My Cookbook: Souk to Table 
30-Minute Mediterranean Rice (Yellow Basmati Rice)
This easy 30-minute Mediterranean yellow rice is fluffy, aromatic, and the perfect side dish for grilled meats, chicken, or seafood. Long grain basmati rice is simmered with onions, broth, warm spices, and turmeric for that signature golden color—finished with crunchy toasted almonds for extra flavor and texture.
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5 STAR READER REVIEW
“I made this to go with a chicken shawarma and garlic-lemon shrimp cook out we were having. Not only did it make the house smell heavenly, but everyone raved about how good this rice was. My husband proclaimed “This is the only way we will have rice from now on!” It was that good. Thank you!”
—Holly
Welcome to My Favourite Side.
I’m a rice girl, through and through. Chalk it up to my middle eastern roots. This mediterranean yellow rice is my go-to side when I’m serving up chicken shawarma, my halal cart chicken, or my mediterranean fish.
I can make a perfectly fluffy pot of rice with my eyes closed, but since I started food blogging, I’ve been surprised at how many people struggle to cook fluffy rice.
This recipe is quite easy and beginner friendly, and will get you perfect rice in 30 minutes. I always use long-grain basmati rice (as opposed to shorter grain varieties) because it’s the easiest to cook, hard to mess up, and yields excellent results.
This version of yellow rice is my own and has a middle eastern flavour profile using whole spices, onions and chicken broth. The chicken broth is what will make you go in for more and more. It’s yellow due to turmeric (there is also another version of yellow rice with saffron worth trying).
Instructions
Grab your ingredients! If you don’t have all the whole spices – don’t sweat it. Use what you’ve got.
I don’t soak my rice – instead I wash it very well until the water runs clear to get rid of any excess starch.
TIP: Always use a 1:1.5 rice to water ratio when cooking long grain basmati rice. Some varieties may require more, but using this ratio ensures the rice doesn’t go mushy. If more is needed, you can add it later.
Once the water simmers and you start to see the surface bubbling, cover it with a tight fitting lid, turn the heat to low, and leave it to cook for 20 minutes. Do not be tempted to open that lid!
TIP: To ensure a tight seal on your pot, place a paper towel on top of the pot then place the lid. This ensures no steam escapes which helps to cook the rice evenly.
After 20 minutes, open the lid and fluff the rice gently with the back of a spatula or using a fork. Cover again and allow it to rest for 10 minutes before serving.
If you know me – you know my rice will always be garnished with fried almonds or pine nuts, fried raisins, and parsley for a bright pop of colour. This step makes it extra special, but also adds texture.
Rice Varieties Are Different!
When testing this recipe with different types of basmati rice, they all worked for the most part. But I also discovered that different varieties may need more water. I suggest picking one type and sticking to it so you get to know your rice and how much it needs.
But… as always, I have a solution for you. This is how I suggest you tackle the water ratio:
- Always start with my recommended 1:1.5 cups rice to water. No basmati rice variety will ever need less than this amount.
- If you find that after the full cook time (after you cover it and simmer it for 20 minutes undisturbed), the grains are still not very soft, then add another 1 to 1 1/2 cups of water, cover again and continue to simmer for 10 more minutes. Then fluff and check it again.
This method ensures that you don’t start off with too much water to begin with, which may end up making your specific variety too mushy.
If you tried these recipes, please consider leaving a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page – I’d love to hear from you! You can also hop on over to Instagram and say hello!
30-Minute Mediterranean Rice (Yellow Basmati Rice)
Ingredients
- 3 cups long grain basmati rice
- 4.5 cups chicken broth, substitute water
- 1/4 cup olive oil, (or 4 tablespoons)
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 1.5 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon whole peppercorns
- 5 whole cloves
- 5 whole green cardamom
- 2 cinnamon sticks
Instructions
- In a large pot over medium heat, heat up the olive oil before adding in the finely diced onions
- Sauté until the onions have softened
- Add the whole peppercorns, cloves, cardamom and cinnamon sticks and continue to stir for a few more minutes
- Add in the salt and the turmeric and continue sautéing for another minute
- Wash and rinse the basmati rice before adding it into the pot
- Stir gently for a few minutes, being careful not to break up the rice grains. Add the chicken broth (or water). Bring to a boil
- Once the surface of the rice is bubbling (which should take 3-5 minutes), cover with a tight fitting lid, reduce the heat to low and cook for 20 minutes undisturbed
- After 20 minutes, turn the heat off and open the lid. Fluff very gently with a fork or the back of a spatula. Cover and allow it to rest for 10 minutes
- Garnish with parsley, toasted almonds and raisins if desired before serving
Notes
- If you are not using long grain basmati rice, for example, if you’re using medium grain rice, make sure to adjust the rice to water ratio from 1:1.5 to roughly 1:1 to avoid mushy rice. Not all rice varieties cook the same way!
- If you don’t have all the whole spices listed, feel free to omit some and use what you have.
My go to yellow rice recipe! Pairs perfectly with so many dishes. A classic staple in our household
Amazing! It was a hit with my family and guests. So easy to make!
So thrilled you enjoyed it, thanks for the review!
This was incredible and very easy to make!
So happy you loved the rice Carlie, thanks so much for your review!
Made this using the rice cooker instead and wow! Its light yet flavourful. This will be my go-to recipe for flavoured rice. 🙂
So glad you loved this one Farrah! Thanks for sharing that you used a rice cooker to make it.
