Basmati
Encyclopedia
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
grown in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, notable for its fragrance and delicate, nuanced flavour. Its name means "the fragrant one" in Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
, but it can also mean "the soft rice," and the word coincidentally means "my smile" in Arabic. India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
is the largest cultivator, consumer and exporter of this rice; it is primarily grown through paddy field
Paddy field
A paddy field is a flooded parcel of arable land used for growing rice and other semiaquatic crops. Paddy fields are a typical feature of rice farming in east, south and southeast Asia. Paddies can be built into steep hillsides as terraces and adjacent to depressed or steeply sloped features such...
farming in the Punjab region
Punjab region
The Punjab , also spelled Panjab |water]]s"), is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi...
.
The grains of basmati rice are longer than most other types of rice. Cooked grains of Basmati rice are characteristically free flowing rather than sticky, as with most long-grain rice. Cooked basmati rice can be uniquely identified by its fragrance. Basmati rice is available in two varieties: white
White rice
White rice is the name given to milled rice that has had its husk, bran, and germ removed. This alters the flavour, texture and appearance of the rice and helps prevent spoilage and extend its storage life. After milling, the rice is polished, resulting in a seed with a bright, white, shiny...
and brown
Brown rice
Brown rice is unmilled or partly milled rice, a kind of whole, natural grain. It has a mild nutty flavor, is chewier and more nutritious than white rice, but goes rancid more quickly because the germ—which is removed to make white rice—contains fats that can spoil...
.
Flavour
Basmati rice has a typical pandan-like (Pandanus fascicularisPandanus fascicularis
Screw Pine is a species of Pandanus native to southern Asia, from southern India east to Taiwan and the Ryukyu Islands south of Japan, and south to Indonesia.-Uses:...
leaf) flavour caused by the aroma compound
Aroma compound
An aroma compound, also known as odorant, aroma, fragrance or flavor, is a chemical compound that has a smell or odor...
2-acetyl-1-pyrroline
2-Acetyl-1-pyrroline
2-Acetyl-1-pyrroline, abbreviated 2AP, with the IUPAC name 1-ethanone, is an aroma compound and flavor that gives white bread, jasmine rice and basmati rice, the spice pandan , and bread flowers their typical smell...
.
Basmati Rice is the choice of rice used for cooking Biryani
Biryani
Biryani, biriani, or beriani is a set of rice-based foods made with spices, rice and meat, fish, eggs or vegetables. The name is derived from the Persian word beryā which means "fried" or "roasted"....
, Pilao
Pilaf
Pilaf is a dish in which rice is cooked in a seasoned broth . In some cases, the rice may also attain its brown color by being stirred with bits of cooked onion, as well as a large mix of spices...
and sometimes Kheer
Kheer
Kheer also known as Payasam or Payesh is a rice pudding, which is a traditional South Asian sweet dish...
.
Varieties and hybrids
A number of varieties of basmati rice exist. Traditional types include Basmati-370, Basmati-385 and Basmati-Ranbirsinghpura(R.S.Pura), while hybrid basmati varieties include Pusa Basmati 1 (also called 'Todal', because the flower has awns). Fragrant rices that are derived from basmati stock but are not considered true basmati varieties include PB2 (also called sugandh-2), PB3 and RH-10.Scientists at Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
took the traditional basmati and genetically modified it to produce a hybrid which had most of the good features of traditional basmati (grain elongation, fragrance, alkali content) and the plant was a semi-dwarf type. This basmati was called Pusa Basmati-1. PB1 crop yield is higher than the traditional varieties (up to twice as much).
List of approved varieties
PunjabPunjab region
The Punjab , also spelled Panjab |water]]s"), is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi...
, Kernel Basmati Dehradun
Dehradun
- Geography :The Dehradun district has various types of physical geography from Himalayan mountains to Plains. Raiwala is the lowest point at 315 meters above sea level, and the highest points are within the Tiuni hills, rising to 3700 m above sea level...
, Safidon
Safidon
Safidon is a city and a municipal committee in Jind district in the Indian state of Haryana.Safidon is located at . It has an average elevation of 221 m . Safidon is the center of Panipat and Jind. The town is the headquarters of the tehsil of the same name. It is situated on the bank of the Hansi...
, Haryana
Haryana
Haryana is a state in India. Historically, it has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar . It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south...
, Super basmati, Kasturi (Baran, Rajasthan), Basmati 198, basmati 217, basmati 370, basmati 385, basmati 386, Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
, Kasturi, Mahi Suganda, Pusa, Ranbir, Taraori
Taraori
Taraori or Tarori, as it is sometimes called in the local dialect, is a city and a Tehsil 16 km north of Karnal in Karnal district in the Indian state of Haryana....
. Some non-traditional aromatic crosses with basmati characteristics are marketed under a Sugandh designation.
Detection of adulterated strains
Difficulty in differentiating genuine traditional basmati from pretenders and the significant price difference between them has led fraudulent traders to adulterate traditional basmati. To protect the interests of consumers and trade, a PCRPolymerase chain reaction
The polymerase chain reaction is a scientific technique in molecular biology to amplify a single or a few copies of a piece of DNA across several orders of magnitude, generating thousands to millions of copies of a particular DNA sequence....
-based assay similar to DNA fingerprinting in humans allows for the detection of adulterated and non-basmati strains. Its detection limit for adulteration is from 1% upwards with an error rate of ±1.5%. Exporters of basmati rice use 'purity certificates' based on DNA tests for their basmati rice consignments. See Protocol http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/abstract/114280458/ABSTRACT and http://pubs.acs.org/cgi-bin/abstract.cgi/jafcau/2007/55/i20/abs/jf0714517.html. Based on this protocol, which was developed at the Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics
Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics
The Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics is an autonomous organization funded by the Department of Biotechnology , Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India. CDFD receives funding from other agencies like the Wellcome Trust on specific collaborative projects...
, Labindia, an Indian company has released kits to detect basmati adulteration.
Patent battle
In September 1997, a TexasTexas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
company called RiceTec won a patent (U.S. Patent No. 5,663,484) on "basmati rice lines and grains." The patent secures lines of basmati and basmati-like rice and ways of analyzing that rice. RiceTec, owned by Prince Hans-Adam of Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein
The Principality of Liechtenstein is a doubly landlocked alpine country in Central Europe, bordered by Switzerland to the west and south and by Austria to the east. Its area is just over , and it has an estimated population of 35,000. Its capital is Vaduz. The biggest town is Schaan...
, faced international outrage over allegations of biopiracy
Biopiracy
- Biopiracy and bioprospecting :Bioprospecting is an umbrella term describing the discovery of new and useful biological samples and mechanisms, typically in less-developed countries, either with or without the help of indigenous knowledge, and with or without compensation...
. It had also caused a brief diplomatic crisis between India and United States with India threatening to take the matter to WTO as a violation of TRIPS
Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights
The Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights is an international agreement administered by the World Trade Organization that sets down minimum standards for many forms of intellectual property regulation as applied to nationals of other WTO Members...
which could have resulted in a major embarrassment for the United States. Both voluntarily and due to review decisions by the United States Patent and Trademark Office
United States Patent and Trademark Office
The United States Patent and Trademark Office is an agency in the United States Department of Commerce that issues patents to inventors and businesses for their inventions, and trademark registration for product and intellectual property identification.The USPTO is based in Alexandria, Virginia,...
, RiceTec lost or withdrew most of the claims of the patent, including, most importantly, the right to call their rice lines "basmati." A more limited varietal patent was granted to RiceTec in 2001 on claims dealing with three strains of the rice developed by the company.
Glycemic index
According to the Canadian Diabetes AssociationCanadian Diabetes Association
The Canadian Diabetes Association is an organization based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its mission is to lead the fight against diabetes mellitus by helping Canadians with diabetes live healthy lives while work is continued to find a cure...
, basmati rice has a "medium" glycemic index
Glycemic index
The glycemic index, glycaemic index, or GI is a measure of the effects of carbohydrates on blood sugar levels. Carbohydrates that break down quickly during digestion and release glucose rapidly into the bloodstream have a high GI; carbohydrates that break down more slowly, releasing glucose more...
(between 56 and 69), thus making it more suitable for diabetics as compared to certain other grains and products made from white flour.
See also
- AmbemoharAmbemoharAmbemohar is a rice variant from Western Maharashtra in India. The short cooked grains have a tendency to break easily and stick together. It is popular in Maharashtra due to its strong fragrance reminiscent of mango blossoms, which is noticeable when the rice is cooked...
- DomsiahDomsiahDomsiah is an Iranian variety of rice. It is a long grain rice, with a black spot on one end, which gives it the name, which is Persian meaning "black end"...
- Jasmine riceJasmine riceJasmine rice , sometimes known as Thai fragrant rice, is a long-grain variety of rice that has a nutty aroma and a subtle pandan-like flavor caused by 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline.Jasmine rice is originally from Thailand...
- List of rice varieties
- Oryza sativaOryza sativaOryza sativa, commonly known as Asian rice, is the plant species most commonly referred to in English as rice. Oryza sativa is the cereal with the smallest genome, consisting of just 430Mb across 12 chromosomes...
- Wehani riceWehani riceWehani rice is a variety of aromatic brown rice developed in the late 20th century by Lundberg Family Farms of Richvale, California, United States. It is a registered trademark of Lundberg Family Farms, the only company that grows it, and is named for brothers Wendell, Eldon, Homer, Albert, and...