Basmati rice, raw (fragrant rice)

Like jasmine rice, basmati rice is a long-grain rice (Oryza sativa ssp. indica). After cooking, it is fluffy and has an aromatic scent. In Hindi, bāsmatī means "fragrant".

Use in the kitchen:

Basmati rice is a very popular fragrant rice in oriental cuisine. Its floral scent is very similar to that of jasmine rice.

But what is the difference between basmati and jasmine rice? and: What is perfumed rice? After cooking, both types of rice develop an aromatic scent. That is why the term perfumed rice is used for both types of rice, although it is much more common for jasmine rice. Jasmine rice is also often called perfumed rice or Thai perfumed rice. Is basmati rice sticky rice? When cooked, jasmine rice sticks a little more than basmati rice, which is why jasmine rice is particularly popular in Thai cuisine. Basmati rice, on the other hand, is not so easy to "hold" with chopsticks.

The slightly loose, long-grain basmati rice is suitable as a side dish for spicy dishes, vegetables, curries, as a rice salad, raw food or as an ingredient in soups or stews. Stuffed peppers can also be prepared very well with basmati rice. Basmati rice flour can be used with another flour to make rolls, flatbread or pancakes.

Basmati rice is available as whole grain rice or as white, polished rice. In whole grain rice, the vitamins and minerals stay on the grain and make it more nutritious. This makes whole grain rice more filling than white rice and hunger does not return much later after a whole grain rice meal. If you want to benefit from the health advantages of brown rice but find its nutty taste too intense, you can also prepare the side dish rice with half brown and half white rice.

Preparing basmati rice:

First wash the rice until the water runs clear. This process washes away the rice dust that has stuck to it from polishing. This means that the rice is less sticky after cooking. How much water do you need to cook basmati rice? If you are not preparing the rice in a rice cooker, the following rule of thumb applies: Prepare 1 cup of rice with 2 cups of water. Bring the water to the boil and then simmer or steam the rice on a low heat with the lid closed for around 10 minutes so that the rice absorbs all the water. Remove from the heat, stir if necessary and leave to simmer for around 10 minutes with the lid closed.

If you soak the washed rice in water for about 10 minutes, you only need 1.5 times the amount of water. Whether you use salt water or not add any salt to the water is a matter of taste.

Steaming fragrant rice is also a popular option, as this brings out the aroma better. You can soak the rice before steaming. You can cook the rice particularly gently using a steamer, steamer insert, bamboo steamer or Thermomix. The rice absorbs the water through the steam. The ratio here is 1 cup of rice to 1.5 cups of water. The basmati rice needs around 15-20 minutes at 100 °C.

How much rice for 2 people? As a side dish, it is enough to cook about 100-120 g of raw basmati rice for 2 people. How much rice per person as a main course? For a main course, double the amount.

Simple vegan recipes for basmati rice as a side dish:

Basmati rice is suitable as a side dish in many variations. If you refine the aromatic basmati rice with a few saffron threads, a cinnamon stick and a bay leaf, it gives it a very special taste. If you don't have saffron on hand, ready-made curry powder or ground turmeric in basmati rice will add a colorful and tasty change.

Basmati rice also tastes good with onions and garlic. Sauté the spices briefly in vegetable oil, add the rice, stir and add the required amount of water. Basmati can also be refined with cinnamon and raisins or other dried fruits. This makes it suitable as a slightly sweetened dessert.

For more recipes using basmati rice, see the link: " Recipes that make the most of this ingredient ".

Shopping - where to buy?

Supermarkets and wholesalers such as Coop, Migros, Denner, Volg, Spar, Aldi, Lidl, Rewe, Edeka, Hofer etc. mainly offer white basmati rice. Whole grain varieties can be found in health food stores, organic shops, in organic supermarkets such as Denns and Alnatura, in drugstores or specialty shops. When buying basmati rice, make sure it is organic, as pesticides are used in conventional cultivation. Some pollutants (e.g. tricyclazole, a fungicide) can be dangerous for humans, but have not been researched well enough. ^16,17 Elevated levels were found in microwave rice.