I doubled the recipe as I was hosting dinner and it did not disappoint! I literally use and abuse my rice cooker so cooking rice on the stovetop was a little daunting (and I’m Asian haha). This recipe was just pure magic. The rice was perfect and delicious!!
That’s wonderful! I’ve actually never used a rice cooker myself, lol! So thrilled you enjoyed it, thanks for the review Davina!
Haven’t made this yet but want to. My question is what do you cook with it? Do you have other recipes to go with this one?
Hi Sarah, Humaira from the HP team here! Great question! The Mediterranean rice can be accompanied by your favourite grilled or baked meats like a classic Chicken Shawarma , Joojeh Kabab, Mediterranean Fish or, Juicy Kafta Kababs. It also pairs wonderfully with fresh salads like Fattoush, Tabouli or, Malfouf. Hope these help!
tasted great even though i didn’t have all the ingredients!
So glad to hear that, thanks for leaving me a review! 🙂
Is this good with fried eggs for breakfast?
Can you substitute a pinch to 1/4 teaspoon of the whole spices for the flavoring? We almost never use whole spices and our shelf can’t take a single other spice jar. Otherwise, it seems like an excellent recipe, and I will adjust for different rices.
Hi Brian! Yes I think you can definitely get away with that. I wouldn’t do more than 1/4 teaspoon since the ground spices are stronger than the whole ones. Hope you try it!
An easy recipe to follow with pictures to yield a flavorful rice dish to go with my cevapi. Thank you! It’s a definite keeper for my recipe book.
I am so glad you loved it Liane! Thanks for the review!
Such a delicious recipe, my family loves it!
So glad you loved it Jenna!
Wow thank you for the most delicious middle eastern rice recipe! This was incredible! I always tried to make yellow rice and failed but this was just absolute perfection I followed recipe to a T.
So thrilled this worked out perfectly for you! Thanks for the comment! 🙂
This recipe didn’t work with 4.5 cups liquid. I used basmati rice and the water was absorbed before it ever boiled. I had to add more water to it to actually cook it. I’ve made basmati rice a lot and never had this issue. I won’t make this again.
Hi Jen! Basmati rice is best cooked with a 1:1.5 ratio of rice to liquid. In this case, since we’re using 3 cups of rice, 4.5 cups of water is plenty. The rice absorbs some of the water, and then the method of covering it tightly and allowing it to further steam for 20 minutes on low heat undisturbed is what ends up cooking the basmati rice grains to a fluffy consistency, without being mushy or soggy. If this didn’t work, it could be related to other factors such as heat level as you were cooking it or leaving it uncovered for too long, or not measuring the rice accurately. Some rice varieties can take a bit more water (a 1:2 ratio works for some varieties), but the 1:1.5 is the golden rule I’ve relied on for years. Many other readers (per comments) have shared their success with this method.
@Jen: this recipe probably didn’t work because different brands of basmati rice absorb water differently. Been cooking basmati for decades as I’m indian lol, and I know that some rice brands take forever to cook compared to others, and some absorb so much more water (so you need to add more) than others. I had to add almost 2 cups of water for every cup of rice for this dish. Turned out wonderful.
I am not usually the type to leave comments on recipes but I felt the need to comment on this one to express my gratitude to the author. I’ve been experimenting with making basmati rice for several months and its come out differently each time. That is, either mushy or dry or half of the amount gets stuck to the bottom of the pot. I was skeptical upon seeing the method in this post but it worked perfectly. The trick I was missing was putting it on low heat just after it boils. I’m used to making medium grain (Egyptian) rice and usually I only lower the heat after the rice has absorbed most of the water. I also used the method of covering the pot with a paper towel to secure the lid. Thank you so much
Hi Noura! I am so glad this method worked out for you! The best thing ever is finally learning how to cook rice perfectly! By the way, this method works wonderful for basmati rice, and I also have another post on how to cook Egyptian rice (it’s slightly different) to perfection as well. Thanks for the wonderful review!
Unfortunately my rice wasn’t cooked after 20 minutes….i have cooked rice many times but these instructions didn’t work unfortunately….what did i do wrong??
Hi Dan! Oh no – I’m sorry to hear that! Did you ensure to measure out the rice and the water, to exactly a 1:1.5 ratio of rice to water? Also, does the pot that you use have a tight seal on it? This is important to ensure all the steam stays inside. If you did the above and it didn’t cook, after the 20 minutes, add about 1/2 cup water to the pot, then cover it again and continue to allow it to steam for another 10 minutes on low heat. Some rice varieties may need more time than others – that’s what I’m thinking perhaps went wrong? Let me know if you try it again!
Hello,
I tried this dish and did everything exactly as you have it and it came out great. I got hooked on this rice and felt it was time to learn how to make it. Thank you!
This may be a dumb question but if doesn’t say in the instructions. Do you fish out the whole spices when it’s done cooking?
Not a dumb question at all Kim! I sometimes fish them out if I’m fluffing the rice and see them, but if I miss a few, it’s no big deal. My family knows to look out for them! It is unpleasant biting into a cardamom pod, I will admit. So fishing them out is probably a good thing to do, especially if you’re not used to them!
Really delicious, especially when served with toasted almonds on top. We made bowls out of this with roasted veggies, salad and tahini dressing. Will make again
The bowls sound wonderful! Really glad you enjoyed it Blythe.