Basmati rice is one of my favorite types of rice! This aromatic, fluffy, and flavorful rice is perfect with curries, pairs well with beans, and is great with sautéed vegetables. Just a few of the many possibilities! Basmati rice on the stovetop is quick and easy to make and comes out perfect every time!
A long, slender-grained rice native to India and Pakistan, Basmati in Hindi translates to “fragrant” or “full of aroma.”
If you have an Instant Pot, you can cook Basmati Rice even faster! Try my Basmati Rice in the Instant Pot recipe.
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 an unfortunate reputation of 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
Is there arsenic in rice?
There could be. I know this sounds terrible but before you shun rice forever, hear me out. I assure you that the benefits from eating rice far out-weight possible arsenic risks and there are actions you can take to help reduce exposure!
Arsenic is a naturally occurring heavy metal found in rock, soil, and water. Inorganic arsenic is what we really need to worry about and it can be found from contaminated soil and groundwater from livestock manure, fertilizer, pesticides, or industrial waste. The reason arsenic levels can be higher in rice than other grains is because rice crops sit in standing water.
There are tricks you can do to reduce the chance that your rice is tainted with arsenic.
- Buy rice grown in California! Avoid buying rice from southern U.S. states (I’m looking at you, Texas) as the fertilizers of yore used to be arsenic-laced when growing cotton crops.
- Soak rice for at least 15 minutes. Then rinse thoroughly before cooking with fresh water. Soaking for long periods also reduces cooking time.
- Cook rice with much more water than instructions call for. Once rice is finished cooking, strain extra water out and rinse rice one more time. This step alone can reduce any arsenic levels by 50% but unfortunately some water-soluble B vitamins will also be lost.8
Basmati Rice on the Stovetop
Ingredients
- 1 cup Basmati rice I prefer long grain
- 2 cup Water
- ¼ tsp Salt to taste
Instructions
- In a fine mesh strainer, rinse the rice with cold water until the water runs clear. (Option to soak rice for 15 minutes before straining and rinsing.)
- In a medium sized uncovered pot add strained rice, water, and salt. Bring to a boil and cook until water level is at the height of the rice. Then reduce heat to a simmer and cover pot with lid. Cook until rice is tender and fluffy, about 15-20 minutes.
- Remove pot from heat and let rest for 10-15 minutes.
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/
- https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/food-features/rice/#:~:text=The%20average%20GI%20for%20brown,risk%20for%20type%202%20diabetes.
