Sada Chawal (Plain Boiled Rice) Recipe

Name: Sada Chawal (Plain Boiled Rice)
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 1 h
Cuisine: Pakistani
Ingredients: 2 cups Basmati rice; 12 cups Water, for boiling; 1 tbsp Salt, adjust to taste; 1 tsp Lemon (lemon juice), juice; 1 tbsp Cooking oil, or ghee

سادہ چاول بنانے کا طریقہ

Long, separate grains of plain basmati the Pakistani way: soaked, boiled in plenty of salted water, drained and steamed briefly on dum.

Prep

5 min

Cook

25 min

Marinate / soak

30 min

Serves

Difficulty

Easy

Spice

Mild

Most Pakistani homes cook plain rice like pasta: soaked basmati goes into a big pot of boiling salted water, is drained the moment it is just done, and is then steamed for a few minutes on dum. This is the most forgiving method, because there is no water ratio to get wrong, and it gives long grains that do not stick. Plain rice is what goes under daal, kadhi and most salans.

Method

Wash the rice gently in several changes of water, swirling with your fingers, until the water runs nearly clear. Soak in fresh water.
⏱ 30 min
Bring the water to a rolling boil in a large pot with the salt and lemon juice. The water should taste noticeably salty.
⏱ 10 min
Drain the rice and add it to the boiling water. Stir once gently and boil uncovered on high heat.
⏱ 6 min
Start checking a grain: it is ready when it breaks easily between your fingers with no hard white centre, but is not soft and swollen. Drain at once in a colander.
Put the rice back in the pot, drizzle the oil over and cover tightly. Leave on the lowest heat on dum so the grains finish cooking in their own steam.
⏱ 8 min
Fluff gently from the sides with a flat spoon and serve.

Tips for the best result

Older (aged) basmati gives longer, firmer grains than new-crop rice, which turns sticky more easily.
Add a few cumin seeds or a bay leaf to the boiling water for zeera rice.

Common mistakes

Boiling until fully soft. The rice keeps cooking on dum, so drain it while it still has a slight bite.
Rubbing the rice hard while washing. Basmati grains break; swirl gently instead.

How to serve

Serve with daal, kadhi, chicken salan or any curry.

Storing and reheating

Cool quickly and refrigerate within an hour. Keeps 2 days; reheat thoroughly with a sprinkle of water, covered.

Nutrition and cost

Worked out from the ingredients, not measured in a lab. Treat both as a rough guide.

Per serving Estimate

Calories: 370kcal
Protein: 7g
Fat: 4g
Carbs: 74g
Fibre: 1.2g
Sodium: 1750mg

Estimated from USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy (April 2018), public domain values for the raw ingredients (100% of the recipe by weight had data). Deep-frying oil is counted at 20%; bones and water lost in cooking are not subtracted, so bone-in and fried dishes can read high. Not medical advice. Method

Cost per servingEstimate

≈ Rs 23

Whole dish ≈ Rs 90 · 99% of ingredients by weight priced

Prices in

From the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics weekly SPI, week ended 29 Oct 2026. Spices, herbs and some vegetables are not in the SPI and are left out unless you add your price, so the real cost is a little higher. How this works