The Indian and Pakistani authorities have approved 15 varieties of Basmati according to the "Code of Practice on Basmati". This purity requirement allows a maximum of 7% foreign rice. ¹ However, not everyone adheres to this. Packaged boil-in-bag rice in particular often contains a lot of broken pieces. If possible, also pay attention to the origin when purchasing.

Found in the wild:

There is no known wild form within the Oryza sativa species. Rice originally comes from the Oryza rufipogon species, but has undergone numerous breeding processes. All other Oryza species - except the cultivated plants Oryza sativa and Oryza glaberrima - are wild rice plants. Wild rice is also the name given to dark grains of the American grass genus Zizania. These plants are also known as water rice, but are not actually wild rice from a botanical point of view. ³

Storage:

White basmati rice is peeled and contains neither germ nor silver skin. This means that it can be stored for several years. However, whole grain rice can also be kept for up to a year, which is usually sufficient.

Store the basmati rice in a dry place and avoid keeping it close to strong-smelling foods such as coffee, spices, tea or chocolate, as the rice will otherwise absorb their smell.

Ingredients - nutritional value - calories:

The energy content is the same as that of long grain rice. The 357 kilocalories per 100 g come mainly from carbohydrates. The fiber content varies depending on whether you use white rice or whole grain rice. With 9 g of protein, basmati rice has a slightly higher proportion than jasmine rice (7.1 g), but compared to other types of grain such as oats (17 g) or wheat (10 g) it is rather low in protein. There is hardly any fat.

When consuming 100 g of basmati rice (and a daily requirement of around 2000 kcal), the manganese content makes up around 35% of the daily requirement. The proportion of 0.7 mg/100g can be compared to spinach or freshraspberries. Basmati also contains copper, but we get enough of it from our diet anyway.

The content of pantothenic acid (vitamin B₅) is 0.63 mg/100g, lower than in jasmine rice. Dried mango or garlic contain a similar amount. Pyridoxine (vitamin B₆) is present at 0.05 mg/100g, which is significantly less than in jasmine rice. The amount can be compared with the amount in lemon balm or plum. ⁵

You can find all the ingredients, the coverage of the daily requirement and comparison values with other ingredients in our nutrient tables. In the article Nutrients explained you will get a detailed insight into the topic.

Health aspects - effects:

Why is basmati so healthy? Wholegrain basmati rice is dehulled raw rice and is considered healthy. However, we think the description as a superfood is exaggerated. It still contains the vital substances found in the shell and germ and definitely more fiber than white rice. The grinding process makes white basmati rice last longer, but it loses minerals and vitamins. ⁴

An important secondary plant substance is phytic acid. It is found in the outer layers of the grain and is therefore only present in wholegrain basmati rice. On the one hand, phytic acid is said to bind minerals from food that are then no longer available to the human body, and on the other hand, it is said to have a strong antioxidant effect. Rice bran is usually a waste product from rice processing, but you can buy and use it in a similar way to wheat bran. The high fiber content has a positive effect on cancer prevention. ⁵

Basmati rice, like all pure rice, is also gluten-free. We recommend that people with gluten intolerance or celiac disease look for a label for gluten-free foods (e.g. a crossed-out ear of corn) when shopping, as otherwise traces of gluten may be present when processing with the same machines as for grains.

Dangers - Intolerances - Side effects:

According to the Canadian Diabetes Association, wholegrain basmati rice has a "medium" glycemic index (GI) of 56-69. Regular consumption is said to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes. ⁶ In comparison, white rice has a GI of 89 ⁷ and increases the risk of developing diabetes if consumed frequently. ⁸ A GI of 70 or higher is considered "high"; the carbohydrates in the food cause blood sugar to rise rapidly.

In some regions, the groundwater in rice-growing areas is heavily contaminated with toxic arsenic or cadmium. The rice plant absorbs these toxins and accumulates them. Higher levels can be found in rice, rice cakes and rice flakes. Small children absorb arsenic more easily than adults, which is why children under 3 should not be given more than 20 g of rice cakes per week. ⁹ institutions such as Stiftung Warentest or ÖKO-Test test Basmati products for harmful substances and the BfR ( Federal Institute for Risk Assessment) also provides information on this.

