Instant Pot Sona Masoori Rice

Looking to cook sona masoori rice in the Instant Pot? Try this simple recipe for perfect instant pot sona masoori rice – every single time.

Written as a guide for cooking white sona masoori rice in the instant pot, it covers everything from the rice setting in the instant pot, the actual cook time, and the water to rice ratio for the electric pressure cooker.

This recipe is especially perfect for making rice for Indian dishes or to pair with delicious Indian curries.

What is Sona Masoori Rice?

Sona Masoori is a lightweight medium grain fragrant rice that is mainly grown in the southern parts of India, and is a perfect complement to not only South Indian curries, but also every day Indian curries, especially the lighter ones.

And even though it’s not as well known as Basmati rice, in many ways it can be considered healthier than Basmati rice, as it has a lower starch content, and caloric value.

Also sona masoori rice is very widely and easily available, even here in the US. And costco sona masoori rice is among the more popular brands here. Of-course this is mostly because of Costco’s widely established distribution chain.

But there are also many other brands of sona masoori rice in the market, which are easily available in the Indian stores, and you can go with whichever one you prefer.

White vs Brown Sona Masoori Rice

Like most Indian families, white sona masoori rice has been our default rice for cooking. But of late, we are trying to make brown sona masoori rice our default rice, mostly because it’s more nutritious than white rice.

Of-course all kinds of brown rice takes longer to cook as compared to white rice, and there are some Indian rice dishes that taste best with white rice only. So essentially we are trying to strike more of a balance.

Check Out: How to Cook Perfect Soft and Fluffy Brown Rice in the Instant Pot

How to Cook Sona Masoori Rice

While growing up, I knew of 3 ways of making rice – the open pot method (which was how my mom always cooked rice), the Indian pressure cooker method (which we stayed away from because we found the rice too al dente for our liking), and the closed pot method (which was my default all these years before Instant Pot).

But now I love the hassle free perfection of Instant Pot rice. Be it white rice or brown rice, or basmati rice, Instant Pot is now my default to cook rice.

In this post, I am sharing my recipe for making Instant Pot White Sona Masoori Rice.

How to Cook Sona Masoori Rice in the Instant Pot

There are 2 main ways to cook rice in the Instant Pot. Either you can cook rice directly in the main steel pot (inner pot) of the Instant Pot or use the pot-in-pot method of cooking rice.

I’ll share both methods in this post. But no matter which way you prefer to cook rice, here are a few basic things you must know before cooking rice in the Instant Pot.

The Instant Pot Rice Setting

This is Instant Pot’s automatic setting for white or parboiled rice. But I always use the manual setting for pressure cooking rice, and I recommend you do too, based on the kind and quality of your rice.

Actual Cook Time for Rice

I say actual cook time because I’ve found it to be different from Instant Pot’s recommended cook time for rice or the time indicated in the Instant Pot rice setting.

For instance, Instant Pot rice cycle is 12 minutes on low pressure, but I’ve found 4-6 minutes on high pressure (depending on whether we are cooking rice in the inner pot or pot-in-pot) works best for white sona masoori rice .

Water to Rice Ratio

Here again, Instant Pot recommends a water to rice ratio of 1:1 for all kinds of rice. Which makes rice too al dente for our liking. And so we go with a 2:1 water to rice ratio for soft, fluffy rice, that will still hold form and not become mushy.

Of-course, preferences vary, so you can choose to adjust the cooking time and water to rice ratio to suit your preferences, using this recipe as a baseline.

Instant Pot Sona Masoori Rice – Step by Step

If you are cooking a larger quantity of rice (anything over 1.5 cups), it’s best to cook the rice directly in the main inner pot of Instant Pot, as outlined below.

For this recipe, I’ve cooked 2 cups of rice in the Instant Pot.

Method:

• Wash 2 cups of raw sona masoori rice till the water runs clear, then drain the excess water.
• Add the washed and drained rice to the inner steel pot of the Instant Pot
• Add 4 cups of water for cooking the rice.

• Close the Instant Pot lid, after ensuring the sealing ring is securely in place, and turn the steam release valve to point to sealing.
• Pressure cook on high for 4 minutes. And when the pressure cooking cycle is complete, let the pressure release naturally.
• The rice is ready when the float valve comes down on its own.

Pot In Pot Method for Sona Masoori Rice

If you are cooking only a little rice (anything under 1.5 cups), it’s best to cook the rice using pot in pot method. This way the main inner pot of the Instant Pot still stays clean, and you can use it to make something else.

For this recipe, I’ve cooked 1 cup of rice in the Instant Pot.

Method:

• Pour 1 cup water in the main inner pot of the Instant Pot, and then place the steel trivet in the main pot.
• In a small steel bowl (that will fit inside the Instant Pot) take 1 cup of washed and drained sona masoori rice.
• Add 2 cups of water for cooking the rice, and place this steel bowl on the trivet inside the Instant Pot. This is optional, but you can choose to cover this small steel pot with a steel lid.

• Then close the Instant Pot lid, after ensuring the sealing ring is securely in place, and turn the steam release valve to point to sealing.
• Pressure cook on high for 6 minutes. And when the pressure cooking cycle is complete, let the pressure release naturally.
• The rice is ready when the float valve comes down on its own.

Serve hot with dal or a curry of your choice. Add ghee for really aromatic and flavorful rice.

Video Recipe

Love Instant Pot? Here are more Instant Pot recipes to try!

Easy Instant Pot Chicken Biryani – One Pot Meal
Instant Pot Bhuna Masala – Indian Curry Sauce Base
Perfect Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs – Every Single Time

New to Instant Pot? Check out these Instant Pot beginner posts!

Instant Pot Basics for Beginners | Instant Pot 101
How to do the Instant Pot Water Test (and Why You Must Do It)

As always, I hope you found this recipe useful. If you did, please let me know your rating ⭐️ and feedback 📲 in the comments below, or simply rate the recipe right on the recipe card. I’d really appreciate it. ❤️ 

📖 RECIPE

This post was first published in Jun 2020, and has been republished with updated notes and recipe video in Sep 2020.

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