Rice, its varieties

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Rice, its varieties

Rice is a cereal foodstuff which forms an important part of the diet of many people worldwide and as such it is a staple food for many.

There are two species of domesticated rice, Oryza sativa (Asian) and Oryza glaberrima (African).

Oryza sativa contains two major subspecies: the sticky, short-grained japonica or sinica variety, and the non-sticky, long-grained indica variety. Japonica are usually cultivated in dry fields, in temperate East Asia, upland areas of Southeast Asia and high elevations in South Asia, while indica are mainly lowland rices, grown mostly submerged, throughout tropical Asia.^[8]

^{Boiled Rice - ukda chawal, mota chawal,}

White rice may be also buffed with glucose or talc powder (often called polished rice, though this term may also refer to white rice in general), parboiled, or processed into flour. Parboiled rice is rice that has been boiled in the husk. Parboiling makes rice easier to process by hand, improves its nutritional profile, and changes its texture which is called "Ukda Chawal" in India.^. Today, it is the preferred rice of many in the southern parts of the Indian Subcontinent. White rice may also be enriched by adding nutrients, especially those lost during the milling process. While the cheapest method of enriching involves adding a powdered blend of nutrients that will easily wash off (in the United States, rice which has been so treated requires a label warning against rinsing), more sophisticated methods apply nutrients directly to the grain, coating the grain with a water insoluble substance which is resistant to washing.

Raw Rice, on the other hand is obtained by removing the husk from the paddy, without boiling it. It cooks very fast, and experience only teaches how long it should be allowed to boi in hot water.

Basmati Rice is a variety of long grain rice, famous for its fragrance and delicate flavour. Its name means "the fragrant one" in Sanskrit, but it can also mean the "soft rice." India and Pakistan are the largest cultivators and exporters of this rice - primarily grown through paddy field farming in the Punjab region.

The grains of basmati rice are longer than non-basmati varieties. Cooked grains of Basmati rice are characteristically free flowing rather than sticky. Cooked basmati rice can be uniquely identified by its fragrance. Basmati rice is available in two varieties - white rice and brown rice.