My husband loves Kerala Rice. Its also called as the palakkadan matta rice. There is a red hue on the rice which is nothing but the pericarp. Its highly nutritious and rich in fibre. The traditional method can take a long time to cook. The rice is cooked in lots of water. The one basic problem that people face when cooking matta rice in pressure cooker is that the water spews out of the pressure cooker during cooking and the whole place becomes a starchy mess. This can be easily avoided by using a pot inside a pressure cooker.
Video of how to cook kerala matta rice in a pressure cooker.
Here is how to cook kerala matta rice in a pressure cooker.
Wash and soak the rice for 30 minutes minimum. You can soak up-to an hour.
Take the pressure cooker and add in one cup of water to the cooker. Take a bowl and add in the washed and drained rice. I used 1 cup of rice. Add in 7 cups of water to the bowl. Place the bowl inside the pressure cooker filled with water. Cover the cooker and cook for 8-10 whistles on medium flame. We need this many whistles as we are cooking by pot in pot method. I also like my rice to be soft. So I cook for 10 whistles. It takes about 12-15 minutes. After the said whistles, switch off the flame and let the cooker rest for 30 minutes. Do not open the lid until that time. The rice will absorb and get swollen during the resting time.
Note: I cook the rice using pot in pot method. If the water is directly added, the water spews out during cooking creating a big mess on the stove. This can be easily avoided by using pot in pot method.
After 30 minutes, open the cooker. There will be lots of water in the bowl along with the cooked rice. Drain the rice on a colander.
Note: I do not cook the matta rice by absorption method as I find the rice to be gummy. So I always add lots of water and drain it later on. Â If you are worried about losing nutrition, please use the water in making chapati dough, etc…
Perfectly cooked kerala matta rice is ready!
- 1 Cup Matta Rice
- 7 Cups Water
- Wash and soak the rice for 30 minutes minimum. You can soak upto an hour.
- Take the pressure cooker and add in one cup of water to the cooker. Take a bowl and add in the washed and drained rice. I used 1 cup of rice. Add in 7 cups of water to the bowl. Place the bowl inside the pressure cooker filled with water. Cover the cooker and cook for 8-10 whistles on medium flame. We need this many whistles as we are cooking by pot in pot method. I also like my rice to be soft. So I cook for 10 whistles. It takes about 12-15 minutes. After the said whistles, switch off the flame and let the cooker rest for 30 minutes. Do not open the lid until that time. The rice will absorb and get swollen during the resting time.
- After 30 minutes, open the cooker. There will be lots of water in the bowl along with the cooked rice. Drain the rice on a colander.
- Perfectly cooked kerala matta rice is ready!
I tried this yesterday and it turned out perfect. Thank you for the neat step – by – step instructions.
Do you know if kai-kuththal arasi and Kerala matta rice are the same?
Hi Saranya, No they are not the same. Infact matta rice is partially polished rice. Kai kuthal arisi is 100 percent unpolished rice.
Dear Madam/Sir,
We have developed an innovative pressure cooker, StrainO, it can drain starchy water and very quick to cook. For example:
1 cup of kerala matta rice – 4 cups of water is added, cooking time: under 20mins cooked and drained rice is ready for eating.
Please watch the youtube video. This might be useful for you
thank you , this recipe helped me so much today.
Hello mam, I cooked Matta rice following this method n it was absolutely perfect. The best part is the texture of the rice n how much of cooking time it saves. Thanks a lot.
Thanks for the recipe.
Going to make this in the upcoming days.
Another Method you can do….
Previous night soak the rice in water
Next day morning coocker put drained race n add water 3:1 ratio…
In medium flame cook for 5 whistle….
After half(min) to one hour(max) all pressure gone open lid n add 2-3 cup water again as per requirement…
Then again cook for 5 whistle…..
After 30 min remove lid n drain water n use rice….
Dont throw drained water, for a glass add ghee(home made) n salt n drink…. this is the best nutrition drink on the mother earth…
I purchased kerala vadi matta rice (double horse brand) from good kerala shop.when I washed the rice I felt that coloured water was coming out as if it is artificially coloured. Is it normal thing.shop keeper said it is normal.After cooking it will not look red.it will be light pink/white.Only two three brown lines will remain there. Is it correct? please reply.
Yes Malhar. Thats correct. After cooking, the rice will not be red. It will be with a hue of pink.
You have a wonderful blog here. The recipes are very accurate and informative. I have a question – I cook food in the pressure cooker as instructed the manual, that is bringing the cooker to full pressure on maximum heat and then reducing to simmer and checking the time. Could you give me a similar instruction please. It is difficult to count the whistles when one goes around the house doing other chores. May be I’ll try on low flame and time it for 12-15 min as you mentioned.
Thank you. You can also go by the time mentioned.
Thank you, simplified and hassle free recipe, just bought some after going to Kerala and loved the rice, it was so light and yummy
Thank you Rachna!
Thanks i cooked as per instructions ans it was the best i ever made
Thank you!
Really liked the way you simplified the entire process of cooking matta rice Suguna…
Also, the images are really tempting đ
Matta rice is always a better option over the traditional white rice when it comes to nutrition and taste. I really love it when had with authentic South Indian curries and dishes
Keep writing such awesome recipes
Thank you!
Do we have to cover the bowl with rice with a lid inside the cooker?
I dont do it! If doing in a bigger cooker, do cover with a lid as it might spill over.
Same method we can follow in electric rice cooker also. We can drain excess water when the cooker comes in warm mode.
sure.
Thank you so much SV, was looking for this recipe??
Thank you so much AR. Glad you like it!
Hi Kanamma,
LOve your recipes.
one question though, won”t adding the extra water and draining of the cooked liquid remove the nutrition.
matta rice can be very gummy if the water is not drained. You can use the water in making chapati dough etc..
Can’t wait to try the vadai and orange ginger soup. They look so good! I love all of your recipes! And your family story, very heart warming! Keep them coming. All the best to you and your family.
xoxo Bibi
Thank You!
We always had this rice for lunch.Miss that rice with chicken curry
Hi can you please provide the procedure for cooking brown rice too? Something always goes wrong with that for me đ
i tried kerala rice very nice thank u