Rice is staple food in many countries. And for good reason! Rice is very nutritious – when eaten in the right form. It is such a pity that the beauty of food took precedence over it’s nutritive value, and today brown rice is consumed only by the health conscious.

There are many, many varieties of rice.

Unpolished, red matta rice is the raw version of the parboiled rice that is commonly consumed in Kerala and Tamil nadu.

Most other varieties of rice, when unpolished, are usually a lighter brown and are commonly called Brown rice.

Unpolished rice retains the most nutritive content of the grain. Rice is very nutritious. It has selenium, manganese, naturally occurring oils, antioxidants and is also rich in fiber. Click here to read about the benefits of eating brown rice. Those who initially experiment with brown rice find the texture unappealing, but with a little practice it is possible to cook it so it is soft.

‘Red rice’ as it is commonly called, is parboiled rice. This is red rice which is boiled with it’s husk on, before being polished. Because of the boiling, the rice absorbs the nutrition from the husk. So, while this rice is definitely more nutritious than white rice, it contains less fibre than unpolished rice. Some Brahmin communities in India do not eat twice cooked foods, and this rice is avoided by them as it has been boiled once already.

There are really many, many varieties of rice in the world. Believe it or not, 90,000 types of rice are known of, out of which 40,000 types are cultivated in the world. Here are a few varieties that we commonly use.

Sona masuri rice is the most popular variety in Karnataka. It is typical to find 4-5 grades of this rice. It’s grain is fairly short and it has a soft texture if cooked right.

 

Basmati rice is used very commonly in North India. Good quality Basmati rice has very, very long grain, almost an inch long. Basmati rice has a wonderful aroma and is usually soaked for half an hour before cooking so that each grain is separate when it is cooked by boiling. If you are making pulao/ pilaf or biryani, this is the best rice to use.

 

Jasmine rice comes from Thailand and has a delicate, floral aroma. It is usually cooked by steaming or by absorption method. The texture of cooked Jasmine rice is usually soft and slightly sticky. This is the rice you should use if you are making a South East Asian dish.

 

Risotto rice (Arborio) is from Italy and is used in making risottos. This rice is usually cooked very slowly, adding boiling water or stock ladle by ladle. The result is a very creamy rice texture.