What is Basmati Rice?

Oryza sativa ‘Indica’

Basmati is a fragrant long grain, ‘Indica’ variety of rice with a nutlike fragrance, during cooking, and a delicate, almost buttery flavour.

It’s the most famous aromatic rice grown in India and Pakistan. There are several cultivated varieties of basmati rice. Basmati means, “queen of fragrance”

The grains are high in amylose (a non-glutinous starch) and tend to remain intact, flaky and separate, after cooking and are perfect for stir-fries, sauces, pilau and curries.

Unlike other types of rice, the grains elongate much more than they plump as they cook. Basmati is most commonly used in Indian cooking but it can be used in any regular recipe. It’s fairly expensive compared to other long grain rice like, Thai Jasmine rice.

In the United States, a variety of rice based on Basmati called Texmati is grown. In Kenya (East Africa), a very fragrant basmati rice variety called Pishori or Pisori is grown in the Mwea region.

Adulteration

There is difficulty in differentiating genuine basmati from other types of rice and there is  also a lot of Basmati, adulterated with other strains of long-grain rice on the market (Wiki).