Basmati rice is one of my favorites; it’s aromatic, fluffy, and flavorful! It’s perfect with curries, pairs well with any type of bean, and is great with sautéed vegetables — just to name a few of the many possibilities! Cooking Basmati Rice in the instant pot is easy, quick, and consistent.
Don’t have an Instant Pot? No problem! Basmati rice is also quick and easy to cook on the stovetop. Try my stovetop recipe here!
A long, slender-grained rice native to India and Pakistan, Basmati in Hindi translates to “fragrant” or “full of aroma.”
Is Basmati rice healthy?
Yes! Rice is a whole grain full of important nutrients, vitamins, fiber, and minerals.
One cup of cooked Basmati rice contains:
- Calories: 210
- Protein: 4.4 grams
- Fat: 0.5 grams
- Carbs: 45.6 grams
- Fiber: 0.7 grams
- Sodium: 399 mg
(% of the Daily Value)
- Folate: 24%
- Thiamine: 22%
- Selenium: 22%
- Niacin: 15%
- Copper: 12%
- Iron: 11%
- Vitamin B6: 9%
- Zinc: 7%
- Phosphorus: 6%
- Magnesium: 5% 1
What about the high carb content of rice?
Carbohydrates have gotten a very unfortunate reputation as being drivers of weight gain and type II diabetes and people talk about carbs as if it’s something to avoid like the plague. But this macronutrient is so essential that up to 65% of our calories should be from healthy carbohydrate sources!2
It’s important to remember that not all carbs are created equal. Refined sugars such as white bread and soda are vastly different than whole grains, fruits, potatoes, and legumes — yet these are all carb sources. Say no to the muffins and grab an apple instead!
What about Type II Diabetes?
While white rice lands high on the glycemic index at 72, Basmati rice is actually considered a low-medium glycemic food at 55!3 (What are the glycemic index ranges? Low GI: 1 to 55. Medium GI: 56 to 69. High GI: 70 and above.)
Our body’s main source of energy is from glucose, which we get from carbohydrates. Carbs are broken down into simple sugars and absorbed into the bloodstream as blood glucose. Insulin is the key that allows glucose to enter the cells of the muscles and the liver to use as energy. Glucose fuels our organs, muscles, nervous system, and brain. Our brains run primarily on glucose, which is why it’s important to have adequate amounts of healthy carbs in the diet! When we don’t burn glucose right away, it’s stored in our liver and muscles as glycogen.4
Type II diabetes is not caused by eating rice, potatoes, or fruit — it’s caused by excessive fat in the diet.5 6 Having too much fat built up in the muscle cells (not visceral fat which is what hangs over your pants, but fat in the actual cells) blocks insulin’s ability to transport glucose from the blood and into the cells, so it ends up stuck in the blood with nowhere to go — elevating blood glucose (blood sugar).
Having high blood-sugar isn’t the cause of diabetes, it’s the symptom.
Eating healthy carbohydrate-rich meals everyday won’t increase your risk for diabetes, but rather it can help manage and improve those with type II diabetes!7
Basmati Rice in the Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 1 cup Basmati rice
- 1 ¼ cup Cold water
- ½ tsp Salt to taste
Instructions
- Soak rice for 15 minutes in cool water.
- Rinse rice thoroughly in a fine mesh strainer.
- Place rice, 1 ¼ cups cold water, and ½ tsp salt in Instant Pot and seal lid.
- Set Instant Pot to cook on High Pressure for 7 minutes. Do a full natural release.
Notes
- https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/is-basmati-rice-healthy#nutrients
- https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/carbohydrates/art-20045705#:~:text=How%20many%20carbohydrates%20do%20you,grams%20of%20carbs%20a%20day.
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24772728/
- https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/23509-glycogen
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12643169/#:~:text=Dietary%20fat%20has%20been%20implicated,greater%20whole%2Dbody%20insulin%20resistance.
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15297079/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3489574/
