What we have lost in Rice and Spice

The Hindu : Life & Style / Metroplus : Samba and shine: "Did you know there’s a rice variety in Tamilnadu called ‘Maapilai samba’ that was fed to bridegrooms before the wedding? Thooyamalli, another traditional rice variety, gets its name from its striking resemblance to jasmine buds, while seeraga samba — which looks like the spice it’s named after — is as fragrant as its distant cousin the Basmati, grown in the foothills of the Himalayas.

So how come none of these make their way to our pressure cookers? Neither have I heard of these before, nor do local stores stock beyond the regular two or three varieties of rice. “Rice has now become synonymous with ponni,” says Madhusoodhanan K, co-founder of Dhanyam organic superstore. “Good quality rice is expected to have small, thin and white grains. It’s really unfortunate, because the thicker varieties aren’t just more nutritious, they also have more flavour.”"

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