Instant Pot Kerala Matta Rice

Kerala matta rice is known for having a lengthy cook time, but you can now make this plump nutty parboiled rice quickly and easily using an instant pot!

Kerala matta rice is hands down my favorite rice. It’s SO good. It tastes sort of like… if pasta and rice had a baby.

The grains are soft and plump – it really does feel like you’re eating tiny grains of pasta. Try this parboiled red rice just once and you’ll know what I mean.

I personally love matta rice because it soaks up sauce like a champ. As in, it actually absorbs curry. It’s the perfect rice to serve with any Keralite Dish.

What is Kerala Matta Rice? How’s it different from Basmati Rice?

Kerala matta rice is also known as rosematta rice or red rice.

It has an earthy and nutty flavor to it. It’s not aromatic like Basmati Rice but is delicious in its own way. It’s supposed to be more nutritious than white rice too – it actually has fiber.

Dried matta rice absorbs some water as it cooks and so the grains get pretty big. Is it weird to describe grains of rice as being fat and juicy? Probably. But compared to slender basmati, this matta rice is definitely plump.

This is what it looks like before you cook it:

Red parboiled rice normally takes longer to cook than basmati rice but with an instant pot, you can make matta rice almost as quickly and definitely just as easily.

What’s the Rice to Water Ratio?

Typically this type of rice is cooked in a lot of water, which is then drained. Hey, kind of like pasta! See, I told you! Anyway… once the rice is done cooking, you can rinse the rice to get rid of any excess starch. Hey, kind of like past… okayy, I’ll stop now. 🤓

That said, you can technically use more water than I suggest in the recipe below to cook this rice since you’re going to drain/rinse it at the end anyway. My recipe calls for just 2 cups of water to make this (minimum amount necessary) – that way the instant pot doesn’t take as long to reach pressure. The more content in the pot, the longer it will take to reach pressure. But if you want to use 3, 4, 5 cups of water for a cup of rice – go for it… I’ll just be eating my rice before you. 🤪

I hope you try and like my method for making matta rice! Let me know what you think of it and what Keralite dish you serve it with!

Instant Pot Kerala Matta Rice

Instant Pot Kerala Matta Rice

5 from 19 reviews

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Ingredients

 

• ▢ 1 cup red matta rice
• ▢ 2 cups water*
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt

Instructions

 

• Soak the matta rice in cold water for 10 minutes. Drain, rinse well and set aside.
• Add the rice, water and salt to the pot and mix well.
• Secure the lid, close the pressure valve and cook for 10 minutes at high pressure.
• Naturally release pressure for 10 minutes, then open the valve to release any remaining pressure.
• Drain any water from the pot (there may not be any) and then give the rice a quick rinse to remove excess starch (you don’t have to do this, but I do).
• Serve with a tasty curry from my blog! 😉

Notes

*Technically, you can use more water than I suggest to cook the rice since you’re going to drain/rinse it off at the end anyway, however I suggest using 2 cups of water because that way the Instant Pot doesn’t take too long to reach pressure. The more contents in the pot, the longer it will take to reach pressure.

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