What you may know as cumin seeds are also known as jeera in Hindi. That’s how this famous rice dish gets its name! Whether you call it jeera rice or cumin rice, this is an aromatic basmati rice dish which is lightly spiced with fragrant spices and has the earthy flavours of cumin.

Jeera rice is also one of the most popular Indian restaurant dishes; many people prefer to have jeera rice instead of plain basmati to go along with dals or curry dishes. The tempering of cumin and fragrant whole spices takes the simple rice dish to a whole new level.