Wash the rice and soak it in water for about 10 minutes. Drain the rice well and keep it aside.

In a heavy bottom pan, heat the ghee. I have used ghee to make the rice as it makes it more flavorful, but you could use oil instead. Add the cumin seeds, cinnamon stick and bay leaf and let it fry for about 20 seconds or until aromatic. If using cashews and raisins, add it at this stage and let it fry until golden brown.

Add the drained rice to the pan and gently stir. Make sure you don’t break the rice when stirring.

Add the water needed to cook the rice and mix well. Add salt needed. I used about 2 cups of water to cook the rice.

At this stage, you could transfer the rice to a cooker to cook. I cooked the rice in the pan.

Let the water come to a boil and then simmer the flame and cover the pan. Cook covered for about 10 minutes. Check to see is the rice is cooked. Fluff with fork and let it rest for about 5 minutes before serving.

Serve the Jeera Pulao with subzi or raita and pickle.