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!
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
Nikki says
Which Matta rice do you recommend buying?
Anish says
Easy way to cook Matta rice. Thank you for this recipe. Works well.
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Glad to hear that!
C says
I made this and the rice turned out very mushy. I clicked the pressure cook setting, set it to high, cooked for ten minutes, and then natural released for ten minutes. Do you have any idea what might have gone wrong?
Sowmika says
Hi Ashley, thanks for the recipe. I understand the rice can vary, but following the same as above had the below issues. Can you tell me what am I doing wrong.
1. With 1:2.5 water ratio – had burn indication without reaching pressure zone.
2. With 1:4 ration – as you said it took a lot of time but it did cook well
3. Both times there is a lot of water that is getting splashed out of the pressure release zone. Is this normal for an IP?
Thanks !
SK says
Thank you for this. It cooked the rice perfectly but the quick release even after 10 minutes led to a lot of starchy mess everywhere. Any tips on how to avoid this?
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Did you make a larger quantity by chance? I’m wondering if the IP was filled closer to the top? You can always do a longer natural release or a full one to avoid this.
Priya says
Can you please post sambar rice, fried rice using matta rice in instant pot?
Annu says
Hi, Do you have the instructions for pot in pot cooking for matta rice, the quantity of water, and the time please
My Heart Beets says
Hi Annu, I haven’t tried PIP with this rice so I’m not sure. Hopefully if another reader has they can help! 🙂
Jay says
I got my instant pot a few days ago and the first thing I wanted to cook in it was rice, but…. All the recipes I’ve seen on google, YouTube, etc were for basmati rice. I thought – there must be Someone out there who’s cooked kerela rice in the IP and your website was the first to pop up. This recipe worked prefectly – thank you!
I was wondering how much longer I’d need to cook the rice for if I didn’t soak it for 10 mins first? You know, being a busy mom and all (and also doing things last minute!)
Also, a quick tip that I learned from my FIL – when I strain the cooked rice at the end, I add enough hot water into it to give it a good stir – this apparently helps get all the starch off the rice. Then strain.
My Heart Beets says
Hi Jay, I’m so glad you found my site! I actually think it’ll be fine in the same amount of time even if you skip soaking the rice. Also, thanks for sharing that tip from your FIL!
Maya says
Hi Ash! If I double the recipe, would I need to double the time as well?
My Heart Beets says
Hi Maya, I haven’t tried doubling this recipe, but my suggestion would be to double the ingredients and leave the cook time the same. The instant pot will just take longer to reach pressure since there’ll be more in the pot.
Maya says
Thanks so much! That’s insightful
George J says
I have been searching specifically on cooking Kerala Matta rice in Instant pot. Glad to see this recipe . Can’t wait to try.. Thank you!
My Heart Beets says
George, I’m so glad you found my site! Hope you’ll let me know if you try any of my other Keralite recipes 🙂
Ash says
This was the first time ever that I tried to make Mota/ Matta Rice and let me tell you – I had my reservations.
As a Malayali, our lunches typically involved this rice and I thought there was no way I could replicate it. I followed your instructions and It came out… PERFECT! Thank you for sharing such a foolproof way of making this!
My Heart Beets says
Ash, hooray! I’m so glad you tried and liked my method 🙂 Thanks for letting me know how it turned out for you!
Kirk Hansen says
I went to my local Indian grocery looking for brown jasmine rice. The owner suggested red matta rice as an alternative, something I had never tried. After I bought it, he suggested a gallon of water per cup of rice when cooking it! I immediately found your way to cook it and It just came out of the Instant Pot and it’s amazing! Thanks so much!
My Heart Beets says
Kirk, that’s so awesome to hear! Glad you liked the rice 🙂 Let me know if you try any other recipes from my blog!
Ashley Mathai says
Hi, I was wondering if i could follow the same recipe for regular parboiled rice? I can’t find the one with the husk on it in my area 🙁
Anita says
Yes I would like to know too!
Katie says
Bought some of this rice today to try; thank you for sharing your method for the IP!
Do you soak the rice for an hour or longer before cooking? I know it needs to soak when cooked on the stove.
My Heart Beets says
Hi Katie, let me know how it goes! I soak it for 10 minutes (step 1) 🙂
Trent Ferguson says
What brand do you recommend?
My Heart Beets says
I’m waiting to find one in the US that I like enough to recommend – hopefully soon! I prefer to use rice that my MIL brings from Kerala, which I know isn’t helpful.
Shaila says
So happy that , we can cook Matta rice in insta😂
Quick question : can you elaborate on point 5 ? Rinse the rice as in , you rinse cooked rice ?? In cold water ?
Confused 🤷♀️
My Heart Beets says
Hi Shaila, sure! So once the matta rice is done, rinse it with water (cold water is fine) to remove any additional starch. You don’t have to do this but I find the flavor/texture of matta rice is better after a quick rinse. Hope that helps, let me know if you have more questions!
Shaila says
Great ! I will be trying this soon