Instant Pot Basmati Rice

Plain rice that actually comes out right

I make this more than any side dish I know. Rice goes with almost everything I cook in this pot, and it asks almost nothing of me. Same cup for the rice and the water. Two cups of each, a pinch of salt, lid on.

That is the whole appeal for me. Dinner cooks in the pot, rice cooks in the pot, and I wash one pot at the end of the night.

It is not exciting. It is rice. But rice that comes out fluffy instead of sticky makes the whole plate better.

Rinse first, then hands off

Rinse the rice in cool water until the water runs almost clear. The rinse water looks like milk at first. That white stuff is starch, and starch is what makes rice clump.

Pressure cook for 5 minutes. Then leave the pot alone. That is a natural release: you let the pressure drop on its own instead of opening the valve. When the little pin drops, the rice is done resting and you can open the lid.

Fluff it with a fork, not a spoon. A fork keeps the grains separate. A spoon mashes them into each other, and you are back to sticky rice.