If you have cooked too much, you should always let rice cool down quickly and store it in the fridge or freeze it. Make sure that the temperature stays above 65 °C when reheating. If the food is not cooled properly and only heated slightly , Bacillus cereus pathogens can develop and multiply quickly. These bacteria can lead to severe vomiting and diarrhea. ¹³

Folk medicine - natural healing:

According to TCM ( Traditional Chinese Medicine), a soup made from rice has been used for thousands of years as a remedy for gastrointestinal problems, allergies and kidney problems. In China, it is eaten as a preventative measure, usually for breakfast. If it is to be used for detoxification and drainage during a fasting cure, it must not be salted. ¹⁰

Occurrence - Origin:

Basmati rice originally comes from Afghanistan. Where is basmati rice grown? The largest rice-growing areas are China, India and other areas of Southeast Asia. Rice is also cultivated in Europe in smaller quantities: in northern Italy, Portugal, Spain, France, Greece and southern Switzerland (Ticino). ²

Cultivation - Harvest:

Rice is not actually an aquatic plant. It is sown on dry soil. However, flooding protects the plants from pests and weeds.

When it comes to dry rice cultivation, a distinction is made between rain-dependent mountain rice cultivation and lowland rice cultivation. These methods are found in regions with little rainfall or in mountains with high humidity. Weed control is very labor-intensive and the yields are also lower than with water rice. ³ The aroma is said to be very pronounced and it is sold at significantly higher prices.

There are deep-water or wet rice cultivation methods for water rice cultivation. Wet rice cultivation accounts for around 80% of the world harvest. However, the amount of water used is considerable: between 3,000 and 5,000 liters of running water are needed for 1 kg of rice. When managing water, care must be taken that water that flows too quickly washes the nutrients out of the soil and that water that flows too slowly causes algae to form. The labor intensity of wet rice cultivation is very high, but the yields are significantly higher than with dry rice cultivation. Wet rice can be harvested 1-3 times a year, depending on the variety, type of cultivation and growing area. ⁴

When the rice panicles are brown, it can be harvested. Harvesting is done manually with a knife or mechanically with a special combine harvester. If the rice is harvested by hand, it is not threshed until a few days later. ¹⁴ After harvesting, the rice is dried and cleaned. In this form, the rice is called raw rice, unhusked rice or paddy rice. It still has the hard, woody and silicic husks and is still capable of germination. Raw rice is used for sowing, but is not yet suitable for cooking. Half-raw rice (cargo or brown rice) is also known as natural or whole rice. This still has the germ and the silver skin, but no longer has the husks. White rice is milled rice that has been sorted by size. This process removes the germ and the silver skin.

Another variant is parboiled rice. In the parboiling process, the air is removed from the raw rice in a vacuum container and then placed in lukewarm water. This dissolves the vitamins and minerals from the silver skin and the germ. These nutrients are then pressed into the inside of the rice grain using high pressure. Steam pressure is used to harden the rice starch on the surface of the grain so that the nutrients remain in the rice grain. Finally, the rice is dried. Only then are the husks removed from the treated raw rice. ¹⁵ Parboiled rice contains less fiber and less fat than wholegrain rice.

General information:

Basmati rice ( Oryza sativa ssp. indica) is a non-sticky long-grain rice type. The basmati scent is nutty and similar to that of the pandan palm ( Pandanus amaryllifolius), a plant species in the screw pine family. The aroma comes from a chemical compound, 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline. ¹¹ This natural aroma is also found in cheese, fruit and other grains and is used as a flavoring in bakery products and in lower quality rice varieties. ¹²

According to Wikipedia, rice straw is mainly used in Asia for shoes, hats or to make cheap rice paper. In Japan, the tatami mat is used as flooring for living rooms and temples.

The "name in English" is basmati rice.

Literature - Sources: