Every country and region has different living customs and eating habits.
As a staple food in our daily lives, rice also has different varieties and characteristics in different regions. In China, for example, Northeast rice is the most well-known, while in India, basmati is the most well-known rice variety, known as "the most expensive rice in the world".
Although Indian food always seems to be difficult to eat, and it is always ridiculed as "full of periodic tables".
However, Indian fragrant rice, with its uniqueness, has been loved by many people.
If you like to brush TikTok, then you will definitely brush up on those TikTok videos that record your life in India.
Through these and other video materials, we can find that India eats pilaf. The rice in Indian pilaf is basmati rice, and their rice is always grained.
They are longer than the rice we usually eat, and their average length is 7.45 mm, which is 2-3 times that of ordinary rice.
Why is Basmati longer?
Basmati rice can be sourced from India and Pakistan, the color of high-quality basmati rice is traditionally considered translucent milky white, usually there are two kinds of white and brown, white basmati rice is the most common in our lives, generally speaking, the grain is between 6.61 and 7.5 mm, and the extra long is even more than 7.5 mm;
Brown basmati rice can be bought in many health food stores and has an aspect ratio of over 3.0, making it another criterion for identifying basmati rice.
First of all, one of the reasons why basmati rice is longer than our common rice is that the varieties are different.
There are three varieties of rice: indica, japonica and glutinous rice, with northeast China's rice belonging to japonica rice and Indian fragrant rice belonging to indica rice. In our country, the area north of the Yangtze River, indica rice is generally grown, but the indica rice we grow belongs to medium grain rice, and Indian fragrant rice belongs to long grain rice.
Secondly, it also has a lot to do with the climate environment of the area where Indian rice grows.
India is close to the equator, the weather will be relatively hot, belongs to the subtropical monsoon climate, high temperature all year round, this climate is very suitable for growing slender indica rice.
Basmati rice with a unique shape also has a unique taste.
Basmati has a beautiful English name "Basmati", which in Hindi means queen of perfume. Indian fragrant rice is also a rice name, its body emits a charming fragrance, this rich fragrance gives people a pleasant feeling, that is, a lovely woody scent.
The fragrance comes from a chemical called 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (AP2), which is found in rice. But in basmati rice, the amount of this chemical is about 12 times that of ordinary rice, which also gives basmati rice a more intense aroma than other rice.
In addition to its unique aroma, the taste of basmati rice is also very special, with a nutty taste, floral aroma, and a little spicy. The grain of basmati rice must be properly aged during the production process to reduce the water content in the grain in order to obtain the perfect aroma and flavor.
Unlike sticky rice, basmati rice lacks stickiness and is well-defined and can be paired well with curries and other dishes.
Basmati rice is also very healthy, it is gluten-free, low in fat, low in salt, free in cholesterol, and contains all eight essential amino acids. Brown basmati rice has a higher fiber content of brown rice, a harder texture, a more nut-like taste, and it also takes longer to cook than white rice.
However, basmati rice, while good, don't eat too much either.
Because the rice of Indian fragrant rice contains more arsenic than the average plant, if ingested for a long time, it has increased the risk of cancer and heart disease over time.
And the price is not cheap, as the most expensive rice in the world, it is 3-5 times that of ordinary rice, and the quality of 1 kilogram is basically more than 20 yuan.
At last
Basmati rice is good, but not everyone likes the taste.
Most people think that the stickiness of basmati rice is too low, almost all of it is grainy, and the locals like to cook this kind of rice relatively dry, combined with their curry and hand-grabbing eating habits, it can be imagined that the taste of this rice is difficult for many people who like to eat sticky soft rice.
Xiaobian has the privilege of eating such expensive rice, that is, I think that rice is good, but I always feel unaccustomed.
Perhaps, this is the difference in culture, such rice and curry are the perfect match.