Make your very own Mediterranean style Easy Yellow Saffron Rice at home with just 6 ingredients! A great side dish to be served along with falafels, chicken kebabs or just eat plain with hummus and cucumber dill sauce.
I can never get enough of saffron rice. When we were living in Texas, we had this Mediterranean restaurant where we would go from time to time and one thing which I would eat the most was their yellow saffron rice. Full of fragrant saffron, it was subtle and would go great with crunchy tabbouleh, hummus, the best ever saffron chicken and lots of pita. It was so good that most of the time we would order more so we could take leftovers home and enjoy for next day lunch.
I have been wanting to learn how to make saffron rice at home for years now and suddenly this weekend when I started craving all that food, I knew I had to make it at home. I realised making saffron rice at home is really easy.
All you need is very good quality saffron (A MUST). Saffron is a pricey spice but so worth every penny as a very little goes a long way. I got this saffron show in picture above when we had a layover in Qatar while coming from India and I must say it’s divine. I paid almost $30 for 1 gm of saffron threads but they are of highest quality. I tried finding it on amazon but this is the closest I could find and I already ordered this to try this out. It has almost 400+ reviews so I am hoping that it will be at par with the one I am currently using 🙂
So making saffron rice is pretty straight forward. First you soak basmati rice for 15-30 minutes. Meanwhile chop onions and get all the ingredients ready. Once ready add pinch of saffron threads in a small bowl and add boiling hot water to it and let it sit which helps the saffron threads to open up. Now in a pan add little oil. Once hot add cardamom pods and onions and saute. To it add the strained soaked rice and stir around for few minutes. Now add water, that saffron water and salt to taste. Cover and cook until all water is absorbed and rice is fully cooked.
So great on it’s own or as a side.
So go ahead and give this a try! If you make this or any other recipes from our blog, do tag us by using #naivecookcooks on social media channels.
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- 1 cup basmati rice
- ⅛ tsp saffron threads
- 1 tsp oil
- 4 whole green cardamoms
- ¼ cup finely chopped yellow onion
- (1.5 cup + 4 tbsp) water
- Salt to taste
- Rinse rice with tap water until water runs clear. Soak in hot tap water for 15-30 minutes.
- In a small bowl, add saffron threads and 2 tbsp boiling hot water and let it sit.
- Take a skillet and add oil to it. Once hot, add cardamom and onion and saute for few minutes.Now strain the water from rice and add this rice to skillet. Stir it around for few minutes. Now add water along with saffron water and mix. Add salt to taste and mix. Taste and bring it to a boil. Lower the gas to the lowest setting and cover and let it cook until all the water is absorbed and rice is fully cooked.
what a gorgeous color! 🙂 I know right, not easy to find good quality saffron, will check out the link!
Thanks Girl!! Yes do try this one out!
This is the perfect side dish! Love the pretty color!
Thanks Kelly! I am lately on saffron kick and can’t seem to get enough of this rice!
Very happy to see this because I love any kind of yellow rice. This looks amazing and I’m happy to learn how to do it! I have to get on it!!
Thanks Monica! Yes please give it at try, you will love it!!
HI Amishi, love that you add cardamom to your rice, I can tell this taste delicious. Pinned!
This rice looks so cheery! And saffron is definitely worth every penny. 🙂
I love the pretty color of this rice, Ami! And the flavors, too. You really can’t beat six ingredients. Sounds perfect when paired with a meal!
Growing up, I lived across the street from my best friend Neeka and her family, who were from Iran. I would ALWAYS want to go to dinner at her house because her mom made the beeesssttt Iranian food, all of it with saffron it seemed! The saffron rice was always my favorite, but I haven’t had it in forever. Definitely need to make this!
OMG Rachel, know what I lived in Iran for 6 years when I was growing up. My dad is a doctor and when I was 11 months old, we moved to Iran and stayed there for almost 6 years. Those were the best time of my life and our neighbour whose daughter was my best friend at that time, used to make the best Iranian food. I still remember eating noodle soup with tons of beans, veggies and chicken at her place and actually eating a lot of traditional meals at their place. And so many other food memories! Whenever I make this rice, it reminds me of my time in Iran 🙂
So beautiful! And I love the addition of cardamom. Perfect side for so many meals.
I love saffron, but I don’t use it all that much… probably because it’s a little pricey. But this rice is totally worth it! The color is gorgeous! I could totally eat bowl after bowl of this topped with a few falafels! SO YUM!
This looks so amazing! I could just dive right in! I just love how beautifully the color pops! Hand me two big bowls, would ya Ami? 😉 Pinned!
This looks very delicious, I love Saffron but it is very pricey in the Philippines, we usually use turmeric as an alternative to it.
This will be an awesome side dish the next time I cook my husbands curry chicken, thank you so for sharing
Yummy, I really love it, I always tell to my mum to make this for me. I like all your recipes