board with my pressure cooker.
I still believe a rice cooker is great but why keep a one trick pony when you can use an appliance that does it all. I am a huge fan of keeping my kitchen gadgets and appliances to a minimum.
Recipe Tips and Notes
- I used basmati rice for this recipe but jasmine rice could also be used successfully.
- The first step in rice cooking should always be rinsing it in water. I learned never to skip this step when I lived in the Philippines for a year and watched local women prepare food. They are definitely rice experts! The reason for it is to get rid of some of the starch, which will help to keep individual grains from clumping up. The end result is perfectly cooked, fluffy rice.
- Another important step is Water to Rice Ratio or, in our case, coconut milk to rice ratio. The ratio will be different if you are using a stove top method. This recipe is developed specifically for pressure cookers. I use 1 part rice to 1 ¼ part liquid, and the rice comes out absolutely perfect!
- Finally, let’s talk about the intensity of the coconut flavour. It will largely depend on the quality of the coconut milk used. To get the most flavour, always use full fat unsweetened coconut milk. If you want more coconut flavour, add a tablespoon of coconut oil. You can also try to replace water with coconut water.
Dishes to Serve with Coconut Rice
- Thai Fish Curry
- Chicken Korma
- Vegetarian Thai Green Curry
- Indian Kofta Curry (Meatball Curry)
- Mango Chicken Curry
Coconut Rice
Ingredients
- 400g/2 cups basmati rice or jasmine rice
- 400ml/1 ¾ cup full fat coconut milk
- 175ml/3/4 cup water
- 1 tsp salt
Instructions
- Rinse the basmati rice until water runs clear. Mix the the rice, coconut milk and water with salt in the Instant pot.
- Pressure cook on Rice Setting/12 minutes. Allow for natural pressure release. Fluff up with a fork and sprinkle with fresh cilantro/coriander before serving if desired.
