Scope

The staple food of India is rice. Up until 1970, India was home to nearly 1,10,000 varieties of indegenous rice! Thanks, but no thanks to the Green Revolution, only 6,000 varieties now remain – a result of the green revolution’s emphasis on mono culture and hybrid cropping! Be that as it may, India is known for its sheer variety of rice dishes that are prepared and served, no matter what the occasion – sickness, health, family gathering, festivities, Hindu rituals, offering (naivedya or prasad), weddings, funerals, even as offerings to ancestors and departed souls.

Rice 4 is the seed of the grass species Oryza sativa (Asian rice) or Oryza glaberrima (African rice). As a cereal grain, it is the most widely consumed staple food for a large part of the world’s human population, especially in Asia. Rice is the most important grain with regard to human nutrition and caloric intake, providing more than one-fifth of the calories consumed worldwide by humans.

Rice cultivation is well-suited to countries and regions with low labor costs and high rainfall, as it is labor-intensive to cultivate and requires ample water. However, rice can be grown practically anywhere, even on a steep hill or mountain area with the use of water-controlling terrace systems.

Etymologically, the word ‘rice’ is derived from the Tamil word arisi. Indian rice cultivars include long- grained and aromatic Basmati (grown in the North), long and medium-grained Patna rice, and in South India (Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka) short-grained Sona Masuri (also called as Bangaru theegalu). In the state of Tamil Nadu, the most prized variety is the ponni which is primarily grown in the delta regions of the Kaveri River. In the Western Indian state of Maharashtra, a short grain variety called Ambemohar is very popular. This rice has a characteristic fragrance of the mango blossom.

Ingredient and Process of Cooking

Rice is typically rinsed before cooking to remove excess starch. Rice may be rinsed repeatedly until the rinse water is clear to improve the texture and taste. Rice may be soaked to decrease cooking time, conserve fuel, minimize exposure to high temperature, and reduce stickiness. Rice may be soaked for 30 minutes up to several hours. Rice is cooked by boiling or steaming, and absorbs water during cooking. Almost all rice recipes in the Bhaga Shastra indicate draining out starch after cooking, before further procedures of making a variety of tasty dishes is followed.

A basic preparation of rice is very simple and easy. However, the procedures to turn them into tasty dishes make it an elaborate affair, as the wide variety of rice dishes described in the recipes below will testify. When combined with milk, jaggery, and honey, it is used to make desserts.

Rice – 1/2 padi

Water – 1½ padi

Powdered Crystal Salt – 3/4 palam

Mango Juice – 2½ pala

Turmeric Powder – 1/4 r.e

  • Ghee – 6 Palam
  • Red Chilly – 1/2 Palam
  • Mustard Seeds – 1/4 Palam
  • Black Gram – 1/4 Palam
  • Bengal Gram – 1/2 Palam
  • Slit Green Chilly – 1/2 Palam
  • Curry Leaves – 1/4 Palam
  • 1. Heat the water and mix the rice and boil till it gets cooked properly. Drain the excess water. Put the rice on a clean stone surface. Let it cool.
  • 2. Take the powdered crystal salt in a vessel that is rust free. In the same vessel add the mango juice and turmeric powder. To prepare the juice take a sour mango and peel the skin and grate it using a scraper. Then take the grated mixture in a stone mortar and beat using a pestle without ferrule. Then tie the mixture in a clean thick cloth and squeeze the required amount of juice. Mix the juice to the cooled rice.
  • 3. Take a skillet and add ghee. When it gets heated add red chilly, mustard seeds, black gram, bengal gram, slit green chilli and curry leaves and temper based on the way prescribed in the recipe no. 22 (Seasoning Recipe)
  • 4. Add the tempered mixture to the rice and gently mix it. Let it be on the stove for 5 min and serve.

References

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