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WHAT IS BASMATI RICE? Many a times people have asked what is the meaning of basmati rice. Basmati rice has been reported in India since the early days of the 19th Century though it may have been named differently. ‘Bas’ in Hindi language means “aroma” and ‘Mati’ means “full of” hence the word Basmati i.e. full of aroma. This rice is different from other rice mainly due to the aroma and elongation post cooking. No other rice has this combined characteristic. The post cooking elongation of more than twice its original length, the aroma and its sweet taste has made basmati rice a delicacy. Basmati rice is grown only in Northern India and in parts of Pakistan touching India. One can easily call it the Champagne of India. THE BASMATI CONTROVERSY A well known Company in USA had applied for the Patent of Basmati Rice i.e. it could label its product as Basmati Rice and in turn nobody else could use this nomenclature for its product. It is like somebody, say in India, gets a patent registered for Champagne and then nobody, even people in France (where Champagne originated from) would be allowed to call its product as Champagne. Though the authorities in USA have rejected the claim however they have allowed their three strains of rice to be called basmati rice. This is also against the principles as basmati rice is only grown in UP, Punjab, Haryana and J&K in India and Punjab in Pakistan since decades. Any rice grown elsewhere other than the above regions cannot be called Basmati, as it cannot have the combined characteristic of aroma and elongation post cooking because of the soil and weather conditions. WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF NON- BASMATI RICE? Any rice other than basmati rice is called non- basmati rice. In the world it has been reported that there are 10000 varieties of rice, the maximum number being in India. . In fact, basmati rice equals to only 1% production of the total rice grown in India. Non- basmati rice comes in all kinds of different shapes and sizes. Some are long and slender, some are short and thick, some are like beads, and some may be round. None have the same characteristics as basmati rice i.e. they do not have both the aroma and post cooking elongation. Only some of the long slender rice is shaped like basmati rice and may have either the aroma or the elongation but not both. Some names of non basmati rice are Sharbati, Haryana Gaurav, shaped like basmati rice and PR, 104 IR8, from the Punjab and Haryana, Surti colon from Gujarat and Maharashtra, Kala Joya from Nagaland, Culture from MP, IR 64, Masuri from Andhra, Govind Bogh from W. Bengal, Tilak, Masuri from U.P. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORDINARY AND SELLA (PAR BOILED) RICE Many a people have the misconception that Sella Rice is a different variety of Rice. This is not so, Sella is a Rice Milled differently i.e. the Paddy (Raw Material) is steamed and then dried for milling. The yellow color, which it adapts, is because of this process. The color can be also be darkened according to the requirements. Any rice can be milled with this process basmati or non- basmati rice. The advantage of this rice is that on post cooking each grain separates out perfectly hence it is widely used in preparing Biryani or Pulao. WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BASMATI AND NON - BASMATI RICE? As mentioned, basmati rice has both and elongation post cooking and no other rice in the world has these characteristics in combination. The taste is also different. Once the taste buds get used to basmati rice no other rice will be likened. But since the yield of basmati rice, per acre of land, is less than half of that of non- basmati rice and because of higher inputs - basmati rice has become unaffordable for most people. However Jagat Agro Commodities (P) Ltd. has made basmati rice affordable for people of various income brackets- with its different varieties of basmati rice, starting with Rs.15 per kg to Rs.70 per kg. MRP. WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF EATING BASMATI RICE Each grain of matured old basmati rice on cooking, separates out and with its unique characteristics of aroma and elongation post cooking, it is a treat for the diner. Also its elongation requirement on weight basis will be less than any other rice per meal. HOW TO RECOGNIZE THE VARIOUS VARIETIES? It is true that recognizing pure basmati rice is as difficult as recognizing a diamond. Like a diamond, the cut of the grain indicates whether it is basmati or any other rice. A basmati grain is shaped like a sword and post cooking each grain elongates at least twice that of its original size. The rich aroma is another way by which one can recognize basmati rice. All other varieties do not match the above qualities, and non – basmati is recognized only by its various sizes and shapes. |
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