Traditional East Indian Wedding Rice

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5 out of 5 Stars by 3 readers!

East Indian Wedding rice is a delicious and tasty dish served at most East Indian weddings and special functions. This rich rice goes well with curries, dals and salads too!


Traditional East Indian Wedding rice is so rich and delicious, the fried onions, the raisins, the cashews, the spices, so much flavour and fun. The normal everyday rice or rice with haldi is usually served with a variety of dalscurries, salads, and is used in a few sweet dishes too. But this East Indian dish is extra special, so it gets some boiled eggs too. Plus, it’s the perfect accompaniment for corned tongue, beef roast, duck moile, sorpotel, tamriad, and vindaloo.

Have a special occasion coming up? Try this delightful wedding rice recipe and let us know what you think.

What ingredients do you need to make East Indian wedding rice?

All you need is rice, onions, raisins, cashewnuts, cinnamon, cloves, bay leaf, ghee, boiled eggs, and salt.

How to make Wedding Rice?

Step I – Cook the rice

Wash and rinse the rice from water a couple of times to remove grit and also to remove any excess starch.

Add water and salt in a steel vessel and bring it to a boil. We usually add water equal to double the quantity of rice. Once the water is boiling, add the rice and boil on a medium flame. 

Stir the rice every now and then so that it does not stick to the bottom and it cooks equally. After about 15 mins, check on the rice. Squish a few grains of rice between 2 fingers to see if it’s cooked.

If it is still a bit hard, let it continue boiling. If it is soft and squishy, that means your rice is ready. Turn the stove off and move your vessel to the sink. Cover the vessel with a lid or strainer, and drain out all of the water. You can add a little cold water while doing this, so the rice does not get sticky. Set aside the drained rice.

Rice boiling in a pot.
Always boil rice with extra water

Step II – Prepare the onion and cashew nut mixture

This is my favorite part of making rice dishes, caramelizing the onions. Cut the onions into fine slices and set them aside. Keep some raisins and cashew nuts ready by removing any stems from the raisins and separating the cashewnuts into halves.

Chop the onions lenghtwise.
Slice the onions

Heat ghee in a frying pan and add the sliced onions. Fry them till they are golden brown.

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Ghee or Indian clarified butter heating in a pan.
Heat the ghee
Sliced onions in a frying pan.
Add the sliced onions
Onions frying in ghee.
Fry the onions in ghee

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Then add in a few cinnamon sticks and bay leaves, and fry till you get a lovely aroma. Some people also caramelize sugar and add, but we don’t need to do that. You can also add cloves if you wish. After this add in the cashews and raisins and continue to fry for a while.

Bay leaves and cinnamon added to fried onions.
Add bay leaves and cinnamon and anything else you want
Cashewnuts and raisins added to fried onions in pan.
Add raisins and cashew nut halves
A spoon stirring the fried onions and cashews in a frying pan.
Fry for a while
The fried onions and cashewnut mix in a frying pan.
The fried onions and cashewnut mix is ready

Place the rice in a flat serving dish and decorate with the fried onions and cashew nut mix on the top. You can also add some sliced or halved hard-boiled eggs on the top.

Serve with some pork ukra, vindaloo, sarapatel, or roast chicken and you’re in East Indian heaven. Wink!

Fried onions and cashewnut mix added to the boiled rice.
Add the onion-cashewnut mix to the rice
East Indian wedding rice in a white platter.
Rich East Indian wedding rice with nuts in a white platter.
Can rice get any richer?
East Indian wedding rice in a white platter.
It’s traditional to serve the rice with boiled egg wedges
East Indian wedding rice in a white platter with boiled eggs on top.
East Indian wedding rice in a white platter.
Yum is the word!

Cooking Tips Or Tricks

READ NEXT  Mom's GlutenFree Homemade Chicken Soup

FAQ’s About East Indian Wedding Rice

Can Cooked Wedding Rice Be Re-heated?

Yes, wedding rice can be reheated, but add a little water so it doesn’t get dry, and make sure it is piping hot. Do not reheat it more than once.

Can Cooked Rice Be Frozen?

Yes, you can store the excess cooked rice in an airtight container for consumption at another time. It will stay edible for months. Thaw and then reheat with a few spoons of water before serving.

Can Cooked Rice Be Refrigerated?

Plain-boiled rice can be kept in a refrigerator for about 4 – 7 days. If the rice has other ingredients such as fried onions, peas, or boiled veggies, then do not keep for more than 2 to 3 days.

Is Rice Naturally White?

No, it is not. All rice is naturally brown, there is a process that removes the outer layers that makes it white.

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East Indian wedding rice in a white platter.

Traditional East Indian Wedding Rice

Sarah
East Indian Wedding rice is a delicious and tasty dish served at most East Indian weddings and speical functions.
5 out of 5 Stars by 3 readers!

Click the stars to add your rating! Left you don’t like it, right you love it!

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Course Dinner, Lunch, Main Course
Cuisine East Indian
Servings 20 Servings
Calories 233 kcal
Egg icon on Abbysplate website.
Gluten free icon on Abbysplate website.
No added sugar icon on Abbysplate website.
Rice and Bread icon on Abbysplate website.

Ingredients
  

  • 1 Kilogram Rice
  • Water
  • 1 Tablespoon Salt
  • 2 Tablespoons Ghee
  • 500 grams Onions
  • 50 grams Cashewnuts
  • 50 grams Raisins
  • 2 Bay Leaves
  • 2 inch Cinnamon Sticks
  • 2 Eggs Boiled and Sliced

Instructions
 

  • Boil the rice in a stainless steel vessel and drain when ready. Set aside.
  • Cut the onions into fine slices and fry with ghee in a frying pan until golden brown.
  • Add cinnamon sticks and bayleaves and fry for a few minutes.
  • Then add the raisins and halved cashew nuts and fry well.
  • Decorate the rice with fried onions, cashew nuts and raisins.
  • Optionally, add sliced boiled eggs on top.

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Notes

  • Wash and rinse the rice a few times before you cook to remove any grit or husks. Even if the rice is clean, rinse it to remove excess starch.
  • You can add bay leaves or star anise to the water while boiling for additional flavor.
  • You can add cloves to the onion, raisins, and cashew nut mix for more spice.
  • Draining the water from the rice helps drain excess salt and the rice is left with a low amount of salt. 

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Nutrition (Per Serving)

Calories: 233kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.002g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 360mg | Potassium: 138mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 25IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 25mg | Iron: 1mg

Disclaimer: Nutrition Information per serving is estimated by a third party software based on the ingredients used, and is for informational purposes only. It will vary from product to product, based on methods of preparation, origin and freshness of ingredients. Please consult the package labels of the ingredients you use, or chat with your dietician for specific details.

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Pinterest image of East Indian wedding rice in a white platter.
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Pinterest image of Mumbai's East Indian wedding rice in a white platter.

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